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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman wrestling team will compete in the 2012 National Wrestling Coaches Association/Cliff Keen National Duals presented by Hibiclens and The Marines this Saturday and Sunday in Springfield, Ill. The Bulldogs will open the tournament with a match against third seeded St. Cloud State (Minn.) at 11:00 a.m.

About The Bulldogs:

Truman enters one of the nation's most prestigious events with a 2-2 dual record this season with both losses coming against Division I opponents.  The Bulldogs wins came against Central Bible College and Hannibal-LaGrange.

Sophomore Ryan Maus is ranked seventh in Division II in the 149-pound weight class and has a 7-3 record this season. His older brother Alex leads the team with nine wins while wrestling at 141. Josh Wells (165) has also posted seven wins and Devon Fenstermaker (157) is 6-5 on the season.

Bulldog Potential Line-up:

125-Daniel Karlskin (2-8)

133 – Will Evans (1-5)

141 – Alex Maus (9-5)

149 – Ryan Maus (7-3) or Dylan Heiney (3-4)

157 – Devon Fenstermaker (6-5) or Jordan Powell (0-0)

165 – Josh Wells (7-5)

174 – Zach Hayes (2-8)

184 – Tanner Edwards (0-4) or Gary Janesko (0-0)

197 – Helmut Rentschler (3-7) or Warren Galloway (1-2)

285 – Joel Geders (4-6)

The Format:

Sixteen Division II teams will compete in a double-elimination dual tournament. Nine schools are ranked in the NCAA Division II Coaches Association rankings with the five coming from the top six in the country.

About St. Cloud State:

The Huskies placed second at the Division II National Championships last year and were the preseason number one team entering 2011-12. St. Cloud State is 6-0 in duals this season with five wrestlers (Jacob Horn-125, Tad Merritt-165, Shamus O'Grady-174, Derek Skala-184 and Jacob Kahnke-285) ranked nationally. Four of those five were all-Americans last season with Kahnke finishing as the national runner-up in the heavyweight division.

Others In The Draw:

Truman will face either Central Oklahoma, ranked seventh in Division II or Northern State (S.D.) in their second round match. The Broncos feature five wrestlers ranked nationally and have three returning all-Americans while Northern State will have the defending heavyweight champion in Matt Meuleners in their line-up.

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will return from Springfield to face Missouri Valley College in a dual on Saturday January 14 before traveling to Warrensburg for the University of Central Missouri Denker Open on Sunday.