Already and NAIA Scholar-Athlete and NWCA Scholar All-American, Creighton Baughman has also been honored as an Academic All-District award winner by College Sports Communicators.
When peeling back the layers that made up the 2023-24 Concordia University Wrestling season, the program’s progress becomes more evident. The Bulldogs believe they have laid a foundation for future success.
Three Bulldogs were recognized by the NWCA as 2024 Scholar All-Americans on March 19: seniors Creighton Baughman and Stephen Duffy and freshman Bryson Bussinger. Baughman has earned this distinction in back-to-back years.
The national tournament run for Creighton Baughman ended on day two as part of consolation round three. Baughman went 2-2 on the weekend as one of three national qualifiers from Concordia.
One of three Bulldogs to take the NAIA national stage on Thursday (Feb. 29), Creighton Baughman kept his season alive while going 2-1. Tommy Wentz and Mason Garcia also competed at the national tournament.
A group of four Bulldogs represented the Concordia Wrestling program on the list of 2023-24 NAIA men’s wrestling Scholar-Athletes. Repeat award winners are Henry Gaertner and Anthony Perez.
The 67th annual NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships will take place Thursday through Saturday in Park City, Kan. The Bulldogs will be represented in Park City by Creighton Baughman, Tommy Wentz and Mason Garcia.
Named NAIA national qualifiers on Tuesday, Creighton Baughman, Mason Garcia and Tommy Wentz were also recognized with All-GPAC honors on Wednesday. Each placed in the top three in the conference in their respective weight classes.
It became official on Tuesday (Feb. 20) as the NAIA announced the wrestling national qualifying field. Three Bulldogs will be headed to the national stage: Creighton Baughman, Tommy Wentz and Mason Garcia.
While hosting the 2024 GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs placed fifth as a team while qualifying three individuals for the national tournament: Creighton Baughman, Mason Garcia and Tommy Wentz.
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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