SEWARD, Neb. – On the strength of a 9-0 start, senior heavyweight Ceron Francisco is making waves in the early part of the 2016-17 wrestling season. On Wednesday the conference tabbed Francisco the GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Wrestler of the Week. This marks Francisco’s second career conference weekly award.
A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Francisco went a perfect 6-0 last week while claiming his second tournament title already this season. As part of eighth-ranked Concordia’s 51-0 win Dakota Wesleyan on Nov. 11, Francisco defeated Trevor Peter by major decision, 10-1. Ranked fourth nationally in the 285-pound weight class, Francisco then went 5-0 (three wins by major decision) at the next day’s Dakota Wesleyan University Open in Mitchell, S.D.
Now 83-50 in his four seasons at Concordia, Francisco turned in perhaps the most impressive win of his career at the Grand View University Open on Nov. 5. At the season-opening tournament, Francisco toppled NCAA Division I 20th-ranked JJ Everard, 7-6, of the University of Northern Iowa.
Francisco and head coach Andrew Nicola’s Bulldogs are scheduled to return to the mat on Saturday for the University of Nebraska-Kearney Open. The action is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. CT.