WICHITA, Kan. – Hagen Heistand claimed runner up at 149 pounds in the NAIA National Championships on Saturday night (March 8). Heistand won four consecutive matches at Park City Arena before falling in the national final by major decision (12-0). Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling finished tied in 17th place with 29 total points.
“I felt like the team fought hard all weekend,” Coach Watts said. “Really proud of the two All-Americans and national finalist in our first season here. Lots of progress was made and we put in a lot of work this offseason. Hagen was ranked 11th and took down a junior college national champion from last season in the second round. He beat the No. 3 seed in the quarters and No. 10 Pena in the semis, who is a three-time All-American now. He had a great run and a great season.”
No. 11 Heistand knocked down the No. 6, 3 and 10 seeds to make the 149-pound championship and would face off against the No. 8 seed Elijah Larsen (Grand View) in a rematch from the Missouri Valley Invite. With the Campbell transfer having only given up one takedown before the final, Larsen was able to break through the seemingly impenetrable double leg defense defeating Heistand.
Before the final, the Dow City, Iowa, product had outscored his opponents 33-17. Heistand joins an extremely short list of Bulldogs who have graced the national final floor including, Andrew Schulte (2016), Tanner Farmer (2020) and Ceron Francisco (2017). The first year transfer completes his opening year as a Bulldog with a 20-4 overall record and scored 17 individual team points at nationals.
Said Heistand, “It was fun coming in as the 11-seed, beating the six, three and 10 seeds. Just beating some really good guys. One takedown at a time. One match at a time. That’s how I approached it. I just kept winning. People couldn’t take me down and I did them. In the finals, I came up short but I’ll be back.”
In yet another rematch from the Missouri Valley Invite, No. 6 Baughman dropped (5-2) his seventh place match to No. 8 Thomas Williams (St. Thomas) via a takedown and reversal. The Iowa Western transfer finished with a 3-3 record at the big dance and scored an individual 7.5 team points. Taking eighth place, the senior finished his season with a 26-4 record and his collegiate career at 124-22 (40-11 at IWCC).
Steven Barnes (149), Cole Price (157), Barret Brandt (184), Hunter Wiemer (184), Torrance Keehn (197) and Mason Garcia (285) complete the eight guys who were the national qualifiers for Concordia. Wiemer and Garcia finished their careers in the national tournament.
Coach Watts improved the Bulldogs to a 17th overall nationals finish and tied for second in the GPAC regular season in his first year.