Jenness Finishes Third, Raiders Tally Seven Placers at GPAC Championships

Jenness and Francksen-Small earn auto bid to NAIA Championships

SEWARD, Neb. – Two days on the mat in Seward saw plenty of Raiders vie for placements in the GPAC Championships, with Luke Jenness leading the way in third place at 184 pounds. Jenness and Jake Francksen-Small earned automatic bids to the NAIA Championships, with Jenness becoming Northwestern's first five-time national qualifier.

"Our guys battled hard and pushed through a lot of adversity," said head coach Rik Dahl. "Luke and Jake handled their business to punch their tickets to Wichita. Jake pinned a nationally-ranked opponent and Luke gutted out a tough match."

Those to advance the farthest in the championship bracket were Jenness and Jake Francksen-Small, both at 184, who made it to the semifinals. The two then met in the third-place match after winning their respective consolation semifinal matches. Jenness won by forfeit in the third-place match, and Francksen-Small took fourth on a no contest.

Trey Schuck and Kaleb Lind battled their way to fifth place in their respective brackets, both going 3-2 on the weekend. After a loss in the quarterfinal round, Schuck won two in a row to close the day on Friday before pinning his final opponent on Saturday to take fifth. Lind had a similar path, going 1-2 on Friday before closing his weekend with an 11-1 major decision.

"Trey got to close out his career with a fall, which was pretty special to watch."

Sean Heeney also recorded three wins in the tournament, starting Friday with a fall and then earning a fall and technical fall in consolation rounds two and three. Johnny Burnette and Devin Padilla also earned guaranteed places, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively.

"Overall, I'm proud of our guys and excited to get down to Wichita," Dahl commented.

GPAC PLACERS (Tournament Record)
3^rd Place (184) – Luke Jenness (4-1)
4^th Place (184) – Jake Francksen-Small (3-1)
5^th Place (141) – Trey Schuck (3-2)
5^th Place (197) – Kaleb Lind (3-2)
6^th Place (125) – Sean Heeney (3-3)
6^th Place (133) – Johnny Burnette (1-3)
8^th Place (165) – Devin Padilla (2-2)

Up Next: Select Raiders will compete at the NAIA Championships in Park City, Kansas on March 1-2.

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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

Luke Jenness: 184; 5' 11"; Senior

Kaleb Lind: 197; 5' 10"; Junior

Devin Padilla: 157; 6' 0"; Freshman

Trey Schuck: 141; 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Johnny Burnette
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: 141

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

Sean Heeney
: 5' 7"; Senior
: 125

Luke Jenness
: 5' 11"; Senior
: 184

Kaleb Lind
: 5' 10"; Junior
: 197

Devin Padilla
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: 157

Trey Schuck
: 5' 9"; Junior
: 141