Four Bulldogs reached the semifinals and another six remain alive on the backside of the brackets at the 2024 GPAC Wrestling Championships. The event is being hosted at Concordia.
For the first time since 2016, Concordia will serve as host of the GPAC Wrestling Championships. the 2024 conference tournament will feature a session on both Friday and Saturday while determining team and individual champions.
After completing a spotless 15-0 dual record for 2023-24, Creighton Baughman was honored on Tuesday (Feb. 6) as the GPAC Wrestler of the Week. Baughman has twice taken this award this season.
Back-to-back wins for Grant Wells and Creighton Baughman provided the highlights for the Bulldogs in a 44-8 dual loss at No. 7 Doane. Baughman completed a spotless 15-0 season dual record.
It took less than 40 minutes for Concordia Wrestling to claim a 48-6 home win over Colby Community College. The Bulldogs used the evening to honor seven seniors. As a bonus, freshman Barret Brandt broke the program pins record.
As part of a weekend that will wrap up the 2023-24 dual schedule, the Bulldogs will welcome Colby Community College to Seward for senior night before then visiting No. 7 Doane on Saturday.
The Bulldogs traveled to Sioux City, Iowa for the GPAC Duals #2, facing three separate conference opponents on Saturday (Jan. 27). Concordia started with a victory against Northwestern, 33-11, then dropped two back to back heartbreakers versus Briar Cliff, 22-20, and Jamestown, 29-21.
GPAC duals day #2: Concordia prepares for triple header versus Northwestern, Briar Cliff & Jamestown
With the Doane dual postponed due to snowy weather, the Bulldogs have yet to wrestle in a dual since the new year. GPAC Day of Duals, on Saturday, will change the lack of team competition, with three consecutive duals in the span of around four and a half hours.
Concordia will test itself against the GPAC's highest rated team in a dual set for Friday in Crete. The Bulldogs will enter the meeting with No. 5 Doane carrying a 6-4 overall record (2-2 GPAC).
Mason Garcia enjoyed perhaps his finest day as a Bulldog as one of four Concordia competitors to place at the Hastings Open on Saturday (Jan. 6). Nineteen Bulldogs combined to notch 28 wins on the day.
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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