SEWARD, Neb. – For the first time since 2016, Concordia University Wrestling will serve as host of the conference tournament. The 2024 GPAC Wrestling Championships will unfold Friday and Saturday (Feb. 16-17) inside Friedrich Arena, where all nine GPAC men’s wrestling programs will convene. The site shifts to Seward after the conference tournament took place at Doane a year ago. As a program, Concordia has claimed four GPAC/NAIA regional qualifier tournament championships in its history (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020).
2024 GPAC Wrestling Championships
Session I – Friday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m.
Session II – Saturday, Feb. 17, 10 a.m.
Friedrich Arena | Seward, Neb.
--Live Streaming: Concordia Sports Network
--Live Results: Track Wrestling
--Admission: $10 for adults/senior citizens, $3 for K-12; only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s will be admitted free of charge.
Overview
Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad is looking to outperform its current conference ranking of sixth. At the 2023 GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs surprised some outsiders by placing third with 110 points. Individual place finishes were claimed by Bryce Karlin (fifth at 125), Creighton Baughman (second at 141), Jeaven Scdoris (fourth at 149), Tommy Wentz (fifth at 157), Tavoris Smith (second at 157), Issiah Burks (first at 165), Garret Moser (sixth at 174), Logan Davidson (third at 184) and Stephen Duffy (fourth at 184). The GPAC champion Burks qualified for nationals along with teammates Baughman, Davidson and Smith. The top two squads in the GPAC team race were Morningside (184) and Doane (175).
Among the 12 Bulldogs that Clasen will lead into the 2024 conference tournament, Baughman is the lone returning national qualifier. Also a two-time All-American at Iowa Western Community College, Baughman is the likely No. 1 seed at 141 pounds and will carry a 28-5 overall record into the weekend. By the tournament’s end, Baughman hopes to add to the 19 individual GPAC championships that have been won all-time by Concordia wrestlers. Five other Bulldogs were ranked in the top six of the conference ratings released last week by the NAIA. That group includes freshman Barret Brandt, who has set a new program record for pins in a single season with 22.
Heading into the GPAC Championships, seven Concordia competitors have notched at least 10 wins this season: Baughman (28-5), Brandt (27-9), Grant Wells (20-12), Hunter Weimer (16-11), Jeaven Scdoris (13-7), Stephen Duffy (13-9) and Mason Garcia (11-8). Baughman has run his two-year record as a Bulldog to 53-15 and owns the 14th most wins in the history of the program. The Papillion, Neb., native went a spotless 15-0 this season in duals. A sophomore of Lincoln Lutheran, Wells notched his 20th win as part of the season’s final dual at Doane.
The NAIA announced automatic bid national tournament allocations for each of the NAIA wrestling conferences on Feb. 8. Those allocations are based on the number of individuals ranked nationally in each weight class. For example, the GPAC boasts five nationally ranked heavyweights and will get five auto bids to nationals in that weight class. The GPAC has been allotted 29 total auto bids for the 2024 national tournament. No matter the rankings, every conference is guaranteed to get at least one bid at each weight class, with auto bids going to each conference champion in all 10 classes. The NAIA auto bid allocations can be found HERE.
GPAC Rankings
141 – Creighton Baughman: 1st (8th in NAIA)
149 – TJ Allen: 6th
165 – Barret Brandt: 3rd
165 – Tommy Wentz: 4th
174 – Stephen Duffy: 6th
197 – Mason Garcia: 4th
The latest GPAC ratings display a top five of Doane, Morningside, Briar Cliff, Dakota Wesleyan and Northwestern with Concordia in the No. 6 spot. The two returning GPAC wrestlers who earned All-America honors in 2023 are both from Doane: Nathan Lendt (149) and Bradley Antesberger (195). Last year’s individual GPAC champions are listed below. Of the 10 winners, six will be back to defend their titles: Taylor Vasquez, Noah Styskal, Alex Vandyke, Hayden Wempen, Antesberger and Hunter DeJong.
2023 GPAC Champions
125 – Daniel Vargas, Doane
133 – Taylor Vasquez, Morningside
141 – Baagii Boldma, Doane
149 – John Diener, Morningside
157 – Noah Styskal, Morningside
165 – Issiah Burks, Concordia
174 – Alex Vandyke, Morningside
184 – Hayden Wempen, Morningside
197 – Bradley Antesberger, Doane
285 – Hunter DeJong, Morningside
The GPAC was made up of eight teams in 2016 when Concordia last hosted the conference tournament. At the ’16 GPAC Championships in Seward, the Bulldogs totaled 169 points on their way to a team title. Individual champions from Concordia were Matt Atwood, Ceron Francisco, Junior Lule and Andrew Schulte.
All-time Concordia GPAC Champions
Matt Atwood – 184 (2016)
Enrique Barajas – 149 (2015)
Issiah Burks – 165 (2023)
Giovanni Castillo – 133 (2018)
Kodie Cole – 133 (2015)
Deandre Chery – 174 (2018); 174 (2019)
Gabe Crawford – 157 (2020)
Tanner Farmer – 285 (2020)
Ceron Francisco – 285 (2016); 285 (2017)
Adam Joseph – 133 (2012)
Kirk Kalisezweski – 165 (2017)
Junior Lule – 157 (2016)
Robert Rivera – 133 (2014)
Andrew Schulte – 141 (2015); 141 (2016)
Jacob Telles – 285 (2021)
Mario Ybarra – 125 (2020)
The 67th annual NAIA Wrestling National Championship is slated to play out Feb. 29 – March 2 at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan., where the event was first held in 2020. Automatic qualifiers for the national championships will be known at the conclusion of the conference tournaments. Concordia traveled four wrestlers to Park City in 2023.