BIGELOW NAMED A GPAC MEN'S WRESTLING CHAMPION, THREE OTHER TIGERS QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS
Seward, Neb. –
Kaleb Bigelow was named a champion at the GPAC Men's Wrestling Championships this afternoon. Four Tigers secured a spot to the national tournament in Park City, Kansas. Kaleb Bigelow secured the GPAC Men's Wrestling Championship in the 165-pound class after he defeated a Concordia wrestler. Tyson Johnson took the long route as he won the third-place match and challenged the second-place wrestler. Johnson would win that match by a narrow decision. Trevion Sample secured third place in the heavyweight due to his opponent forfeiting before the bout. Aric Williams defeated his own teammate, Zachary Zitek, in the 3rd place match to come out the victor. Lane Miller and Zitek will be waiting to hear if they will receive at large bids for the national championship. The Tigers finished in fourth place as a team as they scored 103.5 points.
Recap –
133 – Temka Natsagdorj lost his first match of the second day by tech fall (17-0). Natsagdorj would move to the fifth-place bout and dominated his opponent 13-3. Temka scored 7.0 team points for DWU.
141 – Aric Williams would drop a close battle in the semifinals to a Bulldogs, 5-4 to start his day. In his first match of the consolation, Williams defeated Trey Schuck of Northwestern by a narrow decision victory (7-6). In the third place face off, Williams met his teammate, Zach Zitek. Williams showed his seniority and experience by defeating Zach 18-3 for the Tech Fall. Aric scored 15 team points.
141 – Zachary Zitek was pinned in his semi finals match against a top ranked Morningside wrestler that he had defeated earlier in the season. As he swapped sides of the bracket to the consolation side, he would win his first match by pin. Zitek would run into Aric Williams in the 3rd place match and would lose swiftly to the upperclassmen. Zitek gave the Tigers 14.5 points.
149 – Zach Kolbe opened the second day of the GPAC Championship in a big way. He pinned his first opponent in the first minute of competition (1:04). In the semis of the consolation bracket, Kolbe would get pinned midway through the dual. Kolbe was sent to the 5th place bout and was able to outscore his opponent 8-3 for the win. Kolbe scored 7.0 points.
157 – Tyson Johnson had quite the day for the Tigers. After Johnson had lost his semi final match in an 8-5 decision, he would go on to win his next three matches. In his first dual in the consolation bracket, Johnson dominated his opponent for the major decision victory (14-4). In the third place dual, Tyson would face off against a Briar Cliff Charger. As time was running out late in the third period, Johnson would get the advantage and pin his opponent to get the win. With the chance to compete for the second-place spot, Johnson went and pulled out the comeback win over a Morningside wrestler. Johnson scored 15.5 points.
165 – Kaleb Bigelow dominated throughout the whole tournament. Bigelow picked up his semifinal win by decision, 12-9, over Barret Brandt of Concordia. Bigelow was matched up against another Concordia wrestler in the championship match. Kaleb would come out with a 4-2 decision victory and claim the 1st place title. Kaleb scored 17.0 team points.
174 – Lane Miller would get pinned in the semifinal match halfway through the dual. As he moved to the consolation bracket, he would be matched against a Hastings wrestler. Miller would pin the Bronco just before the first period would end and advance to the third-place bout. Lane would fall in his last match of the day 12-4. Miller scored 13.5 points for DWU.
285 – Trevion Sample had a rematch against Hunter DeJong in the semifinal match. Sample had upset DeJong earlier in the season, but DeJong would get redemption and send Sample to the other side of the bracket. In the consolation bracket semifinal, Trevion would win the tie breaker, 3-2 to advance to the third-place match. Trevion would win via forfeit. Sample scored 15.5 points.
Coach Martin Mueller –
"These two days are gruesome; they bring out all the emotions you could for as a competitor. We had highs and lows all weekend, but we performed well as a team. I am ecstatic for Tyson, Kaleb, Aric, and Trevion as they have proven themselves time and time again. We have some opportunities to get some at large bids and I think our guys are worthy of those spots. I am so grateful to have this group of guys that we do. We battled hard through the whole tournament."
Up Next for the Tigers –
Bigelow, Williams, Johnson, and Sample will prepare for the national championship down in Kansas. The NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championship will take place from February 29th through March 2nd.
