SEWARD, Neb. – The season’s most significant regular season tournament is up next on the docket. Head Coach Josh Watts will travel 12 of his top wrestlers to the 2026 Missouri Valley Invite, a two-day event that will play out Friday and Saturday in Marshall, Mo. The tournament annually showcases the top teams and wrestlers from across the NAIA landscape. The action is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. CT on Friday from the Burns Athletic Complex. The tournament will mark the sixth of the 2025-26 season for Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling.
Missouri Valley Invitational
--Jan. 23-24 | Day 1 – 10 a.m., Day 2 – 9 a.m.
--Burns Athletic Complex (Marshall, Mo.)
--Live Coverage: Results / Video (Flo Wrestling)
The Bulldogs put together a strong opening week of the second semester when they won two home duals (Jan. 8) and then emerged with nine tournament place finishes at the Hastings Open (Jan. 10). As part of the triangular (senior night at Friedrich Arena), junior Barret Brandt knocked off two NAIA ranked opponents as Concordia earned wins over No. 17 Friends University (Kan.), 37-13, and Midland, 46-3. At the Hastings Open, championships were won by Cole Price (165) and Paul Ruff (133) while both Brandt (184) and Hunter Weimer (184) took second place within their respective brackets.
As a result of those performances, the Bulldogs made a leap in the conference and NAIA national ratings (see below). Six Concordia wrestlers are now rated second in their weight classes at the conference level, including Stevie Barnes (141), Hagen Heistand (157), Brandt (184), Torrance Keehn (197) and Gabe Kant (285). The NAIA national runner up last season at 149, Heistand has moved up a weight class. He checked in at No. 10 in the latest NAIA national ratings at 157 pounds. Heistand is now 7-1 this season with the lone loss coming against an NCAA Division I foe. As a team, the Bulldogs are ranked 22nd in the NAIA.
Ranked Bulldogs
(Based on rankings released the week of Jan. 12)
133 – Paul Ruff: 5th GPAC
141 – Steven Barnes: 2nd GPAC | 25th NAIA
157 – Hagen Heistand: 2nd GPAC | 10th NAIA
165 – Cole Price: 2nd GPAC
174 – Hunter Weimer: 4th GPAC
184 – Barret Brandt: 2nd GPAC | 17th NAIA
197 – Torrance Keehn: 2nd GPAC | 19th NAIA
285 – Gabe Kant: 2nd GPAC | 11th NAIA
The La Vista, Neb., native Cole Price was a surprising omission from the national ratings. Price carried an 11-match winning streak into this week and stands at 19-3 overall on the season (undefeated versus NAIA opponents). Price leads the team in wins and is followed in that category by heavyweight Gabe Kant (15-8). On another statistical note, Brandt reached 40 career pins during his tournament run at the Hastings Open. Only two wrestlers in program history have produced more pins: Deandre Chery (50) and Ken Burkhardt Jr. (43).
Last season, Concordia enjoyed a major breakthrough at the Missouri Valley Invite as it placed sixth out of 53 NAIA teams. Four Bulldogs came away with place finishes, led by Creighton Baughman, the MO Valley Runner up at 141 pounds. The other place finishers were Heistand (sixth at 149), Weimer (fifth at 184) and Keehn (seventh at 197). The top five team finishers at the 2025 Missouri Valley Invite were Grand View (Iowa), Montana State-Northern, Doane, Saint Mary (Kan.) and Missouri Valley.
Following the Missouri Valley Invite, the lone remaining regular season tournament on this season’s schedule will be the Dave Edmonds Open on Jan. 31. Prior to the GPAC Championships (Feb. 20-21), Concordia will go up against three conference rivals at GPAC Day of Duals No. 2 on Feb. 7.