SEWARD, Neb. – After wrapping up final exams this week, the Concordia University Wrestling team will make its way to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2023 Eagle Duals hosted by Avila University. By the time action gets underway at Mabee Fieldhouse on Saturday, the Bulldogs will have had two weeks off from competition. Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad will make up for that idle stretch by taking on five nonconference opponents in a series of duals as part of the event in the City of Fountains. Concordia owns a season dual record of 3-2.
2023 Eagle Duals – Saturday, Dec. 16
--More Info: https://www.avilaathletics.com/sports/mwrest/2023-24/2023_MWR_Duals_Schedule
--Location: Mabee Fieldhouse (Kansas City, Mo.)
--Live Webcast | Live Results
Concordia Schedule (times after the first dual are approximate):
10 a.m. vs. Central Methodist University (Mo.)
12 p.m. vs. Missouri Valley College
1 p.m. vs. Avila University (Mo.)
2 p.m. vs. Baker University (Kan.)
3 p.m. vs. Waldorf University (Iowa)
Most recently, the Bulldogs pummeled Bethany College (Kan.), 55-0, in a dual and had 13 individuals compete at the Conner/Oppenheim Open hosted by Doane the weekend of Dec. 1-2. In the dual victory, Concordia won nine matches with bonus points, including five via pin. The pins were delivered by Creighton Baughman (141) in 1:38, TJ Allen (149) in 4:11, Barret Brandt (165) in 1:29, Stephen Duffy (174) in 1:40 and Teegan Tschampel (197) in 0:35. The next day in Crete, Neb., Baughman placed fourth at 141 pounds and Hunter Weimer placed fourth at 184 pounds. Bulldog wrestlers combined for a total of 15 wins on the day.
New sets of conference and national rankings were released last week by the NAIA. As a team, Concordia is ranked sixth in the GPAC and is credited with having six ranked competitors at the conference level (list below). Now 13-4 (5-0 in duals) this season, Baughman has dropped only one match to an NAIA opponent. He moved up in the rankings and is now No. 1 in the GPAC and No. 8 in the NAIA at 141. Meanwhile, Tommy Wentz is rated as the conference’s No. 2 165-pounder. Syracuse, Neb., native Barret Brandt leads the team in wins (16-6 record) and pins (15). He broke into the GPAC rankings at No. 4 in the 165-pound class.
A breakdown of the ranked wrestlers the Bulldogs could potentially see on Saturday is included below. The competition will be stiff as Concordia will go head-to-head with No. 11 Missouri Valley and No. 18 Baker as part of the Eagle Duals. At the national level, Missouri Valley boasts nine ranked wrestlers, Baker has six, Central Methodist has five and Avila has three. The highest rated individual from the upcoming opponents is No. 3 Malachi Karibo (197) of Baker. Among the Eagle Duals foes, Avila is a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and Avila resides in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The duals event on Saturday will mark the final outing of the calendar year 2023. The Bulldogs will resume the season on Jan. 6 at the Cusatis Open hosted by Hastings. The next GPAC dual will be at Doane on Jan. 12.
Ranked Competitors
Concordia
125 – Bryson Bussinger: GPAC – 6th
141 – Creighton Baughman: GPAC – 1st | NAIA – 8th
157 – Jeaven Scdoris: GPAC – 6th
165 – Tommy Wentz: GPAC – 2nd
165 – Barret Brandt: GPAC – 4th
174 – Stephen Duffy: GPAC – 6th
Central Methodist
125 – Colton King: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 6th
141 – Mitchell Huber: HAAC – 7th
141 – Chuck Fitzgerald: HAAC – 8th
157 – Donald Griffin: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 13th
165 – Roman Garcia: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 16th
174 – Sincere Hall-Osbourne: HAAC – 5th
184 – Hayden Burks: HAAC – 5th
184 – Trey Duhon: HAAC – 7th
197 – Cameron Cornman: HAAC – 6th | NAIA – 25th
285 – Garine Gibson: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 21st
285 – Austin Foye: HAAC – 4th
No. 11 Missouri Valley
125 – Elijah Asuncion: HAAC – 6th
133 – Haden Hernandez: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 10th
141 – Donavan Parn: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 19th
141 – Kristofer Arrey: HAAC – 4th | NAIA – 25th
149 – Chase Zollmann: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 7th
149 – Bryson Anderson: HAAC – 6th | NAIA – 25th
165 – Jokiah Sewell: HAAC – 7th
165 – Jesus Gutierrez: HAAC – 8th
174 – Brenden Parks: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 19th
184 – Drake Tipton: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 20th
197 – Elijah Hynes: HAAC – 4th | NAIA – 8th
285 – Joshua Isaac: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 7th
No. 18 Baker
125 – Saoul Prado: HAAC – 4th | NAIA – 21st
149 – Dallas Koelzer: HAAC – 3rd | NAIA – 9th
149 – Nikolas Slatoff: HAAC – 4th | NAIA – 12th
165 – Joey Hancock: HAAC – 4th | NAIA – 20th
184 – Brett Bober: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 9th
197 – Malachi Karibo: HAAC – 2nd | NAIA – 3rd
197 – Kevin Lund: HAAC – 7th
Waldorf
133 – Malachi Wallway: HAAC – 8th
149 – Tyler Okada: HAAC – 7th
157 – Jalon Strong: HAAC – 5th
Avila
125 – Tyler Johnson: KCAC – 2nd
133 – Ryan McNeel: KCAC – 5th
149 – Logan Johnson: KCAC – 2nd | NAIA – 21st
157 – Karter Brink: KCAC – 3rd
165 – Jake Callahan: KCAC – 3rd
174 – Corey Holmes: KCAC – 4th
184 – Daryus Webb: KCAC – 2nd | NAIA – 15th
197 – Blake Becker: KCAC – 3rd
285 – Gavin Howes: KCAC – 1st | NAIA – 23rd
285 – Nathan Coley: KCAC – 4th