SEWARD, Neb. – Once finals week is finally in the books, the 17th-ranked Concordia University wrestling team can shift its focus to Sunday’s Oklahoma City Duals hosted by Oklahoma City University. The Bulldogs will put themselves up against four fellow NAIA squads during their stay in the Sooner State. This will be the second year in a row that head coach Andrew Nicola’s program has competed at the Oklahoma City Duals.
Sunday, Dec. 17 schedule
9 a.m. vs. No. 15 Baker University
10:30 a.m. vs. Bethany College
12 p.m. vs. Oklahoma City University
1:30 p.m. vs. Lyon College
Live Coverage: Results from the Oklahoma City Duals can followed live via TrackWrestling.com. Host Oklahoma City will showcase a live webcast of its dual with the Bulldogs via its Stretch Internet portal.
Concordia stands at 1-1 overall having defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 55-0, and having dropped a 23-21 decision at the hands of Northwest Kansas Technical College, ranked 13th in the National Junior College Athletic Association. At last season’s Oklahoma City Duals, the Bulldogs toppled No. 8 Campbellsville University and No. 11 Wayland Baptist University while falling to sixth-ranked Oklahoma City and to 14th-ranked University of Central Oklahoma (NCAA Division II).
Ranked No. 1 in the GPAC, Concordia possesses six nationally-ranked wrestlers. The team’s winningest wrestler, Cameron Devers (15-2 at 141 pounds), has yet to crack the national rankings, but he’s been nearly unbeatable so far. Six of Devers’ teammates have also reached double figures in victories: Darrin Miller (14-8), Deandre Chery (13-8), Cody Lambert (13-11), Josh Nelsen (12-8), Blake Castillo (11-9) and Walker Fisher (10-4). Seven Bulldog grapplers have either eight or nine wins: Victor Haro (9-8), Chucky Hedrick (9-8), Tyler Jorgensen (9-10), Kyle Carey (8-10), Chris Kimball (8-7) and Alexander Reimers (8-8).
Among Concordia’s Sunday opponents, 15th-ranked Baker is the lone team with a top 20 national ranking. The other three each received votes in the most recent national poll. The Wildcats equal the Bulldogs with six individuals in the NAIA rankings. Lyon and Oklahoma City both have four ranked competitors while Bethany has two. Concordia will be going head-to-head with teams that turned in 2017 NAIA national championships finishes of 21st (Oklahoma City), 26th (Baker), 28th (Lyon) and 44th (Bethany).
Following Sunday’s action, the Bulldogs will wait until after New Year’s Day to resume the 2017-18 season. The prestigious National Wrestling Coaches Association Duals are set to take place in Fort Wayne, Ind., Jan. 4-5.
Nationally-ranked wrestlers
Concordia (1-1)
133 – No. 10 Giovanni Castillo
157 – No. 19 Keanu Tom
165 – No. 9 Jon Lado
174 – No. 19 Walker Fisher
184 – No. 7 Josh Nelsen
197 – No. 10 Alexander Reimers
Baker (0-0)
125 – No. 14 Zane Baugh
133 – No. 12 Tyler Dickman
149 – No. 14 Colby Johnson
174 – No. 16 Lucas Lovvorn
184 – No. 5 Jacob Smith
197 – No.. 6 David Dow
Bethany (1-0)
133 – No. 20 Caysen Smith
157 – No. 11 Brandon Lawson-Archuleta
Oklahoma City (2-1)
149 – No. 20 Matt Landgraff
165 – No. 9 Brok Williams
184 – No. 19 Kaden Truelove
285 – No. 4 Bryson McGowan
Lyon (1-4)
125 – No. 3 Dustin Miller
165 – No. 20 Connor Webber
174 – No. 4 Adrian Lyons-Lopez
197 – No. 18 Jacob Hill