2018-19 Dual Record: 9-4 overall, 7-1 GPAC (T-1st); placed 4th at GPAC tournament
2019 NAIA National Championships finish: 26th
Head Coach: Levi Calhoun (2nd year)
Returning National Qualifiers: 174 Deandre Chery (Sr.); 141 (2018 national qualifier) Chris Kimball (Sr.); 133 Zack Moistner (Sr.); 285 Michael Stann (So.).
Other Key Returners: 174 Blake Castillo (Sr.); 141 Cameron Devers (Sr.); 184 Darrin Miller (Sr.); 125 Mario Ybarra (So.)
Key Losses: 174 Walker Fisher; 197 Tyler Jorgensen; 184 Josh Nelsen.
Key Newcomers: 165 Braulio Banuelos (Jr.); 141 Gad Huseman (So.); 125 Carter Kucera (Fr.); 184 Oscar Ramirez-Garcia (Jr.).
2019 GPAC All-Conference: Deandre Chery (first team); Michael Stann (first team); Walker Fisher (second team); Alberto Garcia (second team); Mario Ybarra (honorable mention).
2019 NAIA All-American: 133 Alberto Garcia (4th).
Outlook
After biding his time as an assistant coach for the wrestling programs at both Baker University and Concordia University, Levi Calhoun has taken advantage of his first opportunity as a head coach. Under Calhoun’s guidance, the 2018-19 Bulldogs celebrated a co-GPAC dual title and placed just outside of the NAIA top 25 at the national championships. Calhoun hopes those achievements are just the start of something larger for his program.
Calhoun had worked under the previous two head coaches at Concordia so the transition last offseason went about as smooth as hoped. The student-athletes within the room already understood the program’s championship aspirations.
“I take a lot of what I do from the coaches I have worked for,” Calhoun said. “I think most head coaches are that way – they learn from their mentors. A lot of the stuff we did was fairly similar (to last offseason). There were a few tweaks. There were no huge changes. It’s really just about the philosophy of the wrestling process, the mentality going forward and making sure that we preach trusting the process and knowing that every day counts as you work towards that podium.”
The Bulldog wrestling program has now hoisted at least one GPAC championship trophy (regular season/tournament) in four of the past five years. Last season’s squad kept things humming behind consistent performers such as two-time 174-pound GPAC champion Deandre Chery and heavyweight Michael Stann. Chery and Stann were two of the team’s five grapplers to don the Bulldog singlet at the 2019 national tournament.
A native of Miami Gardens, Fla., Chery really has accomplished just about all there is to do – except earn All-America accolades. He piled up 35 wins (17 via pin) as a junior and dominated during another individual GPAC title run. There was clear progress evident from his sophomore to junior years. Perhaps a similar leap forward will help Chery realize the ultimate goal.
“I think early this year and this first part of preseason he’s more focused than I’ve ever seen him in the room,” Calhoun said of Chery. “He’s more driven and asking coaches for more one-on-one time to work through some technique stuff. I’m excited to see how he does. He’s got that fire. Every time he steps on the mat he’s a dangerous wrestler. We expect big things out of him and he expects a lot of big things out of himself as well.”
Stann had an exceedingly difficult draw at the 2019 national championships and was knocked out after two matches. Even so, what he achieved as a redshirt freshman was impressive. Stann sat out the 2017-18 collegiate season with a knee injury before working his way back. The native of Temecula, Calif., went 36-15 with 16 pins last season despite being on the lean side for a heavyweight.
Stann says he’s added about 30 pounds of muscle to his frame this offseason. He appears to be a GPAC title and All-America contender moving forward. Says Stann, “Every hard tournament I’ve ever been to I haven’t done really well right off the bat. Being there (at nationals) that first year you don’t know what’s going on. This year I have an expectation and I know what’s happening. It feels like I’m more in control of what’s going on.”
It takes balance throughout the lineup to win seven of eight GPAC duals as Concordia did last season. Calhoun likes the way things are shaping up throughout this lineup. Other returners who have qualified for past national championships include senior 141-pounders Chris Kimball (2018 qualifier) and Zack Moistner (2019 qualifier at 133). Kimball is back after a redshirt season. He was also a third-place GPAC finisher in 2018.
Fans of the Bulldogs should watch out for a big jump from sophomore Maria Ybarra, a Scottsbluff native. Like Stann, Ybarra made a positive impression in his first season of college wrestling. Ybarra posted a 25-13 overall mark, placed fifth in the GPAC at 125 pounds and came up just shy of qualifying for nationals. Says Calhoun of Ybarra, “I feel like he can compete with anyone in the country. His mentality has progressed, his maturity has progressed and his confidence has progressed.”
Chery, Kimball and Moistner make up the core of a large senior class that also features Blake Castillo (174), Cameron Devers (141), Darrin Miller (184) and others. Calhoun also made mention of others such as sophomore Issiah Burks (157) and junior Gabe Crawford (157) as potential impact returners. Burks and Crawford have both made their way back from injuries.
A host of newcomers will also attempt to burst onto the scene. Calhoun and his staff have gone back to a familiar pipeline at Palomar College in California to land Braulio Banuelos (165) and Oscar Ramirez-Garcia (184). Their additions bring the total number of California natives on the roster to 11. The Bulldogs then found new talent closer to home with the arrivals of 149-pounder Gad Huseman (Tonganoxie, Kan.) and 125-pounder Carter Kucera (Columbus, Neb.).
“I feel pretty good about our depth throughout,” Calhoun said. “We have some new guys that may pop into the lineup this year that we’re excited about. I’m pumped to see how it’s going to play itself out throughout the year.”
The Bulldogs believe the overall talent and progression of such talent is at a higher level than this time a year ago. Concordia has focused on the process with the hope that proper preparation will take the program to greater heights than last season when it placed 26th at the NAIA national championships. Says Stann, “We’re trying to come in every day and really put the same energy and focus into certain aspects of wrestling to improve those things. There’s a focus on how to get the positions in your advantage and really just getting better every day.”
Last season the Bulldogs lagged behind Morningside, Briar Cliff and Midland at both the GPAC tournament and at the NAIA national championships. To get where it aspires to be, Concordia will have to get back to the top of the heap. One of those aforementioned programs, Midland, will transition without previous head coach Dana Vote (now at Doane), former four-year head coach of the Bulldogs.
Such rivalries add intrigue to a schedule that is highlighted by a trip to Las Vegas for the Desert Duals just before Christmas. By the way, Concordia will face off with Doane (whose staff also includes former Concordia standouts Ceron Francisco and Kodie Cole) at the GPAC Duals on Jan. 25 as it aims for another conference championship campaign.
“The goal is to repeat as a GPAC regular-season champion and obviously we don’t want to share that title,” Calhoun said. “We want that outright. In the GPAC championships, fourth was disappointing. We need to get back up to the top and win that as well. Nationally, I’d like to see us back in the top 16 and continue to progress closer to that top 10 finish and eventually become a trophy team. If we’re winning the GPAC we’re going to be closer to the top of the country.”
The season will officially get started on Nov. 9 at the Dakota Wesleyan Open in Mitchell, S.D.