2024 GPAC Championships Results
SEWARD, Neb. – For the second time since the GPAC began sponsoring a conference wrestling tournament in 2007, the Concordia University Wrestling program has the honor of hosting the event. While competing inside the friendly confines of Friedrich Arena, four Bulldogs secured spots in the semifinals as part of the 2024 GPAC Wrestling Championships. Day one of two of the tournament saw 10 Concordia wrestlers remain alive in their respective brackets.
Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad will enter day two situated in fourth place in the conference team race with 42 points. The top three are Doane (81), Morningside (73.5) and Dakota Wesleyan (51).
“Obviously we’d like to have all 12 on the front side of the bracket, but that’s not the way it works,” Clasen said. “So far, I’ve been very pleased with the effort. Our guys who maybe didn’t achieve their goals and aren’t on the front side, they’re coming back and scoring bonus points for us. I’m very pleased with the guys who made it to the semifinals. Our guys are wrestling well right now. That’s all you can really ask.”
The GPAC semifinalists wearing the navy and white singlets will be Creighton Baughman (141), Barret Brandt (165), Tommy Wentz (165) and Mason Garcia (197). Ranked eighth nationally at 141, Baughman breezed into the conference semis with two first-period pins as he wiped out Hastings’ Sebastian Macedo and Jamestown’s Pedro Corona. Those results pushed Baughman’s season win count to 30 and likely assures him of returning to nationals, auto bid or not. Baughman will draw Aric Williams of Dakota Wesleyan in Saturday’s semifinals.
At 165 pounds, the freshman Brandt continues to star as a pinning machine. The Syracuse, Neb., native received a bye in the first round and then took out Briar Cliff’s Jackson Balmer in 4:17 for his 23rd pin (school record) of the season. Meanwhile, Wentz and Garcia needed to win twice on Friday in order to reach the semis. Wentz (Fremont, Neb.) earned victories by technical fall, 16-0 (6:31), over Midland’s Trey McDougald and by decision, 7-2, over Morningside’s Caden Eggleston. Brandt and Wentz are on opposite sides of the 165-pound bracket. The Arroyo Grande, Calif., native Garcia claimed wins by major decision, 15-1, over Dakota Wesleyan’s Colten Hink and by pin (5:00) over Northwestern’s Kaleb Lind. Brandt, Wentz and Garcia are each hopeful of qualifying for nationals for the first time.
Concordia wrestlers combined for 11 wins on day one. Six of those victories came via pin, two came by major decision, two came by decision and one came by technical fall. Beyond the semifinalists, four Bulldogs earned exactly one win on Friday: Bryson Bussinger (125), TJ Allen (149), Hunter Weimer (184) and Clayton “CJ” Laabs (285). Laabs put the finishing touches on the day with a pin of Hastings’ Matheson Rodriquez in 2:13. Unfortunately, Bussinger and Garret Moser (184) saw their seasons come to an end. Grant Wells (133) and Jeaven Scdoris (157) both went 0-1 on Friday and will return to the mat on Saturday. There will be six Concordia grapplers in action on the back side of the brackets on Saturday.
Said Clasen, “This tournament is about winning the matches you’re supposed to win and then upsetting a few guys along the way. We knew that was going to be the case when we saw the seeds and where our guys ended up. Ultimately, if you’re in this tournament, your goal should be to win it. Nothing changed in terms of our prep or the way we talked to our guys.”
Automatic bids to the national tournament are awarded based on the allocations announced by the NAIA on Feb. 8. Those allocations can be found HERE. The GPAC has 28 total auto bids (the number at 157 was dropped to two). Last season, the Bulldogs traveled four wrestlers to the national stage in Park City, Kan.
Session II of the GPAC tournament will get underway at 10 a.m. CT from Friedrich Arena. Results can be followed live via Track Wrestling. The Concordia Sports Network will continue to stream all mats with Aaron Swayze calling the action.
GPAC Semifinal Matchups
141 – No. 8 Creighton Baughman (Concordia) vs. Aric Williams (Dakota Wesleyan)
165 – Barret Brandt (Concordia) vs. No. 20 Kaleb Bigelow (Dakota Wesleyan)
165 – Tommy Wentz (Concordia) vs. No. 17 Zander Ernst (Morningside)
197 – Mason Garcia (Concordia) vs. No. 1 Bradley Antesberger (Doane)