LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree redshirt-senior Ryan Strope won both matches Feb. 3 to help the Bearcats to a Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season championship.
Strope (Fatima High School) won matches at 157 pounds against Bellarmine and Indianapolis to help McKendree to a 6-0 conference dual record.
Strope also went 2-1 Sunday to finish the regular season. He dropped a 4-3 decision to Notre Dame College's Fernie Silva - ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II by InterMat - but bounced back with a 13-0 major decision win against Ouachita Baptist's Sean Butler, followed by a 7-1 win against Limestone's Avery Dinardi.
InterMat has Strope ranked No. 6 at 157. Strope also pinned Central Oklahoma's Bryan Dutton - ranked No. 11 - in last Wednesday's dual.
Sophomore Frankie Falotico (Blair Oaks High School) also won two matches Sunday at 149 pounds. He won a 15-4 major decision against Notre Dame's Robert Otero and added an 8-2 win against Limestone's Nicholas Leitten.
McKendree begins NCAA Division II regional competition Feb. 23 at St. Cloud, Minn.