ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Concordia University wrestling team has operated like a machine during the course of GPAC dual action. Fresh off a dominant 4-0 day last week at the GPAC duals, the Bulldogs returned to action on Thursday night (Jan. 31) with an opportunity to clinch at least a share of the conference dual championship. The Bulldogs rose to the occasion, won seven matches and toppled host Northwestern, 28-10.
It’s been quite a run in Levi Calhoun’s debut season as a collegiate head coach. Concordia fought back for a 21-17 win at Midland on Nov. 15 but other than that, it’s been smooth sailing within the conference. The Bulldogs are now 7-0 in GPAC action with one dual remaining on the slate.
The program can now claim its fourth conference dual title in five seasons with the others coming in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. Calhoun was an assistant for the latter two championship seasons. He is now the third coach in program history to preside over a conference title campaign.
“After the dual I told them we clinched (a share), but that doesn’t really mean a whole lot,” Calhoun said. “That’s not the goal. The goal is to win it outright. Nothing has been accomplished yet. We’ve got a big one next week and that’s what we’re going to be preparing for.”
Of the seven Concordia victories on the night, four came with bonus points. That included an 18-0 win by technical fall delivered by junior Zack Moistner at 133 pounds. Moistner racked up 16 points on near falls while starting a wave of triumphs for the visitors. Moistner lifted the Bulldog spirits back up after Mario Ybarra dropped a 5-1 decision in a battle between two of the conference’s top 125-pounders.
At 141, junior Alberto Garcia piggybacked off of Moistner with a pin of Cole Mills that came in the second period with Garcia up 9-0. Then came a key decision in sudden victory that went the way of Cameron Devers at 149. Devers defeated Dante Preciado, a 2017 All-American. One match later, Chucky Hedrick put together a major decision after nearly earning a pin of his Red Raider foe at 157. It was suddenly an 18-3 Concordia advantage at the intermission.
The Bulldogs eventually clinched the team victory at 184 where junior Darrin Miller (ranked sixth in the GPAC) pulled off a minor upset of the conference’s fifth-ranked 184-pounder in Bennett Sikkink, 3-2. That made the team scoring 25-7 with just two matches remaining.
Of course this season’s two most reliable standouts – junior Deandre Chery at 174 and redshirt freshman Michael Stann at 285 – also came through. Perhaps the only disappointment for both top-rated GPAC wrestlers was that they were unable to add to their lofty season pin totals. Chery (31-8) won by major decision (14-2) over Haggen Meyer and Stann (33-11) took a 4-0 decision over Victor Garcia.
After winning 21 conference duals in a row spanning the 2014-15 through 2016-17 seasons, Concordia slipped to 5-3 in GPAC duals last season. It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to climb back towards the top. In its seven conference duals this winter, Concordia has won 55 of 70 individual matches and has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 258-56.
“The guys are in that mindset of wanting to win and compete,” Calhoun said. “They’re buckling down and looking to score points. They’re offensive minded and continuing to grind. They believe they have a chance to win no matter who they step on the mat against. Just having that mindset has been huge.”
The most significant wrestling of the campaign is yet to come. The Bulldogs will be at the Dave Edmonds Sioux City Open on Saturday (9 a.m. start) in their final regular-season tournament of 2018-19. Concordia is set to make its final home appearance next Thursday (Feb. 7) when it welcomes Morningside for a 7 p.m. dual. Morningside (6-1 GPAC) and Midland (6-1 GPAC) remain in the hunt for a share of the conference dual title.