SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The (RV) Northwestern College wrestling team (7-5, 5-3 GPAC) dominated the competition at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Duals, picking up three big league wins, including knocking off No. 14-ranked Hastings at The Arena Sports Academy.
Coach Dahl Thoughts
"Big day for the Raiders! We pulled out three big wins today to finish the GPAC schedule on a roll. The guys really responded well (Wednesday at Morningside)," said head coach
Rik Dahl. "We have a handful of guys pick up wins, but overall we were more aggressive and looking to score a lot more than recently. I was proud of how gritty some of our guys were throughout the day!"
(RV) Northwestern, 24 vs. (RV) Concordia (Neb.), 15
Sean Heeney (So., Sioux City, Iowa/East) opened the day with a 10-8 decision over Isaac Agabin. It would be Henney's only bout of the day, as his other two bouts would be won by forfeit. Concordia would take the 133 bout with a 3-1 decision, then it would be all Raiders.
Northwestern overpowered the Bulldogs in the middle of the line-up, rattling off six straight wins – five straight decisions and capped off by a
Luke Jenness (So., Primghar, Iowa/Sheldon) fall (0:46) victory.
Trey Schuck (Fr., Sibley, Iowa/Sibley-Ocheyedan) picked up a victory to start the run with a 8-4 decision over Conner Burns, followed by an
Eddy Punzalan (Fr., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) victory at 157 with a 5-2 decision over Tavoris Smith.
Concordia would tally back-to-back fall victories at 197 and 285 to end the dual, but it was the Raiders who held a dominant 24-3 lead entering the 197 bout.
(RV) Northwestern, 30 vs. (14) Hastings, 22
In the first bout of the afternoon at 133 pounds, it was
Manny Jaramillo (Jr., Selma, Calif./Selma) dominating Andy Rojas, as the junior recorded a technical fall victory (25-9), putting the Raiders up 11-0 early.
The Raiders would pick up back-to-back victories (149-157).
Erik Rodriguez (Fr., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) battled Riley Dement to a tough 5-3 decision. After the two bouts, Northwestern led 20-6.
The Broncos would pick up the next two victories at 165 and 174, trimming the Raider deficit to four, the closest it would be the entire meet, at 20-16.
Jakob Francksen-Small (Fr., Merrill, Iowa/Le Mars Community) took the momentum back for the Raiders, picking up a 16-2 major decision. No. 10-ranked (184 pounds) Jenness would follow, wrestling at 197 the dual, with a fall victory (5:46) over Evan Morara, to complete the Raider scoring, leading 30-16.
Hastings forfeited two matches at 125 and 157, resulting in 12 team points for the Raiders. Hastings would pick up a fall in the 285-pound bout, though the Raiders took the dual 30-22 for their second dual victory of the day.
(RV) Northwestern, 36 vs. (RV) Midland, 15
The Raiders would continue riding that momentum on the day into the final dual of the afternoon against (RV) Midland, prevailing 36-15 to complete the sweep on the day.
In the first actual bout of the dual, the Raiders already led 12-0; and
Eli Leonhardt (Fr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Roosevelt) would make it a quick 15-0 Raider lead with a 15-9 decision over Mario Martinez.
Two of the three Midland victories came at 149 and 157 as the Warriors cut the lead to 15-9, but a 14-3 major decision from
Blake Pomajzl (Jr., Sedalia, Mo./Smith-Cotton) would put a halt to the Warrior comeback attempt.
After a forfeit at 174, Jenness – back at 184-pound bout, dominated Kolton Kammeyer with a 16-0 technical fall (4:41) to increase the Raider lead to 30-9.
Lincoln Siebert (Fr., Burns, Wyo./Wyoming) picked up his second fall victory of the season, defeating
Matt Johnson at 3:51 and the Raiders would take the dual 36-15.
Midland forfeited three matches in the dual – 125, 133, and 174, earning the Raiders 18 team points. That alone would've been enough to take down the Warriors.
Up Next: The Raiders will conclude their dual schedule this Wednesday, February 2 at Waldorf University. The first bout is slated for 7:00 p.m.
