Cornell has two conference wrestling finalists and three national qualifiers for the first time since the Rams joined the Iowa Conference in 1997.

Cornell juniors Chris Heilman (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s) at 125 pounds and Pat McAuley (Austin, Texas/Lanier) at 157, made the finals of the Iowa Conference Tournament on Feb. 15 at McCormick Gymnasium in Dubuque. Freshman Nick Nothern ( Salina, Kan./Salina South) placed third at 133 pounds and will also advance to the Division III national championships on March 2-3 at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque.

The Rams have also secured their highest finish ever at the IIAC Tournament, placing sixth with 81 ½ points. Only Wartburg (eight) and Luther (six) had more finalists than Cornell.

Heilman opened the tournament with a 17-2 technical fall over Brandon Page of Dubuque. In the semifinals he defeated Wartburg’s Robert Struthers 6-4 in overtime to make the finals and secure a national berth. McAuley pinned Ryan DeVriendt of Central in 6-minutes, 38-seconds before knocking off No. 2-seeded Kyle Forness of Buena Vista 10-7 in the semifinals. Nothern's route was a bit more difficult. He lost his first match to Zac Bartlett of Luther 5-4 in double overtime. From there he won by 13-1 major decision against Nick Johnson of Central, upset No. 2 Gannon Hjerleid of Coe 3-1 and handled Jordan Loy of Loras 9-5 in the third-place match.