SEWARD, Neb. – In an event that will help decide who ultimately wins the GPAC regular season title, Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling hosted all nine conference members on Tuesday (Nov. 26). As part of GPAC Day of Duals No. 1, the Bulldogs handled Dakota Wesleyan, 32-10, before falling by the same score while up against Morningside. Individually for Concordia, Steven Barnes, Creighton Baughman and Barret Brandt each went 2-0 on the day. There were eight total duals wrestled inside Friedrich Arena in the first of two largescale duals days for the conference.
Head Coach Josh Watts’ squad stands at 3-1 in GPAC duals on the season. The Bulldogs managed to avenge their loss to Dakota Wesleyan from the 2023-24 season.
“We’re competing hard,” Watts said. “We’re being aggressive and wrestling to score points. We were chasing bonus points in both of those duals. The guys fought hard. We have room to improve, but we’re working on it. We have to fix some stuff. We have to get our sprawling together and get some chain wrestling going. We’re doing it in spurts. When we do it, we score or we stop them from scoring. We have to be more consistent.”
In the day’s first dual, Concordia surrendered the first bout by major decision before then going on a roll. The Bulldogs won eight of the final nine matches versus Dakota Wesleyan, including triumphs by bonus points from Bryce Karlin (pin at 133), Baughman (major at 141), Brandt (pin at 174) and Hunter Weimer (major at 184). Victories by decision were claimed by Barnes (149), Tommy Wentz (165), Teegan Tschampel (197) and Mason Garcia (285). The two-time NAIA national qualifier Baughman posted the 60th and 61st wins of his Bulldog career. Concordia notched 20 takedowns compared to DWU’s seven for the dual.
The school record holder for pins in a single season, Brandt (Syracuse, Neb.) is a threat to end each match at any moment. He highlighted Concordia’s efforts against the perennially strong Mustangs by upsetting the GPAC’s top-ranked 174-pounder, Alex Vandyke (ranked No. 18 in the NAIA). Brandt (7-1 record on the season) nearly pinned Vandyke before polishing off a 10-1 major decision.
“I really worked on patience,” Brandt said. “Staying in my ties, working him and making him tired for the second and third periods. We want to gas them out. I kind of got lucky on that first-period near-fall. Third period, I took him down and rode him out.”
Said Watts of Brandt, “Barret’s tough. We’re working on some things with him right now. Barret can be one of the top guys in the country. I believe in him. Once he tweaks some things, he’s going to be really dangerous.”
A fine day for Barnes at 149 also included a win over Morningside’s Chris Aragon. The Bulldogs could have made the team scoring tighter if not for close losses by Grant Wells (133) and Cole Price (165). Overall, Concordia won 11 matches on the day. It entered the weekend narrowly ranked in front of the Mustangs for the No. 2 spot in the GPAC.
The next event on the schedule is the Doane University Open slated for Saturday, Dec. 7. The tournament is slated to get underway at 9 a.m. CT from Crete, Neb. GPAC dual action will resume on Dec. 13 when Doane will make a visit to Friedrich Arena.
GPAC Day of Duals 1 Results
Round 1
Concordia 32, Dakota Wesleyan 10
Hastings 28, Waldorf 19
Briar Cliff 46, Midland 6
Round 2
Doane 47, Northwestern 0
Waldorf 36, Midland 17
Dakota Wesleyan 25, Hastings 22
Round 3
Morningside 32, Concordia 10
Doane 40, Briar Cliff 9
Find individual match results via TrackWrestling.com