Sanchez and Egli Highlight Top Finishers at Sioux City Open

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Pepe Sanchez placed second at 197 pounds and Ben Egli received third in 285 as the Northwestern wrestling team closed out the regular season on Saturday at the Sioux City Open, hosted by Morningside University.

Sanchez (So., San Diego, Calif.) made his first finals match of his career, where he eventually fell, but not before picking up two wins, including a win over Morningside's Sendeska Kalskett. His 30 match points on the day were largely in part to a technical fall, 20-5 in the semifinals.

Freshman heavyweight wrestler Egli (Fr., Fort Dodge, Iowa) had three falls on his way to a third-place finish. Egli also added a 10-2 major decision victory in the consolation semifinals to head into the third-place match.

Eli Leonhardt (So., Sioux Falls, S.D.) finished sixth at 141, where he earned two pins and a spot in the fifth-place consolation match.

Other top-six finishers for the Raiders included Julian Palma (Fr., Rock Valley, Iowa) and Jacob Pierick (So., Maxwell, Iowa), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 133-pound weight class.

"It was a solid day for a young group of Raiders," commented head coach Rik Dahl. "It was good to see some of them earn their first wins of the year. These guys wrestled hard as always, and it was fun to see their hard work pay off at the end of the year."

Up Next: The Raiders will send individual competitors to the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships, scheduled for February 17-18 in Crete, Nebraska. More information on GPAC qualifiers will be released in the coming week.

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

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Players Mentioned

Eli Leonhardt: 141; Sophomore

Jacob Pierick: 133; Sophomore

Pepe Sanchez: 197; Sophomore

Ben Egli: 197; Freshman

Julian Palma: 133; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Eli Leonhardt
: Sophomore
: 141

Jacob Pierick
: Sophomore
: 133

Pepe Sanchez
: Sophomore
: 197

Ben Egli
: Freshman
: 197

Julian Palma
: Freshman
: 133