2010-2011 Academic National Champions
The University of Indianapolis’ wrestling team was named the 2010-2011 Academic National Champions by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association. The team won with an overall 3.419 grade point average, which is taken from ten wrestlers, eight of whom wrestled in the regional competition. Five members also made the NWCA All-Academic teams: senior Matt Irwin, juniors Ethan Harris and David Lopez, sophomore Shelby Mappes who earned an honorable mention and freshman George Lopez.
“This award is a reflection of the student athletes we have on our campus, and not just the wrestlers,” said Head Coach Jason Warthan. “The bar is set pretty high around here, and our expectations are very similar across the board.”
UIndy placed seventh last year as a team and made themselves national champions this year. The 2010-2011 Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team consists of 160 students from 37 universities and colleges. To achieve this honor, student athletes must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, be in their second full year, be a varsity member on the team, demonstrate a degree of skill in their sport and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation.
“We strive to have the best student athletes possible, so of course we would love to win this award again,” Warthan said. “I hope that we will be in position to do that again soon.”
Senior Nick Walpole also was crowned National Champion in the 149-pound division. He went into the regional and national wrestling meets ranked third in the country in his division. At nationals, he won his first two matches, which put him in the semi-finals.
“Nick was able to fight through a hostile crowd and score a last-second takedown to break the 2-2 tie and record the 4-2 victory [in the final],” Warthan said.
With the victory, Walpole became UIndy’s first national champion in wrestling. He finished the season with a record of 42-3 with 17 pins.
“I wasn’t really surprised that I had won because I had been training hard all year and thought I had a chance to win if I wrestled hard enough in all my matches,” Walpole said. “I had great coaches in Jason Warthan, Bob Brubeck,and my father, who helped me continue to improve throughout the year. Also my trainer Ned Shannon helped tremendously after I sprained my ankle a week before regionals.”
Senior Matt Irwin, who also competed at nationals, also was named All-American in the 141-pound division and earned sixth place. Walpole and Irwin together gained enough points in the tournament to move UIndy into 12th place overall.
“Matt Irwin also gave me great competition in practice, as well as my other teammates,” Walpole said. “I hope that this will drive me toward the coaching aspect in the future, because my love for wrestling is something I want to continue to pursue.”
Warthan said winning two national titles was a great end to the UIndy wrestling season.
The Greyhounds will graduate just four seniors from the 2010-2011 33-man roster.
