Clarksville, Ark. - The Eagles won their second straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Men's Wrestling Championship Saturday in front of their home crowd. 

Under Head Coach Vinny Barber, the Eagles, ranked No. 24 in NCAA III, once again proved too strong for their SLIAC opponents, winning by a large margin against second-place Westminster College (137.5 to 90).

"We have a really, really special group of guys and that showed today," said Barber. "Our guys really care about each other. They want to see each other win. We were excited to do this at home and show our people we could defend the title. We had some expectations going into the championships and we had to work on removing some pressure from them. Today was an amazing example of how they handle pressure and the big moment." 

The Eagles had seven wrestlers advance to the finals and each won the individual conference titles. Those wrestlers included Shelton Chastain (125), Javin Douglas (133), Zander Payne (141), Hayden Rofkahr (149), Demetri Teddlie (157), Airamis Mendoza (165) and Gabriel Sheikh (174).

"It feels amazing that we had seven guys win titles," said Barber. "Our 141 and 149 guys propelled us. I am proud of the guys and their work. It was an electric performance and electric environment to have seven guys in the finals and that's special."

In the day's most entertaining match, Zander Payne was resilient as he ousted regionally-ranked Gaige Owens from Eureka College winning by decision (11-4). Chastain was simply dominant racking up a pair of pins. Douglas, a freshman, performed like a veteran earning two pins. Rofkahr displayed grit and strength in his matches, winning by a tech fall, decision and pin. Teddlie showed why he is nationally-ranked as he recorded two falls and a tech fall. Mendoza had another impressive showing at the conference championships winning his second straight, this time with a tech fall, fall and major decision. Sheikh had an outstanding performance in the finals posting a tech fall.

Team Scores
1. University of the Ozarks (137.5)
2. Westminster University (90.0)
3. Eureka (65.5)
4. Schreiner University (38.0)
5. Lyon College (21.0)
6. Fontbonne University (4.0)
7. Blackburn (2.5)

Douglas was named SLIAC Freshman of the Year. The Eagles coaching staff won SLIAC Coaching Staff of the Year. The staff includes Barber, assistant coach Nathan Rankin, volunteer assistant coach Jake Dado and volunteer assistant coach Dan Benoit. Michael Gilreath was named to the Sportsmanship Team.

The Eagles will now focus on the NCAA III Regional in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 28-March 1.

SLIAC Championship Article

RESULTS
125
1st Place - Shelton Chastain of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Reign Creech of University of the Ozarks
3rd Place - Isaac Gawronski of Westminster University
4th Place - Ty Ferguson of Lyon College
1st Place Match
Shelton Chastain (University of the Ozarks) won by major decision over Reign Creech (University of the Ozarks) (Maj 15-4)
3rd Place Match
Isaac Gawronski (Westminster University) won by tech fall over Ty Ferguson (Lyon College) (TF 19-3)

133
1st Place - Javin Douglas of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Clyde Adams of University of the Ozarks
3rd Place - Henry Warfel of Westminster University
4th Place - Isaac Smith of Eureka
1st Place Match
Javin Douglas (University of the Ozarks) won by major decision over Clyde Adams (University of the Ozarks) (Maj 11-2)
3rd Place Match
Henry Warfel (Westminster University) won by fall over Isaac Smith (Eureka) (Fall 3:54)

141
1st Place - Zander Payne of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Gaige Owens of Eureka
3rd Place - Ashton Keller of Schreiner University
4th Place - Luke Adams of University of the Ozarks
1st Place Match
Zander Payne (University of the Ozarks) won by decision over Gaige Owens (Eureka) (Dec 11-4)
3rd Place Match
Ashton Keller (Schreiner University) won by fall over Luke Adams (University of the Ozarks) (Fall 0:56)

149
1st Place - Hayden Rofkahr of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Nathan Berta of Eureka
3rd Place - Clay Queen Jr of Lyon College
4th Place - Jonathan Roberts of Westminster University
1st Place Match
Hayden Rofkahr (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Nathan Berta (Eureka) (Fall 4:34)
3rd Place Match
Clay Queen Jr (Lyon College) won by major decision over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster University) (Maj 20-11)

157
1st Place - Demetri Teddlie of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Michael Roberts of Westminster University
3rd Place - Trystan Blenis of University of the Ozarks
4th Place - Adam Lancaster of Schreiner University
1st Place Match
Demetri Teddlie (University of the Ozarks) won by tech fall over Michael Roberts (Westminster University) (TF 17-2)
3rd Place Match
Trystan Blenis (University of the Ozarks) won by decision over Adam Lancaster (Schreiner University) (Dec 7-5)

165
1st Place - Airamis Mendoza of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Brendon Marquess of Westminster University
3rd Place - Alex Muhammad of Eureka
4th Place - Aiden Schenck of Schreiner University
1st Place Match
Airamis Mendoza (University of the Ozarks) won by major decision over Brendon Marquess (Westminster University) (Maj 13-1)
3rd Place Match
Alex Muhammad (Eureka) won by fall over Aiden Schenck (Schreiner University) (Fall 1:03)

174
1st Place - Gabriel Sheikh of University of the Ozarks
2nd Place - Aidyn Merchant of Westminster University
3rd Place - Skyler Caldwell of University of the Ozarks
4th Place - Tyren Moore of Eureka
1st Place Match
Gabriel Sheikh (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Aidyn Merchant (Westminster University) (Fall 2:45)
3rd Place Match
Skyler Caldwell (University of the Ozarks) won by tech fall over Tyren Moore (Eureka) (TF 18-2)

184
1st Place - Austen Wetzel of Westminster University
2nd Place - Thomas Culp of Eureka
3rd Place - Nawab Singh of University of the Ozarks
4th Place - Robert Morris of University of the Ozarks
1st Place Match
Austen Wetzel (Westminster University) won by tech fall over Thomas Culp (Eureka) (TF 20-4)
3rd Place Match
Nawab Singh (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Robert Morris (University of the Ozarks) (Fall 0:39)

197
1st Place - Cole Harrell of Westminster University
2nd Place - Eli Lupton of Lyon College
3rd Place - Jadaan Anderson of University of the Ozarks
4th Place - Jonathan Martinez of Schreiner University
1st Place Match
Cole Harrell (Westminster University) won by fall over Eli Lupton (Lyon College) (Fall 0:45)
3rd Place Match
Jadaan Anderson (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Jonathan Martinez (Schreiner University) (Fall 2:29)

285
1st Place - Austin Cooley of Schreiner University
2nd Place - Jacob Kaminski of Eureka
3rd Place - Philip Saenz of University of the Ozarks
4th Place - Luis Rodriguez of Schreiner University
1st Place Match
Austin Cooley (Schreiner University) won by major decision over Jacob Kaminski (Eureka) (Maj 9-1)
3rd Place Match
Philip Saenz (University of the Ozarks) won by forfeit over Luis Rodriguez (Schreiner University) (FF)