Elmhurst finishes 1-2 at national duals

Last Saturday’s Cliff Keen National Duals in Springfield won’t mark the last time this season that the Elmhurst wrestling team sees some of the top Division III talent in the country.

But it just might be the last time the Bluejays see all that talent in one place.

Elmhurst finished 1-2 Saturday against what coach Steve Marianetti said would be the toughest collection of wrestlers his team will see in the regular season. The No. 6-seeded Bluejays won their opening match against Johnson and Wales 27-15 but dropped their next two against No. 3 seed Ithaca (26-13) and No. 5 St. John’s (26-18).

“The atmosphere was intense,” Marianetti said. “That kind of pressure is good for our guys.”

No. 1 Wartburg won the 16-team tournament, which featured seven of the top 10 teams in the NCAA Division III coaches poll.

Elmhurst (9-2) was shorthanded, forfeiting all three of its matches at 125 pounds after senior Mark Johnson injured his elbow in practice before the tournament. That didn’t really factor in the first two rounds, but it was devastating in the elimination match against St. John’s.

“It’s a rough start when you’re forfeiting your first weight,” Marianetti said. “If we wrestled again, I’d feel pretty confident.”

Elmhurst did have two wrestlers compile perfect 3-0 records Saturday.

Junior Joe Rau — ranked No. 3 in Division III at 184 pounds by d3wrestle.com — pinned his first two opponents and earned a 4-1 decision against Mitchell Hagen of St. John’s.

Rau improved his overall record to a perfect 16-0.

Junior Ryan Earley (Wheaton North) also went unblemished in Springfield. Wrestling at 149 pounds, Earley beat Johnson and Wales’ Richard Pilkington 13-7, Ithaca’s Kevin Collins by an 8-0 major decision, and Ryan Arne of St. John’s 4-3.

Earley is 14-3 on the year and has won four straight matches.

“He’s been good all year,” Marianetti said. “He’s just continuing to get better.”

North Central, Elmhurst’s College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival, was also at the National Duals. The Cardinals went 0-2 — losing to Wartburg (36-4) and Dubuque (21-14) — but junior 125-pounder Nathan Fitzenreider (Wheaton North) wrestled well enough to earn the CCIW wrestler of the week honor, announced Tuesday.

Fitzenreider went 3-0 in Springfield, tearing through Johnson and Wales’ Andrew Gauthier 15-0 and Dubuque’s Marcus Rivera-Ingalls 8-0. But his most impressive victory was his 10-1 major decision victory over Wartburg’s Kenny Anderson, who is ranked No. 2 at 125 pounds.

“That’s a pretty impressive win, when you’re major-decisioning one of the top-ranked guys in the country,” North Central coach Kevin Bratland said. “His goal is to win a national title, and he’s on his way to doing that.”

Fitzenreider is 5-3 and ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds after dropping down from 133 pounds — where he was 18-1 — at midseason.

Basketball: Senior guard Meghan Merklein earned her second CCIW Player of the Week award of the 2011-12 season Tuesday for her contributions to the Elmhurst women’s basketball team’s 2-0 start to conference play.

Merklein was instrumental in Elmhurst’s 56-53 win over North Park, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and her game-high 18 points on Saturday helped the Bluejays to a 60-46 win over CCIW-rival Wheaton.

The 5-foot-11 Merklein is averaging 18.8 points a game for Elmhurst, which started the season 11-2.

North Central: After a week in which he set a new personal season high in points and led North Central to a 2-0 start in conference play, Derek Raridon (Neuqua Valley) was named the CCIW men#146;s basketball player of the week Monday.The 6-foot-6 junior guard led North Central to a 73-50 win over Carthage on Jan. 4, scoring a season-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He added 10 points and 3 assists Saturday as the Cardinals edged Augustana 67-62.Raridon #147;played well against Carthage, shot it well,#148; North Central coach Todd Raridon said Tuesday. #147;Against Augustana I thought defensively he played really well.#148;North Central (9-5, 3-0) dispatched Elmhurst 70-56 Tuesday and is tied for the CCIW lead with Illinois Wesleyan (12-2, 3-0). The Cardinals will play perhaps the game of the week in the CCIW when they make the short trip to Wheaton to play the Thunder (11-3, 2-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday.