The Muhlenberg wrestling team posted its best finish in four years as the Mules took third at the Centennial Conference Championships (just a half-point behind second-place McDaniel) and

Mills won the 157-pound weight class at King’s and finished second at Ursinus and Messiah.

qualified two wrestlers for the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Junior Matt Loesch was the 197-pound CC champion for the third consecutive year and finished sixth at the NCAAs to become the Mules’ first two-time All-American wrestler. Loesch won a pair of decisions at the NCAAs to reach All-America status, but an injury slowed him on the second day. His placing was the second best for a Muhlenberg wrestler behind his fourth-place finish a year ago.

Senior Dale Mills upset the No. 1 seed to win the 157-pound CC championship – his second in three years – and earn an automatic

Gibson was 17-14 and placed seventh at the Petrofes Invitational.

bid to the NCAAs. Mills lost both his bouts at the NCAAs to the fourth and fifth seeds, but still led Muhlenberg in wins as he went 26-6, including 6-1 in the CC. For his career, he ranks among Muhlenberg’s all-time leaders in wins (third with 94), pins (fifth with 27), technical falls (tied for first with nine) and major decisions (second with 16).

The Mules also got a glimpse of what could be a bright future. Three freshmen finished in the top three at the CC Championships. Billy Hall captured second at 133 pounds, was second on the team with 24 victories and had a team-high 11 pins. He finished in the top three in four tournaments during the season. Rob Kein took second at 141 pounds as he came on strong to end the season, winning 10 of his final 12 bouts to finish 18-9. Matt Horn was third at 184 pounds and finished with six pins – three coming in under a minute.

Muhlenberg also received contributions from senior 165-pounder Chris Gibson, who finished his final season with a career-best 17 wins, and junior Michael Tenenhaus, who captured third place at 125 pounds at the Centennial Conference Championships.

Muhlenberg finished the regular season 8-4, tying McDaniel and Johns Hopkins for second place in the CC with a league 5-2 record.