Chance for outright title spoiled on senior night

By Jacob Knabel on Feb. 7, 2019 in Wrestling

SEWARD, Neb. – The bid for a perfect run through the GPAC dual schedule ended inside Walz Arena on Thursday night (Feb. 7) for the Concordia University wrestling program. The Bulldogs ran into a brick wall in the form of visiting Morningside, which spoiled the Bulldogs’ chances of winning an outright conference title. The Mustangs won on Concordia’s senior night, 27-12.

The result means that first-year head coach Levi Calhoun’s squad shares the GPAC dual title with Morningside. Both teams finished 7-1 in conference duals. Calhoun had hoped to treat the season’s largest home crowd to a victory.

“They showed up to wrestle. Hats off to Morningside,” Calhoun said. “They showed up to wrestle and they beat us, plain and simple. We have to come out with a lot more fire. We have to stay off our back. I give credit to them. They won it. We didn’t lose it. We have to correct some things to get ready for this next weekend.”

Morningside stunned the Walz crowd when Dakota Drenth and Kyle Fowler produced back-to-back pins at 149 and 157, respectively. With three matches remaining on the evening, the Mustangs (7-1 GPAC) had sucked all of the drama out of the dual. Morningside had mounted an insurmountable team lead of 24-3. The Mustangs provided the first fireworks after the first five bouts had been decided by decision.

Morningside jumped out to a 9-0 lead in a dual that got started at 197 pounds. The Bulldogs finally got on the board when NAIA eighth-ranked Alberto Garcia emerged with an 8-1 win over Devin Phaly at 133. The only disappointment was that Garcia failed to earn bonus points in a match he dominated. Unfortunately, Garcia’s victory did not ignite the wave of wins Concordia needed.

With everything considered, it’s hard for Calhoun to be disappointed in the run his guys have put together after placing fifth in the GPAC last season. The Bulldogs entered the night having won 55 of 70 individual matches within the conference.

“It’s awesome. Obviously we’re proud of them,” Calhoun said. “I’m proud of them, regardless of the outcome today. I don’t think anyone expected for this to be where we’re at. Co-champs of the GPAC is a pretty good feeling. It stings tonight, but when we reflect back I feel like we’ll be pretty happy with the results. We’ll continue to move forward and improve.”

One of six seniors honored in a ceremony prior to the dual, Walker Fisher went out with a 6-5 decision over Nickolas Madsen at 174 pounds. A native of Ashland, Neb., Fisher did not lose a single home match during his collegiate career. Two other seniors in the Concordia lineup suffered defeats – Kyle Carey (141) and Keanu Tom (157).

Just before Fisher took the mat, Blake Castillo brought the first real big roar of the night with a pin of Brandon Crews in the 165-pound tussle. Castillo won three of his four matches this season in conference duals.

Deandre Chery (184) and Michael Stann (285) both saw their unblemished GPAC dual records fall by the wayside. Ranked 10th nationally at the heavyweight position, the pin prone Stann was prevented from going on the offensive in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Phil Rasmussen. That result set the wheels in motion for a Mustang victory. Chery was upended, 6-2, in the final match of the night. He bumped up from his usual 174 weight to wrestle at 184.

Morningside won seven of 10 matches with its wins coming at 125, 141, 149, 157, 184, 197 and 285.

GPAC team and individual championships will be at stake the next time the Bulldogs take the mats. The 2019 GPAC Wrestling Championships will be hosted by Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa, on Saturday, Feb. 16. Concordia is coming off a fourth-place finish at last season’s conference tournament. Giovanni Castillo and Chery claimed individual titles for the Bulldogs.