DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The No. 1/2-ranked Wartburg College men's wrestling team (15-1, 8-0 A-R-C) completed a perfect conference slate and claimed its sixth consecutive American Rivers Conference title - and 43rd overall - with a 26-6 victory over No. 5/7-ranked Loras College on Thursday night at the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center.

The win marked Wartburg's 50th straight league dual victory and continued a historic run that has seen the Knights capture 33 of the last 34 conference championships dating back to the 1993 season.

Wartburg won eight of the 10 bouts on the night, highlighted by freshman Kade Blume's technical fall at 141 pounds - the dual's lone bonus-point result. Brett Birchman (125) and Jake Walker (HWT) opened and closed the match with key upset victories to set the tone.

No. 14-ranked Birchman jumpstarted the Knights with a 4-2 decision over No. 6 Aidan Grunenfelder at 125, using a first-period takedown to secure the opening points. At 133, fifth-ranked Patrick Mullen followed with a gritty 2-1 decision over No. 10 Connor Fiser to extend the early advantage.

Blume then delivered Wartburg's most dominant bout of the night, rolling to a 15-0 technical fall over Nosa Egbon at 141. The freshman tallied a takedown in each period to push the Knights ahead 11-0 through three bouts.

Loras got on the board at 149 with a sudden-victory decision, as No. 10 Chase Fiser edged No. 9 Caleb Olson, 7-4. Wartburg answered immediately, however, with top-ranked Charlie Dojan earning a 5-0 shutout of No. 6 Eric Kinkaid at 157, followed by No. 10 Aiden Brosinski's 4-0 decision over Braylon Griffiths at 165 to make it 17-3.

The Duhawks picked up a narrow win at 174, where No. 4 Dustin Bohren claimed a 1-0 decision over No. 12 Mike Slade. From there, Wartburg closed strong. No. 2 Kasey Ross posted an 8-1 decision at 184 to effectively seal the dual, and No. 6 Cal Dorota added a 7-2 victory at 197.

Walker capped the night at heavyweight with a thrilling 4-2 upset over No. 7 Jonah Clark. Trailing 2-1 late in the third period, Walker secured a decisive takedown with 25 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on the Knights' dominant title win.

With the victory, Wartburg improved to 61-8-3 all-time against Loras and has now won seven straight meetings, including 37 of the last 38. The Knights also earned their sixth win this season over a ranked NCAA Division III opponent - all against top-10 foes - and improved to 197-17-2 against ranked teams since 2003.
 
UP NEXT
Wartburg gears up for NCAA Regionals on Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Further information will be announced soon.
 
RESULTS
125: Brett Birchman (12-6) (WART) over Aidan Gruenenfelder (25-3) (LOR) (Dec 4-2)
133: Patrick Mullen (20-4) (WART) over Connor Fiser (9-5) (LOR) (Dec 2-1)
141: Kade Blume (17-2) (WART) over Nosa Egbon (18-10) (LOR) (TF 15-0 5:15)
149: Chase Fiser (19-5) (LOR) over Caleb Olson (16-7) (WART) (SV-1 7-4)
157: Charlie Dojan (23-0) (WART) over Eric Kinkaid (26-3) (LOR) (Dec 5-0)
165: Aiden Brosinski (17-5) (WART) over Braylon Griffiths (13-11) (LOR) (Dec 4-0)
174: Dustin Bohren (26-2) (LOR) over Mike Slade (20-8) (WART) (Dec 1-0)
184: Kasey Ross (21-0) (WART) over Landry Barker (23-5) (LOR) (Dec 8-1)
197: Cal Dorota (20-4) (WART) over Kam Royster (11-16) (LOR) (Dec 7-2)
285: Jake Walker (10-2) (WART) over Jonah Clark (11-2) (LOR) (Dec 4-2)