CEDAR FALLS – Senior 184-pounder Cael McLaren notched his 100th career victory Friday as Cornell's men's wrestling team went 1-1 during the opening day of the NWCA Division III National Duals at the UNI-Dome.
 
The No. 24 nationally-ranked Rams battled No. 21 Wabash in a 21-20 loss decided by tiebreaking criteria in the preliminary round. Cornell bounced back in a big way with a 32-6 victory over Adrian in the 17-24 place bracket.
 
Cornell (10-5) continues action Saturday with a 9 a.m. dual against No. 17 Millikin. The Rams will wrestle a second dual Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Sixth-ranked McLaren became the 13th member of Cornell's 100-win club with a 13-4 major decision over Wabash's Zachary Huckaby. McLaren is the first Ram to reach 100 wins since Trevor Engle (112 from 2012-16). 
 
McLaren pinned Adrian's 15th-ranked Blake Williams in 4:32 later in the day, boosting his career mark to 101-35. The 2024 NCAA qualifier improved to 19-1 on the season.
 
In the opening dual, the Rams were tied 20-20 with Wabash after splitting 10 matches. Wabash was declared the winner based on the second tiebreaker criteria with a greater number of falls (1-0).
 
Cornell's 13th-ranked Treyten Steffen gave Cornell a 20-17 lead with a 5-3 upset over fifth-ranked Charles Baczek at 197. Wabash's Titus Waters then edged Jackson Brinker in the final bout at heavyweight, 4-1, to even the team score.      
 
Jase Van Pelt (16-0 at 125) and Landon Card (18-2 at 149) both won their respective matches by technical fall. Brian Petry won 4-1 in sudden victory at 165. McLaren recorded four takedowns in his milestone win at 184.
 
The Rams won eight of 10 matches against Adrian, highlighted by back-to-back pins from McLaren and Steffen (:40 at 197). Steffen moved his career wins total to 91.
 
Cornell also picked up bonus points via major decisions from Eli Sneed (8-0 at 133) and Card (11-1 at 149). Dylan Heater won 5-2 at 141, and Petry prevailed 4-0 at 165.
 
Cornell's Jace Nelson-Brown outlasted Spencer Vos for an 8-5 sudden victory at 174. Brinker closed the dual with a 2-0 decision at heavyweight.