WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The freshman class continues to lay a strong foundation for Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling. As bracket bookends, 125-pounder Kaleb Williams and heavyweight Aidan Summa both made runs to the semifinals as part of Saturday (Nov. 14)’s Grand View University Open in West Des Moines, Iowa, where more than 50 collegiate institutions were represented. Summa and Williams were joined by teammates in junior Cal Price (149) and sophomore Aaron Wilson (157) with at least three wins on the day.
The tournament marked the second of the season for Head Coach Isaiah Crosby’s squad. Crosby unleased his entire roster into the Grand View Open field and presided over a total of 28 individual wins. The largescale tournament was broken down into freshman/sophomore and “open” (junior/senior) divisions.
“It was a very, very long 12 hours of wrestling, but these guys did absolutely phenomenal,” Crosby said. “This was a major turnaround from what we've seen up until now. This has been an absolutely fantastic tournament. From everyone who wrestled to everyone who was close to placing, they gave great effort and wrestled hard. They left everything out there for seven complete minutes. I couldn't ask for anything more because they did exactly what I asked them to do.”
At the end of the day, Summa was the last Bulldog left standing. The Seward High School product began his day with four straight wins, including three by fall, on his way to the 285-pound semifinals in the freshman/sophomore division. After tasting defeat in the semis, Summa bounced back with a fourth pin, putting him in the third-place match. By that point, Summa reached his match limit and was officially credited with fourth place. He has amassed eight wins already this season.
A third-place finisher at the Friends Falcon Open, Williams won his first three matches on Saturday, with the first one coming via major decision. An injury played a role in Williams dropping his semifinal match. The Winter Springs, Fla., native then dropped out of the tournament. He earned sixth place and pushed his season win total to eight.
For the returning GPAC champion Cal Price, the Grand View Open marked his first tournament of the season. The La Vista, Neb., native did fine work on the back side of the 149-pound bracket after he was defeated in round one. Price won his next four matches, including one in a pin after just 41 seconds elapsed. His tournament ended in consolation round six with a 4-1 loss. Price is now 5-2 on the season.
In his second year in the program, Wilson continues to make strides. The Cozad High School alum led the team on Saturday with five contested victories before reaching his match limit. Each of Wilson’s wins came with bonus points – four via pin and one by major decision. Wilson bounced back impressively after dropping his second match of the day. Wilson has already seized nine wins on the season.
Said Crosby of Price and Wilson, “That's what I'm looking for out of these guys. When adversity hits, what are we going to do? These guys responded very, very well today compared to the last time we competed.”
Three Bulldog freshmen emerged from the Grand View Open with exactly two victories: freshmen Frost Wallace (133), Daniel Steffensen (157) and Jaxsen Salinas (149). Meanwhile, one win apiece was claimed by Gabe Lujan (125), Braysen Salinas (149), Simon Arredondo (165), Evan Sepanlou (174), Ramon Arredondo (184) and Jacob Schipper (197). In sum, 13 of the 16 Concordia wrestlers in action in West Des Moines had their hand raised at least once.
In next week’s lone outing, the Bulldogs will welcome 14th-ranked Doane to Friedrich Arena for a 7 p.m. CT dual on Nov. 19. The Tigers have reigned atop the GPAC in recent seasons and currently boast six wrestlers ranked at the national level. The pre-Thanksgiving schedule also includes GPAC Day of Duals No. 1 on Nov. 24.