SEWARD, Neb. – The second home GPAC dual of the season’s opening month resulted in another dominant victory for the Concordia University Wrestling team. The Bulldogs thrilled the Friedrich Arena crowd with five pins on Friday (Nov. 17) as they demolished visiting Hastings, 41-9. Concordia won eight matches in a dual in which all 10 weight classes were contested. Creighton Baughman got the dominoes started with a pin at 141 pounds.
Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad also defeated Midland, 45-6, in the 2023-24 season opener. The early returns show a Bulldog squad that has improved from the one that placed third in the GPAC last season.
“We started out a little slow,” Clasen said. “I wish I would have seen our guys get to a few more leg attacks. I’d love to see what our takedown percentage was when we actually got to a leg. We know when we get to a leg we can score. That’s something we have to put more emphasis on. Overall, it was pretty good. I think we got a little motivated there after 157. All of the sudden, pins started flying. That was awesome. Competition is good.”
Halfway through the dual, the Broncos cut Concordia’s team score advantage to 14-9 via a pin by Jack Patterson at 157 pounds. That Hastings victory came just after the Bulldogs’ TJ Allen eked out a 5-4 win over Jack Morton. From 165 on, Concordia stepped on the throttle. Pins were put on the board by Tommy Wentz (4:05) at 165, Hunter Weimer (3:16) at 184, Mason Garcia (2:34) at 197 and Cy Renney (1:17) at 285. The final whistle inspired the evening’s loudest cheers and sparked an uproar from the entire Bulldog volleyball team, which sat behind the Concordia bench.
A junior from Porterville, Calif., Weimer clinched the team victory at 184. He was leading 11-2 in the second period when he nailed Cannon O’Connor to the mat. Weimer pushed his season record to 5-2 as part of a mark that includes a win by technical fall in the dual win over Midland.
Said Weimer, “I started the season off pretty solid. I just wasn’t getting too many shots and the coaches pulled me aside and went over some film. We talked about being more aggressive. Coming out tonight, it was just letting it all fly. I took my shots and was able to finish a lot more of them. I felt pretty good tonight.”
A sophomore out of Lincoln Lutheran High School, Grant Wells picked up the Bulldogs’ first win of the evening when he took care of Creel Weber by technical fall, 20-4, in the third period. Wells racked up four takedowns and six near-fall points and did not surrender an offensive point. Ranked 10th in the NAIA at 141, Baughman (7-2) quickly followed with a pin that followed a takedown. For the entire night, the Broncos (0-1) mustered only four takedowns and four near-fall points. Their two wins came from Patterson and Justin Rodriguez (125).
An additional win for Concordia was delivered by Stephen Duffy, who shut out Naim Abualjubain, 4-0, at 174. Over the dual’s final five matches, Hastings posted a combined three points – all from escapes. The results were a byproduct of the Bulldogs’ depth. Clasen would have felt confident rolling out many other individuals who were not part of Friday’s lineup. Freshman Barret Brandt, currently 11-2 with 11 pins this season, was one of those who did not compete versus Hastings.
Said Clasen of the lineup options, “It’s a completely different feeling than I’ve ever had as a coach. It’s a great problem to have. Our guys are all ready to go. Realistically, I don’t think the dual score would have changed much depending on who we threw out there. All our guys are neck-and-neck with each other. They just keep improving. There are a lot of tough dudes here. We just keep getting better.”
Now in his second season as head coach of the Broncos, Trey Heckadon has a much larger roster as compared to a year ago. Hastings went 2-12 (0-8 GPAC) in duals in 2022-23. Concordia won last season’s meeting over the Broncos by a count of 36-10.
Select Bulldogs will be in action on Saturday at the Younes Hospitality Open hosted by the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Action from Kearney, Neb., is slated to get underway at 9 a.m. CT. The event will mark the third tournament of the season for Concordia.