Wichita, Kan. – Dakota Wesleyan men's wrestling posted several big moments on day one of the NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships with Aric Williams roaring after his opening match of the day and Kaleb Bigelow coming up just shy of All-American honors.
How It Happened
Williams opened his championship weekend in a big way. Trailing by one point after the first period to fourth ranked Andreus Bond of Southeastern. After a big second period from Williams, he continued to hold the margin at one point as the third and final period came around and Williams chose bottom. With an escape right away followed by a last second takedown, Williams defeated the 2021 National Champion by fall to advance in the championship bracket. He continued to wrestle from behind in his second match of the day against Trent Johnson of Lindsey Wilson. After the first period, he trailed 5-3, then 7-4 after two periods, before picking up his first loss of the day 8-7 as he headed to the consolation bracket. Williams then fell in his first consolation match by fall in 4:40 closing the book on his 2022-23 season.
Bigelow battled in his first bout of the day against Wyatt Higgins of Reinhardt, but once the whistle of the third period sounded, he was trailing 3-0 as he fell by decision and headed to the consolation bracket. After a bye in the first round of consolations, he picked up a quick win against Keller Rock of Embry-Riddle by medical forfeit keeping him in the hunt for bronze at 165. During the second session of the evening, Bigelow continued to wrestle with a chip on his shoulder as 13th ranked Dayton Hill from Ottawa was defeated by fall in 4:44 pushing Bigelow into the next round. When the chance to become an NAIA All-American Bigelow was up against tenth ranked Shadrick Slone of Campbellsville. After the first period of play, he trailed 2-1, then 4-1 after two periods. Bigelow grabbed two more points in the third period, cutting the margin to 4-3, but after an escape and riding time points, Bigelow came up just short after a loss by decision 6-3.
Mueller's Thoughts
"Proud of our guys. Once again, you must put two good days back-to-back in February and March. Our guys battled and it's something to grow on in the years to come. You relate these postseason tournaments to weddings and funerals; one moment you're having the time of your life and the next it's heartbreak. We're still young as we aren't losing anyone, so I'm excited to see what next year brings for Tiger wrestling."
Up Next
The Tigers season ends as they look to improve on the big moments during the off season.