HASTINGS, Neb. – Eight Bulldogs secured spots in the conference semifinals as part of day one action at the 2025 GPAC Wrestling Championships hosted by Hastings College. The eight semifinalists from Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling won a combined 11 matches on Friday (Feb. 21), including 10 that came with bonus points. Of the 12 Bulldogs in action, 11 remain alive within their respective brackets. They have totaled 13 wins with a full day remaining.
Head Coach Josh Watts’ squad will enter day two in second place with 68 team points. The eight semifinalists are Creighton Baughman (141), Steven Barnes (149), Hagen Heistand (149), Cole Price (157), Brent Ward (165), Tommy Wentz (165), Barret Brandt (184) and Hunter Weimer (184).
“For the most part, according to seeds, we won the matches we needed to win,” Watts said. “We put ourselves in position to qualify quite a few guys (for nationals) tomorrow. We just need to take advantage of it. Today was about winning, getting in the team race and getting as many guys in the range of qualifying as possible.”
The 68 team points represent a significant improvement from the 42 points Concordia tallied on day one of the 2024 GPAC Championships. Both Baughman and Wentz are aiming to repeat as conference finalists. Ranked No. 6 in the NAIA at 141, Baughman performed like a man on a mission as he pinned Hastings’ Dalton Michael and Waldorf’s Shiwoko Shiwoko (both in less than four minutes) for his 117th and 118th respective career collegiate wins.
Other Bulldogs to win twice on Friday were Price (pin and major decision) and Brandt (technical fall and pin) as both blazed through their first and quarterfinal round matches. The five additional Concordia semifinalists had byes before emerging victorious inside Lynn Farrell Arena. Barnes, Wentz and Weimer each won by major decision while Heistand won by technical fall and Ward eked out a 4-3 decision. Heistand has been close to unbeatable at 15-2 on the season.
Baughman and Wentz are returning national qualifiers and so too is heavyweight Mason Garcia. The Arroyo Grande, Calif., native Garcia is one of three Bulldogs who will be wrestling on the back side of the bracket on Saturday. Garcia lost to 17th-ranked Zeph Sivels in his only match on Friday. Meanwhile, Bryce Karlin (133) and Torrance Keehn (197) both went 1-1 with a pin on day one. Keehn matched up with teammate Teegan Tschampel in an elimination match and won by pin in the final action on Friday.
Concordia trails only Doane (106.5) in the team standings. The Bulldogs are guaranteed to have at least two GPAC finalists as 149-pounders Barnes and Heistand and 165-pounders Ward and Wentz go head-to-head on Saturday. All Concordia semifinal matches are listed below. If Baughman earns a win over Northwestern’s Noah Parmelee, he will reach the conference final for the third-straight year.
The 2025 GPAC Wrestling Championships will resume at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday. For complete details on how to follow the action live and for information on NAIA automatic bid allocations, check out our tournament preview linked HERE.
Said Watts at the conclusion of day one, “We are a better tournament team than we are a dual team. Most of my teams usually are. Tomorrow we have some interesting matchups as far as the team race goes so we need to come ready to go.”
GPAC Semifinal Matchups
141 – Creighton Baughman (Concordia) vs. Noah Parmelee (Northwestern)
149 – Steven Barnes (Concordia) vs. Hagen Heistand (Concordia)
157 – Cole Price (Concordia) vs. Abraham Dirkx (Morningside)
165 – Brent Ward (Concordia) vs. Tommy Wentz (Concordia)
184 – Barret Brandt (Concordia) vs. Tyson Beauperthuy (Doane)
184 – Hunter Weimer (Concordia) vs. Temuujijn Mendbileg (Dakota Wesleyan)