HASTINGS, Neb. – In the first outing for Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling in nearly a month, the Bulldogs took a step closer to becoming the type of team Head Coach Josh Watts envisioned. Both junior Torrance Keehn and senior Hunter Weimer won their respective brackets while headlining the efforts of 26 Concordia competitors who took part in the Hastings Open in Hastings, Neb., on Saturday (Jan. 11). Nine Bulldogs emerged from the tournament with top-four place finishes. Four of those standouts reached championship matches.
The Hastings Open marked the fifth tournament of the 2024-25 campaign for Watts’ squad. This may have been its most complete overall team performance to date.
“The last time we competed before break, we had a lot of guys banged up,” Watts said. “It was nice to have guys back and competing. I think we showed a lot of progress. The guys wrestled really well today. It was a good way to start the semester and build some momentum. Hunter and Torrance both won their brackets and looked really good. Across the board, we wrestled pretty well.”
The day featured 45 contested Concordia victories, including 22 by pin. A summary of each of the place finishers is listed below. Not only did Weimer (184) and Keehn (197) win titles, Creighton Baughman (141) and Steven Barnes (149) advanced to their bracket finals in strong performances. Additionally, 13 Bulldogs came away with multiple wins at the Hastings Open.
Hastings Open place finishers:
· Hunter Weimer (184) – 1st
· Torrance Keehn (197) – 1st
· Creighton Baughman (141) – 2nd
· Steven Barnes (149) – 2nd
· Cal Price (141) – 3rd
· Hagen Heistand (149) – 3rd
· Grant Wells (133) – 4th
· Cole Price (157) – 4th
· Calvin Gross (184) – 4th
The Porterville, Calif., native Weimer put together a dominant day that included two wins by technical fall and one by pin. He started his day by manhandling NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University (Kan.) foe Ernesto Duenez, 19-4. The championship bout went to Weimer with a medical forfeit. Meanwhile, Keehn made his way through the 197-pound bracket with tech falls in both the semifinal and championship matches. Keehn defeated teammate Teegan Tschampel in the semis and blanked Fort Hays State’s Ryan Patterson, 16-0, in the title clash.
Ranked No. 8 in the NAIA at 141 pounds, Baughman pushed his season record to 12-0 with wins in his first three matches on Saturday. Baughman toppled an NCAA D-I foe in the quarterfinals and an NCAA D-II opponent in the semifinals before being edged in the championship, 8-6, by a University of Nebraska competitor. As for Barnes, he rode four wins into the 149-pound championship – three of the triumphs (two pins) were claimed over NCAA D-II competition. Barnes was also beaten by a Cornhusker in the championship bout.
At 149 pounds, junior Hagen Heistand made a notable debut after transferring from NCAA D-I Campbell University. Heistand equaled a team-high with five wins on the day. His run included a pin of University of Nebraska-Kearney’s Cael Erickson and ended with a tech fall of Fort Hays State’s Drew Bell in the third-place contest. Concordia junior Grant Wells also notched five victories (including one pin) on his way to a fourth-place finish at 133 pounds. Wells defeated three NCAA D-II and two NAIA opponents.
Checking in with four wins apiece on Saturday were Bulldogs in Barnes (149) and Cole Price (157). Ranked 20th in the NAIA at 165, Price produced three pins. The following Concordia competitors earned three wins at the Hastings Open: Baughman (141), Cal Price (141), Barret Brandt (174), Weimer (184), Ramon Arredondo (184), Calvin Gross (184) and Keehn (197). Exactly two victories were posted by Tommy Wentz (165) and Tschampel (197).
Watts noted that Cole Price wrestled at 157 for the first time since high school. Added Watts, “We’re moving some guys around to maximize our roster in preparation for this last stretch of the season. We’re starting to find out who are 12 guys are going to be (for the conference tournament). The focus is really on maximizing what we have.”
Next up will be the Denker Open hosted by NCAA Division II University of Central Missouri on Sunday, Jan. 19. The tournament will be held at the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in Warrensburg, Mo., where action is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. CT.