FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Big individual upsets, last-second victories, and disappointing losses were all part of the (6) University of Providence men's wrestling team's day at the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals. UP went 1-2 in three duals, all against ranked opponents, starting the day off with a big 18-14 win over (10) Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), putting up a strong fight in a 22-13 loss to (2) Missouri Valley College, and suffering a tough 25-18 loss to (11) Campbellsville (Ky.).
 
"Today showed us that we're not where we need to be. Hopefully, this proves that to our guys," Head Coach Caleb Schaeffer said. "Hopefully this gets them to have a chip on their shoulder and that they realize that we're close but we're not there yet."
 
In the team's first dual of the tournament, a matchup against Embry-Riddle that Schaeffer said he was worried about, the Argos were what they needed to be. After falling behind 13-0 through three matches, UP rallied to win five of the final six for an 18-14 win.
 
Three Argos got important individual wins against ranked opponents, including a huge upset at 157 for (9) Casey Dobson. The redshirt-sophomore has built the reputation of being a big match giant killer, despite spots of surprising losses.
 
It was the good side of that coin which showed up against returning All-American (7) James Williams. With only seconds left in the match, Dobson trailed 3-2 but a final shot earned him a takedown with 2 seconds left to earn an upset victory that turned the dual in UP's favor.
 
Another crucial win came from (4) Adrian Lyons-Lopez in the premier match of the dual. He faced (5) Kody Davis and the transfer junior continued to prove he is a legitimate national championship contender with a 9-7 decision win.
 
"He is wrestling awesome. He is right there with the top three or four guys in the country," Schaeffer said. "I think right now he is definitely a favorite to be an All-American."
 
After a poor start to the season ( 15)  John Hensley continued his effort to climb back up the national rankings in his 197 match against (13) Elias Mason. Just two nights earlier, Hensley upset (3) Tanner Fischer in a home dual against (12) Southern Oregon and the momentum carried through in a 5-3 decision win against Mason.
 
"You would have to say that John Hensley's form is back," Schaeffer said. "We just need a little more killer instinct from him. We don't have that like we did last year, but we're seeing the level that he can wrestle at again."
 
As impressive as Dobson's win over Williams was, it was overshadowed by his efforts in the team's  second round  match against Missouri Valley. After losses at 125, 133, and 141 and a major decision win from (6) Shonn Roberts, UP trailed MVC 13-4 and another loss would realistically sink the team's chances of winning.
 
Those chances looked even smaller with Dobson set to face another returning All-American, (3) Tobias Barnes. Once again, the young Argo rose to the challenge, following his pattern of keeping the match close and low scoring before getting a late takedown to win. This time the final score was a 5-4 decision in Dobson's favor.
 
Another loss at 165 put the team behind 16-7 with little room for more losses. Fortunately, Lyons-Lopez was the next man up and despite facing another ranked foe, (17) Alex Destra, the junior took care of business with a confident 8-3 decision.
 
Next was (8) Tyler Webley, who was filling in for injured (7) Randy Keesler. The Embry-Riddle dual was the first start for Webley as an Argo. He won that one with a 5-2 decision and then won again against MVC in a 6-3 decision.
 
"He knocked off two really good kids. We didn't miss a beat with Randy out and that was really reassuring. We're pretty solid at 184," Schaeffer said. "He is right there. He is really close to being one of the top guys in the country with Randy."
 
After Hensley lost a close match to (4) Donavan Fouchey at 197, UP needed a pin from junior (11) Matt Hopkins at 285 to tie the match. His opponent was (5) Jesse Gomez. Needing the pin for the team, Hopkins took an aggressive but risky approach despite knowing that a safer approach could earn him an important individual upset. The strategy didn't quite pay off in a tight match that he eventually lost in a 4-3 decision.
 
That loss pumped UP back to the consolation bracket where Campbellsville was waiting. The Tigers were coming off of a win and had been resting for a couple hours, while UP went straight from the end of one dual to the start of the next and clearly wasn't ready to wrestle yet.
 
(11) Isaac Wilson got his first win of the day with a 10-5 decision at 125, but a loss by Fall and by major decision put UP down 10-3 early. Roberts won his third match of the day at 149, making him the only Argo to go 3-0 but his 8-6 decision continued a drought of extra point wins for UP.
 
Next was the red-hot Dobson at 157, but he fell flat against an unranked opponent, losing 5-3. A loss by Fall at 165 put UP way behind with two of Campbellsville's best wrestlers coming up next.
 
At 174, Lyons-Lopez faced (2) Justin Brown. The match was close throughout and a missed call that the official apologized for after the dual was the difference between the match going to overtime and what actually happened, a 6-3 decision loss for the Argo.
 
It got harder from there with Webley going against (1) Charles Sharon. The transfer junior did his best, but couldn't get a takedown on the nation's top wrestler, earning 3 escapes in a 7-3 decision loss.
 
The highlight of the dual was the final two weight classes, both of which resulted in pins for the Argos. Wrestling at 197 for the first time in 2017-18, redshirt-sophomore Justin Harbison won by Fall (3:43) while filling in for Hensley who got a rest after wrestling in the previous two matches.
 
At 285 Hopkins, who has made a habit of pinning wrestlers bigger than him, recorded the fast pin on record in program history. Almost instantly off the opening whistle the junior got a takedown and completed the win by Fall in 16 seconds.
 
By the end of the day, UP's dual record on the year moved to 7-5 with all 5 losses coming to top 15 NAIA teams or NCAA Division II teams. The team will move back to tournament play next, with the Tyler Plummer Classic hosted by Dickinson State University on January 12.