Jenness Defeats Top-Ranked Opponent; Raiders Go 1-2 at Spire Duals

Hildebrand finishes 3-0

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – The Red Raider wrestling team (2-3, 0-1 GPAC) matched up with some of the country's top opponents on Saturday at the Spire Duals, hosted by the University of Saint Mary (Kan.). Luke Jenness highlighted the day with a win over a top-ranked opponent, while Jaxson Hildebrand went 3-0 in his outings.

"I was really proud of the way our guys embraced the opportunity to wrestle three quality teams, commented head coach Rik Dahl. "After Thursday, I wanted the guys to focus less on how they were feeling and more on the task at hand, and I felt they responded with a lot of grit on Saturday. We are pretty banged up at a lot of weights so to be able to rise up and perform like they did was commendable."

After picking up his 100^th career win on Thursday night, Jenness kept up his winning ways, defeating No. 1 Jesse Daniel Perez of Ottawa (Kan.), followed by a win over Oklahoma Wesleyan's Jaden Welden.

🤼‍♂️ 𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝙁𝙍𝙊𝙈 𝙇𝙀𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙉𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙃

Luke Jenness defeats top-ranked Jesse Daniel Perez (Ottawa (Kan.)) in today's opening dual!#RaidersStandOut | @NWCWrestling pic.twitter.com/B7Lo9jA0HT
— NWC Red Raiders (@nwcraiders) November 18, 2023

Luke beating the number one guy in the country was a very significant win for him and our program, but I feel Luke can beat most people on any given day due to his unique qualities."

Overall, the Raiders went 1-2 on the day, but stayed competitive against two top-25 teams in No. 16 Saint Mary (Kan.) and No. 12 Ottawa (Kan.).

We had a couple things not go our way against Ottawa, or else we would have very likely beat them. Trey Schuck wins the match he was ahead in and Jake Francksen-Small pulls off the upset at 197, and we win the dual 26-21. Johnny Burnette pulled out a gritty win against his Saint Mary foe, securing a takedown late in the third to get to decision. It was nice at the end of the day to dominate against Oklahoma Wesleyan, a team that beat us last year. Winning your last seven matches is always a good way to end the day. Overall, I'm very proud, but we need to look forward to the challenge tomorrow night against Doane."

Up Next: The Raiders will compete in the first day of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Duals, facing No. 6-ranked Doane on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

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

Luke Jenness: 184; 5' 11"; Senior

Trey Schuck: 141; 5' 9"; Junior

Jaxson Hildebrand: 285; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Johnny Burnette
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: 141

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

Luke Jenness
: 5' 11"; Senior
: 184

Trey Schuck
: 5' 9"; Junior
: 141

Jaxson Hildebrand
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: 285