Minneapolis, Minn. – Luke Hoerle took the top spot in the 141-pound bracket and Blaise Wagner took third at 197 at the Augsburg University Invitational for the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team Saturday, wrapping the team's week in the Midwest.

The team's week of competition began Thursday with a 23-15 loss in a dual with Loras in a battle between two Top-20 teams in the latest OpenMat rankings.

Hoerle finished the day a perfect 4-0 (one win coming by medical forfeit), Wagner finished 3-1, & the 165-pound pairing of Chris Stathopoulos and Jason Smith took fourth and fifth, respectively, rounding out the day's big winners for the Ducks.

The Rundown & Top Performers

• Hoerle started his day with back-to-back 19-4 technical fall wins. In the semifinals, Hoerle took an 8-6 decision, then won the title via medical forfeit when his scheduled opponent for the final, Ty Bisek of Concordia (MN), withdrew.
• Wagner took an 11-2 major decision win in his first match of the day, then took a tight 10-9 contest in the bracket's quarterfinal round. After being pinned in the semifinals, Wagner closed his day with a 10-8 win in the third-place match. Wagner has top four-finishes in both multi-team events in which he's competed this season.
• Stathopoulos opened his four-match day with a pin, then advanced to the semifinals with an 8-5 decision win. His quest for the final ended in a technical fall loss, before suffering a decision loss in the third-place match.
• Smith wrestled in a team-high five matches Saturday, starting with a 7-2 decision win. After suffering a pin, his journey through the consolation bracket began with a 7-2 decision win, then a 7-1 decision win put him in the fifth-place match. With top-five finishes at the Ned McGinley Invite and Racich Rumble already under his belt this season, Smith made it three-for-three with a 4-2 decision win.
• Elsewhere, Tyler Roe and Carmen Cortese each had a pair of wins at 149 and Harrison Hinojosa had two wins at 174.

From the Mat (Head Coach Anthony Bonaventura)
"Tough competition today, we battled and competed well. I continue to be encouraged by the effort shown by each wrestler that steps on the mat, we compete hard for seven minutes. Super pumped for Luke's performance this week and his success at a new weight. Excited to see him continue to improve and get more comfortable at the weight. Definitely a lot of areas we need to continue to get better in and the team is ready to get back to work!"

Up Next
The Ducks host Ursinus, Castleton State, and Roanoke for a quad meet next Saturday, November 23, starting at Noon.

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