Spartans Wrestling Opponents Change after Unfortunate Act
Dec 21, 2015
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The University of Dubuque wrestling team left earlier this week to journey west and take part in the tough 2015 Desert Duals wrestling meet on December 21. An unfortunate incident in Las Vegas on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 20 which injured some student-athletes from teams scheduled to compete. A driver hit a group of pedestrians on a crowded sidewalk in Las Vegas last night. Delaware Valley University and Pacific University were both affected by this senseless act.
UD was scheduled to wrestle both Delaware Valley University and Pacific University on Monday, but both schools have withdrawn from the tournament.
The car struck five Delaware Valley student-athletes and the University's Director of Athletics and head wrestling coach, Steve Cantrell, as they were on their way to a movie after working out. Four Pacific University wrestlers were also among those injured early Sunday evening. Pacific’s team comprised of 19 student-athletes and coaches, were walking together when the incident occurred. Three of the four injured students were transported to a local hospital, two of whom were later released. The other student has been kept overnight for observation.
“We need to feel blessed. The way our students acted at the scene and the way they were caring for everyone was amazing," said Cantrell. "I called the tournament director and said, 'it doesn't make sense to focus on wrestling today.' They have gone through something emotional and they are processing what they witnessed."
The Delaware Valley students are recovering emotionally from this ordeal and will be arriving back to campus tomorrow. Cantrell is working with a counselor in Las Vegas to provide support for the students and the University will continue to provide counseling services to the students who were affected when they come home.
"The University is thankful that Steve and our student-athletes were not more seriously injured," said Dr. April Vari, Delaware Valley's vice president for student affairs. "Please keep all involved in the incident in your thoughts and prayers."
"Due to the tragic incident in Las Vegas, where four members of the traveling party of our wrestling team were injured and the remainder were witnesses to this terrible event, we have decided that the team will not participate in the scheduled matches on Monday," said Pacific University athletic director Ken Schumann. "The mental and physical well-being of our student-athletes is our top priority and to attempt to wrestle after experiencing such an event would not be in their best interests."
"We are fortunate at the University of Dubuque that none of our wrestlers witnessed or were injured in this senseless tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers go out to all the injured student-athletes from the other competing institutions," commented UD Athletic Director Dan Runkle.
The Spartans will wrestle Concordia (MN) in round 1 (Mat #3), face Johnson & Wales in round 2 (Mat #2), and match-up against St. John's in round 3 (Mat #3). The first round will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time and will be a rolling schedule from there; no specified start times for the duration of the day and only matches on Mat 1 will be video streamed.
NWCA Team Rankings (Dec. 8)
NWCA Individual Rankings (Dec. 8)
MyHouseD3wrestle.com Rankings (Dec. 9)
Desert Duals on TrackWrestling.com
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Mat 1 |
Mat 2 |
Mat 3 |
Mat 4 |
Mat 5 |
Mat 6 |
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Round 1 |
Wartburg 2 |
Alma |
Concordia (MN) |
Grand View |
Concordia MN 2 |
Embry Riddle |
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Baldwin Wallace 2 |
Coe |
Dubuque |
Warner Pacific |
Cental Florida |
Wayland Baptist |
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Round 2 |
Wartburg |
Johnson and Whales |
Concordia MN 2 |
Alma |
Central Florida |
Oklahoma City |
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Baldwin Wallace |
Dubuque |
Baldwin Wallace 2 |
St. John's |
Wartner Pacific |
Wayland Baptist |
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Round 3 |
Wartburg 2 |
Coe |
St. John's |
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Grand View |
Cental Florida |
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Concordia MN 2 |
Baldwin Wallace |
Dubuque |
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Wayland Baptist |
Embry Riddle |
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Round 4 |
Wartburg |
Coe |
Johnson and Whales |
Delaware Valley |
Grand View |
Oklahoma City |
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Alma |
St. John's |
Concordia MN |
Baldwin Wallace |
Embry Riddle |
Warner Pacific |
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Round 5 |
Wartburg 2 |
Coe |
Alma |
St. John's |
Warner Pacific |
Oklahoma City |
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Central Florida |
Johnson and Whales |
Concordia MN |
Baldwin Wallace |
Wayland Baptist |
Embry Riddle |
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Round 6 |
Wartburg |
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Grand View |
Wartburg 2 |
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Johnson and Whales |
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Oklahoma City |
Baldwin Wallace 2 |
