A native of Ashland, Neb., and fitness studies major, junior Walker Fisher has earned Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition. He went 24-11 overall this season on the mat.
Giovanni Castillo has peaked at the right time. The senior from Ontario, Calif., is headed to the semifinals of the national championships after earning three wins on the event's first day. Concordia is in 18th place as a team.
A trio of Bulldogs will represent the Concordia wrestling program at the 61st annual NAIA national championships. They will look to add their names to the program's list of eight all-time All-Americans.
Giovanni Castillo and Jerry Stepps III earned first team All-GPAC recognition while four other members of the Concordia wrestling program also picked up all-conference honors, as announced on Wednesday (Feb. 21).
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.
Giovanni Castillo and Deandre Chery became the latest Bulldogs to produce individual GPAC titles. The winning duo helped Concordia place fourth among the nine GPAC teams that competed at Saturday's event.
A first career GPAC honor came the way of Jerry Stepps III on Wednesday (Feb. 14) when the GPAC named him its wrestler of the week. Stepps III went 8-0 in GPAC duals during the 2017-18 season.
The postseason starts now for the Concordia wrestling program, which has hopes of earning many individual national tournament bids at this Saturday's GPAC championships. Hastings serves as the host.
While wrestling with a heavy heart, senior Jerry Stepps III completed a perfect GPAC dual record as part of Thursday's (Feb. 8) dual at Morningside. The Bulldogs fell by a 22-11 team score.
With second place in the final GPAC standings on the line, Concordia and 19th-ranked Morningside will go head-to-head in Sioux City, Iowa. It will be the final dual of the 2017-18 season for both teams.
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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