STORM LAKE, Iowa – Eight of the 13 Bulldogs to compete at Saturday’s (Dec. 2) Buena Vista University Open in Storm Lake, Iowa, produced place finishes in their respective brackets. Concordia turned in a combined record of 21-23 while in action at an event that got started a little bit before 10 a.m. CT.
The outing marked the fourth tournament of the 2017-18 season for second-year head coach Andrew Nicola’s squad. Of the 10 wrestlers that made up Thursday’s dual lineup in the 55-0 blanking of Dakota Wesleyan, only sophomore Cody Lambert took to the mat in Storm Lake.
Assistant coach Levi Calhoun traveled with the team on Saturday. Said Calhoun, “Seth Harrell wrestled really well. Cody Lambert wrestled lights out. He’s going to be a power for us. Tyler Jorgensen and Blake Castillo wrestled well. A lot of guys did. It was one of our better showings at a tournament. I was pretty happy with our young guys. Most of our guys that wrestled were young. It was a long day but it was good to see our guys putting matches together. We saw a lot of promising stuff.”
After a loss to a NCAA Division II opponent, Chris Kimball responded by winning his final three bouts of the day at 149 pounds. He wrapped up a first place consolation bracket finish with a victory over Brandon Crews of Morningside. Both Lambert (149) and Jorgensen (174) were runner ups in consolation action. Meanwhile, additional place finishes were recorded by Kyle Carey (fourth at 141), Kirk Kaliszewski (sixth at 165), Castillo (third at 174), Harrell (third at 133-B) and Chase Ryan (sixth at 165-B).
Three Bulldogs tied for a team high with three wins on the day: Castillo (3-1), Kaliszewski (3-2) and Kimball (3-1). Ten Concordia grapplers registered at least one win. A GPAC champion last season, Kaliszewski bounced back after early knockouts in the season’s first three tournaments. He is expected to be part of next week’s dual lineup.
The Bulldogs now look forward to their second home dual of the season, which will take place Friday (Dec. 8) inside Walz Arena. Northwest Kansas Technical College, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association, will serve as the opponent for a tussle set to get started at 7 p.m. CT.