CRETE, Neb. – There were continued signs of progress for the Concordia University Wrestling program even as GPAC champion Doane won eight of 10 matches in Saturday (Feb. 3)’s dual in Crete, Neb. The Bulldogs took home wins at 133 and 141 and had a tight match at 157 in what amounted to a 44-8 victory for the rival Tigers. The clash marked the final dual of the 2023-24 season for both sides. Doane won the GPAC regular season title outright with an 8-0 league record.
Head Coach Chase Clasen’s squad celebrated its seniors on Friday with a 48-6 home rout of Colby Community College. Concordia’s final dual record rests at 8-7 (3-5 GPAC).
“There are definitely some positives,” Clasen said. “We don’t want to go into that dual just looking to win more matches than we did last year (versus Doane). We did chip away. I think we matched their intensity well at the beginning, but we have to do a better job of maintaining that intensity throughout the dual. That’s a small adjustment. Now we have a feel for them. We have to go out and wrestle hard for seven minutes. Once we do that, the results can be a little bit different. For the most part, it was a much better dual (than last year). We have to keep chipping away at it.”
In a major individual highlight, NAIA eighth-ranked 141-pounder Creighton Baughman (28-5 overall record) completed a perfect 15-0 season dual record as he took care of Doane’s Tristen Brown by major decision, 11-1. Counting tournaments, the Papillion, Neb., native Baughman has gone 10-0 this season against GPAC opponents. He will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed in his weight class.
It’s also been a stellar sophomore season for Lincoln Lutheran High School alum Grant Wells. He picked up his 20th win of the season thanks to his 8-0 major decision over Doane’s Russell Nickerson. After Wells and Baughman went back-to-back with victories, the Bulldogs owned an early 8-6 lead.
At 157 pounds, Concordia senior Jeaven Scdoris of Milford, Neb., took his best shot at the GPAC’s top-ranked competitor at that weight. Ben Miller managed to hold off Scdoris by a count of 15-11. The Tigers widened the spread from there as they posted four pins and a technical fall over the final five bouts. Doane also got pins at 125 and 149. The Tiger lineup on Saturday included seven NAIA nationally ranked wrestlers. Doane is led by former Bulldog head coach Dana Vote.
Concordia will get back to the wrestling room to prepare for the GPAC tournament. A year ago, the Bulldogs surprised some observers when they placed third at conference. Clasen believes his guys can make some noise once again.
Said Clasen, “From a technique standpoint, we have to keep working on the fundamentals and sharpening things up. We want to be feeling as healthy and as good as possible going into conference.”
The 2024 GPAC Wrestling Championships (Feb. 16-17) are up next. Concordia will have the honor of hosting the conference tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the 2024 NAIA Wrestling National Championships (Feb. 29 – March 2). This will mark the first time the program has hosted the GPAC Championships since 2016.