Falcon first
Crenshaw captures crown at 157
| Results |

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Notre Dame Wrestling Falcons notched an important program milestone Saturday when junior grappler Victer Crenshaw (Cincinnati, OH) was crowned as a National Champion. Crenshaw went 4-0 in the 157-pound weight class in a methodical march of decisions to lead Notre Dame to a 13th-place finish at their second National Championships.

Crenshaw, a 5-foot-7 junior who transferred to NDC from Cleveland State, becomes the first Wrestling Falcon to place first in a National Championship. The Cincinnati native (Sycamore High School) came into the tournament, held at the Gateway Arena, ranked No. 5 at 157. In running the table in four bouts over the weekend (Thursday through Saturday), Crenshaw defeated three other ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked Wayne French (Sr/Malta, MT) of the University of Great Falls (MT). Crenshaw defeated French, 7-2 in the title bout.

"This is great for our program," said NDC Head Coach Frank Romano, whose Falcons placed 20th at nationals a year ago. "Victer is a tremendous talent, and I've seen him work hard to earn this title."

Crenshaw was nearly just half of an NDC tandem to be crowned National Champions -. sophomore Adam Koballa (Twinsburg, OH) placed second at 141. Koballa went 4-1 in Sioux City, picking up a pin and a major before bowing out to top-ranked Kyle Jahn (Sr/Bolingbrook, IL) of McKendree University (IL) in the championship bout.

Both Crenshaw and Koballa earned NAIA All-American nods for their performances. (The top-six finishers in each weight class are awarded All-American Awards.)

In addition to Crenshaw and Koballa, Notre Dame also get strong performances on the mats from Jason Spencer (Jr/Mayfield) at 157, Nick Terifaj (So/Strongsville, OH), and Tyler Savage (Fr/Carlisle, OH).

Spencer went 2-2 with his only losses being to the eventual second and fourth-place finishers. Terifaj also went 2-2. Savage went 1-2 with a win by fall over the division's third-ranked grappler, Cory Johnston (Sr/Glasgow, MT) of Dickinson State (ND).

As a team, the Falcons scored 51.5 points, nearly triple the 17.5 they scored a year ago when they finished 20th. Lindenwood University (MO) won the event with a team score of 130; the victory marked their second straight national championship.

"We showed some real improvement compared to this time last year," said Romano. "As we become more seasoned and stable as a program, we want to become a championship-caliber wrestling team."

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

VICTER VICTORIOUS: Victer Crenshaw went 22-3 in his 25 collegiate bouts in 2007-08. The junior mat man from Cincinnati earned five falls, four tech falls, and five major decisions along the way. Crenshaw placed third in the State Championship in his senior year at Sycamore, and he has now won 20-plus bouts in each of his three collegiate seasons. He is now 68-29 over his combined three seasons at Cleveland State and Notre Dame.

411 ON 141: Wrestling at 141 pounds, Adam Koballa came on to record an 11-3 collegiate record for NDC this season. The transfer for Old Dominion (VA) recorded two pins, a tech fall, and three majors among his 11 victories.

TWO FOR 22: Jason Spencer came on strong in the season's second half to post a 22-12 mark, tying Crenshaw for the team lead in bouts won.