Men's Wrestling Wednesday, October 18, 2023 NWC Athletic Communications

SEASON PREVIEW: 2023-24 Red Raider Wrestling

Raiders sent two wrestlers to NAIA Championships last season

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – We are just over one week away from the Red Raider wrestling season, as Northwestern will begin what is primed to be an exciting year at the York Open on Saturday, October 28.

2022-23 IN REVIEW
Northwestern sent two wrestlers to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championships in Luke Jenness (Sr., Primghar, Iowa) and Kaleb Lind (Jr., Lindenhurst, Ill.) in 2023, while the team went 6-7 (4-4 GPAC) in duals a season ago. It was a successful outing at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships, as six Raiders placed in the top-five of their respective weight classes. Jenness and Lind were runners-up, while Johnny Burnette (So., Spirit Lake, Iowa), Brody Hoversten (So., Alden, Iowa) and Pepe Sanchez (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) each placed fourth, with Jake Francksen-Small (Sr., Merrill, Iowa) taking a fifth-place finish.

As a team, Northwestern split its duals in a tough GPAC field. After splitting their first two conference matchups, the Raiders battled to win three conference duals in the month of January to finish in the middle of the pack ahead of postseason competition. At the conference championships, Northwestern placed fourth.

Lind led the way in multiple stat categories last season, picking up the most wins (24), falls (9), and match points (165). Francksen-Small led in technical falls (4) and took 14 decisions, while Jenness had the most major decisions (3) and won 23 bouts.

THE SCHEDULE
It will be a dual-heavy schedule this year as Northwestern will compete in 19 duals. After opening the year at the York Open and the Friends Invite, the Raiders host their first dual in the Bultman Center against Buena Vista on November 9.

The first GPAC matchup will be in Mitchell, South Dakota as Northwestern takes on Dakota Wesleyan on November 16. Two days later, the Raiders will travel to Leavenworth, Kansas to take part in the Saint Mary's Duals before beginning the first round of GPAC Duals against Doane on Thanksgiving week.

In the second semester, Northwestern will travel to two meets along with six duals. After facing Morningside, Briar Cliff and Jamestown, the Red Raiders will go to Sioux City to conclude the GPAC Duals with Concordia (Neb.), Hastings, and Midland.

Finally, ahead of postseason action, Northwestern will host the Raider Duals, a six-team round robin in Orange City.

The GPAC Championships will be hosted by Concordia on February 16-17, with qualifying wrestlers traveling to Wichita, Kansas for the NAIA Championships on March 1-2.

ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
The Red Raider lineup will be led by the senior trio of Francksen-Small, Sean Heeney (Sioux City, Iowa) and Jenness. Jenness has a chance to become the first five-time NAIA qualifier in program history and break multiple career records along the way. Northwestern will also get contributions from GPAC placers in Lind, Burnette, Hoversten and Sanchez. Among newcomers, the coaching staff highlighted Braden Sehr (Fr., Canton, S.D.) at 141 and Jaxson Hildebrand (Fr., Denison, Iowa) at 285 as wrestlers to watch for. As a whole, Northwestern brings seven freshmen into the fold for the upcoming year.

THE DAHL FILE
Head coach Rik Dahl enters his 16^th season at the helm of the Raider wrestling team in 2023-24. A former All-American at Northwestern, Dahl was a team captain on the 1997 wrestling team that finished eighth at the NAIA Championships and a semifinalist under NAIA Hall of Fame Coach Paul Bartlett. Under Dahl's leadership, the Red Raiders have sent 59 wrestlers to the NAIA Championships and crowned nine All-Americans. His 87 dual wins sits second in program history, 11 wins behind Bartlett. Additionally, Dahl serves as the Associate Athletic Director at Northwestern.

FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
Schedules and results are subject to change. For up-to-date information on the upcoming wrestling season, stay tuned to nwcraiders.com and our social media channels. Weekly match/dual notes will be available on the wrestling schedule page on our website.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

Johnny Burnette: 141; 5' 7"; Sophomore

Jake Francksen-Small: 174; 6' 0"; Senior

Sean Heeney: 125; 5' 7"; Senior

Brody Hoversten: 157; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Luke Jenness: 184; 5' 11"; Senior

Kaleb Lind: 197; 5' 10"; Junior

Pepe Sanchez: 197; 5' 9"; Senior

Jaxson Hildebrand: 285; 6' 1"; Freshman

Braden Sehr: 133; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Johnny Burnette
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: 141

Jake Francksen-Small
: 6' 0"; Senior
: 174

Sean Heeney
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 125

Brody Hoversten
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: 157

Luke Jenness
: 5' 11"; Senior
: 184

Kaleb Lind
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 197

Pepe Sanchez
: 5' 9"; Senior
: 197

Jaxson Hildebrand
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: 285

Braden Sehr
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: 133