DUBUQUE “Wartburg College head wrestling coach Jim Miller knew going into the 2007 Iowa Conference championships that ever match would be critical.
His thoughts were right on the button.
Wartburg, earning its 25th Iowa Conference title Thursday, Feb. 15, received a furious challenge from a neighbor to the north. Luther, ranked No. 5 in the recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III top 30, battled the Orange and Black all day, with the Knights out-distancing them 181-160 for the team championship. Miller’s team also put all 10 individuals through to the 2007 NCAA Division III national championships.
“I’m very proud of what this team accomplished,” Miller said. “This is a team that had seven guys who have never wrestled in a conference tournament setting. For them to win a conference title for our program, despite our youth, was awesome.
“Hey, we knew every match would be important, and they each were,” he added. “We got both of our goals because we focused on each match, though. We wanted to take 10 to nationals and win the title.”
Eight Knights made the final round of competition. Five of them gained conference titles, consecutively at 157, 165, 184, 197 and heavyweight.
Sophomore Aaron Wernimont of Pocahontas got the ball rolling, posting 13 points on Cornell’s Pat McAuley for a 13-8 decision. Senior Jason Knipp of Waterloo defeated Luther’s Nate Van Dyke 6-4, sophomore Romeo Djoumessi of Waverly upped his consecutive match win streak to 29, holding off Loras’ Jay Figgins 3-2, and junior T.J. Miller of Cedar Falls moved to 25-0, topping second-ranked Alec Bonander of Luther 4-3 in a battle of the nation’s top two ranked individuals. Senior heavyweight Blake Gillis of Spencer made history with his pin of Luther’s John Miller, becoming Wartburg’s third four-time IIAC titlist and the conference’s fifth. He joined former Knights Jon Dawley (1990-94) and Mike Hogan (1981-84) as four-time league champs. The Knights’ final individual conference champion total marked the fifth consecutive year that the program has had five-or-more individual champs.
“I’m so excited about being a four-time conference champion,” Gillis said. “Coach (Miller) just told me to wrestle smart today. I usually try tilts a lot, but I shyed away from them, just wanting to keep advancing with hard wrestling. It’s great to be mentioned with so many awesome wrestlers in conference and school history.”
Wartburg’s other five national qualifiers included junior 125-pounder Robert Struthers of Emmetsburg, a wild card pick after placing fourth, junior 133-pounder Jake Helvey of Mitchellville, a runner-up, sophomore 141-pounder Zach McKray, a runner-up, freshman 149-pounder Adam Weber of Waterloo, a runner-up, and senior 174-pounder Jason Zastrow of Coon Rapids, Minn., a third-place finisher. The Knights’ 10 national qualifiers mark the third time since 2004 that the Orange and Black have qualified each member of their team.
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