Ceron Francisco has left a lasting impression upon Concordia and its wrestling program. The heavyweight from Fayetteville, N.C., finished as a national runner up. Teammate Ken Burkhardt Jr. also earned All-America honors.
Ken Burkhardt Jr. and Ceron Francisco are in pursuit of national titles at the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. The two senior stars have helped the Bulldogs land at No. 15 nationally heading into Saturday.
A group of nine Bulldogs will take to the mats at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan., for the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships. Three of Concordia's qualifiers are returning All-Americans.
Ceron Francisco has gone from a fascination – largely because of his stature and physical appearance separated him – to an obvious fan favorite and to one of the most respected student-athletes at Concordia.
The GPAC champion Bulldogs raked in honors from the conference on Wednesday. Ceron Francisco collected GPAC wrestler of the year accolades and Andrew Nicola was named the conference coach of the year.
Ceron Francisco and Kirk Kaliszewski captured NAIA North Qualifier tittles while leading Concordia to its third-straight North/GPAC tournament championship. The Bulldogs outgunned Morningside by 10 team points.
Concordia wrestling has already locked up a GPAC dual three-peat. Now it hopes to win the NAIA North Group Qualifier for the third year in a row. Twelve Bulldogs will compete in Crete at the regional event on Saturday.
Foster Bunce upset No. 4 Christian Mesa last week while helping Concordia to its third-straight outright GPAC dual championship. In response, the GPAC named Bunce its wrestler of the week.
For the third-straight year, the Concordia University wrestling program has won the outright GPAC dual title. The Bulldogs dominated Hastings, 28-6, on Thursday as they celebrated senior night.
The 11th-ranked Bulldogs hope to lock up an outright GPAC dual championship for the third-straight season when they honor 11 seniors as part of Thursday night's clash with Hastings. Concordia has won 20-straight GPAC duals.
Rarely, if ever, has success been set on a tee for Jerry Stepps III to smash out of the ballpark. Rather, it’s been quite the opposite in some cases. It never stopped Jerry from dreaming big or making it big as a senior.
Ceron Francisco will go down as an all-time great Bulldog for the way he has handled himself on and off the mat. A national runner up back in March, Ceron is headed to Charlottesville to join the Cavalier Wrestling Club.
Kirk Kaliszewski and two other national qualifiers return for a wrestling program looking to continue a run of GPAC dominance and national prominence. The Bulldogs will have a different look with 18 newcomers.
In the first season of head coach Andrew Nicola's tenure, the Concordia wrestling program maintained its perch atop the conference and the senior class went out in style.
Ceron Francisco has gone from a fascination – largely because of his stature and physical appearance separated him – to an obvious fan favorite and to one of the most respected student-athletes at Concordia.
This isn’t exactly the way Ken Burkhardt Jr. planned it. First recruited to Concordia as a linebacker on the football team, Burkhardt Jr. has become an accomplished wrestler and owner of the most wins in program history.
As Kodie Cole himself puts it, "I might have a little different story than others." There's a lot of story left to be told for Cole, who has taken a winding path to being ranked No. 1 in the nation at 133 pounds.
Concordia University wrestling has a new leader in Andrew Nicola, but expectations remain sky high. Behind a talented senior class, the Bulldogs are again the favorite in the GPAC and in the region.
Andrew Nicola, most recently an assistant coach at California Baptist University, has been hired as head wrestling coach at Concordia University. He takes the place of former head coach Dana Vote.
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