SEWARD, Neb. – A conference regular season champion will be crowned this weekend at GPAC Day of Duals No. 2. The event will be hosted by Doane inside the Haddix Center, where the league’s nine men’s wrestling programs will gather. Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling is slated to take on Northwestern (round 1), Morningside (round 3) and Dakota Wesleyan (round 4). Head Coach Josh Watts’ squad will carry a GPAC dual record of 4-1 (5-1 overall) into the weekend.
GPAC Day of Duals No. 2
• Saturday, Feb. 7 | Haddix Center (Crete, Neb.)
• Webcast: GPAC Network
• Live Results: TrackWrestling
Round 1 | 11 a.m.
Mat 1 – Doane vs. Briar Cliff
Mat 2 – Concordia vs. Northwestern
Mat 3 – Hastings vs. Morningside
Round 2 | 12:30 p.m.
Mat 1 – Doane vs. Northwestern
Mat 2 – Briar Cliff vs. Midland
Mat 3 – Hastings vs. Waldorf
Round 3 | 2 p.m.
Mat 1 – Midland vs. Waldorf
Mat 2 – Dakota Wesleyan vs. Hastings
Mat 3 – Concordia vs. Morningside
Round 4 | 3:30 p.m.
Mat 1 – Doane vs. Morningside
Mat 2 – Concordia vs. Dakota Wesleyan
Mat 3 – Northwestern vs. Midland
The most recent duals for the Bulldogs came on Jan. 8 when the program hosted a triangular with Friends University (Kan.) and Midland. Concordia earned dominant victories, winning by scores of 37-13 over the 17th-ranked Falcons and 46-3 over the rival Warriors. Since then, the Bulldogs have competed at three tournaments: the Hastings Open (Jan. 10), Missouri Valley Invite (Jan. 23-24) and Sioux City Open (Jan. 31). Most notably, Concordia placed third out of 41 squads at the Missouri Valley Invite. Hagen Heistand won the 157-pound Missouri Valley Invite title and was named the GPAC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 28. Concordia’s other place finishers were Paul Ruff (second at 133), Cole Price (fourth at 165), Barret Brandt (fourth at 184) and Torrance Keehn (eighth at 197).
With the release of fresh NAIA national ratings on Jan. 29, the Bulldogs jumped six spots to No. 16 from a team perspective. Six individuals appeared in the national ratings. After his showing at the Missouri Valley Invite, Ruff vaulted from unranked to No. 9 at 133 pounds. Concordia’s five additional nationally ranked competitors are Heistand (ninth at 157), Price (17th at 165), Brandt (14th at 184) and Gabe Kant (11th at 285). In seven of the 10 weight classes, a Bulldog is rated No. 2 in the GPAC. The full list can be found below.
GPAC Day of Duals No. 2 will also serve as another chance to evaluate the roster and solidify the lineup for the upcoming GPAC Championships. The aforementioned ranked wrestlers are expected to be part of the postseason roster. Cole Price has impressively stacked wins and stands at 25-5 after his fourth-place claim at the Missouri Valley Invite. Price’s win total far and away leads the team. Other lineup regulars with at least 10 wins are Kant (15-8), Brandt (13-7), Heistand (12-1), Stevie Barnes (11-5), Hunter Weimer (11-8) and Keehn (10-4). Brandt has pushed his career pin total to 44, second most in program history behind only Deandre Chery (50).
Northwestern sits at 1-3 in GPAC duals (2-3 overall). The Red Raiders’ lone GPAC win came by a 41-16 score over Hastings at GPAC Day of Duals No. 1. Veteran Head Coach Rik Dahl’s squad is led by Noah Parmalee, who is rated No. 1 in the GPAC and No. 8 in the NAIA at 133 pounds. Parmalee placed third in the conference at 141 last season. The roster includes two others who are rated at the conference level: Johnny Burnette (third at 149) and Cade Braun (fifth at 157).
Morningside placed as the 2025 GPAC tournament runner up and enters this week with a 4-1 GPAC dual record (6-1 overall). The four conference wins have come against Waldorf, 41-10, Midland, 35-16, Northwestern, 24-15, and Briar Cliff, 26-9. From a national ratings perspective, the team’s headlining competitors are Caden Eggleston (10th at 149) and Zander Ernst (third at 165) – both rated No. 1 in the conference. Head Coach Rulin Pederson’s roster includes eight grapplers who are ranked in the GPAC.
Dakota Wesleyan has been a program on the rise and is situated second in the official GPAC team ratings. Eleven Tigers are listed inside the conference ratings. That group features four nationally ranked wrestlers: Kipp Cordes (20th at 133), Jacckson Remmers (20th at 165), Jagger Tyler (14th at 174) andTeagan Foreman (15th at 174). Head Coach Martin Mueller’s squad sports a 4-2 conference dual record (5-7 overall). DWU has earned GPAC wins over Northwestern, 31-11, Briar Cliff, 29-12, Morningside, 28-15, and Waldorf, 32-21.
Ranked Wrestlers
(Based on official rankings released the week of Jan. 26)
No. 16 Concordia
133 – Paul Ruff: 2nd GPAC | 9th NAIA
141 – Steven Barnes: 2nd GPAC
149 – Cal Price: 5th GPAC
157 – Hagen Heistand: 2nd GPAC | 9th NAIA
165 – Cole Price: 2nd GPAC | 17th NAIA
174 – Hunter Weimer: 5th GPAC
184 – Barret Brandt: 2nd GPAC | 14th NAIA
197 – Torrance Keehn: 2nd GPAC | 22nd NAIA
285 – Gabe Kant: 2nd GPAC | 11th NAIA
Northwestern
133 – Noah Parmalee: 1st GPAC | 8th NAIA
149 – Johnny Burnette: 3rd GPAC
157 – Cade Braun: 5th GPAC
Morningside
125 – Noah Avina: 6th GPAC
149 – Caden Eggleston: 1st GPAC | 10th NAIA
157 – Wiley Hegwer: 6th GPAC
165 – Zander Ernst: 1st GPAC | 3rd NAIA
165 – Carson Turnis: 5th GPAC
174 – Braedyn Rakes: 4th GPAC
174 – John McGill: 6th GPAC
197 – Mekhi Bovee: 4th GPAC
Dakota Wesleyan
125 – Will Farren: 4th GPAC
133 – Kipp Cordes: 3rd GPAC | 20th NAIA
141 – Ian Metz: 3rd GPAC
141 – Landon Flogstad: 6th GPAC
157 – Tyson Johnson: 3rd GPAC
165 – Jackson Remmers: 3rd GPAC | 20th NAIA
165 – Lane Miller: 4th GPAC
174 – Jagger Tyler: 2nd GPAC | 14th NAIA
174 – Teagan Foreman: 3rd GPAC | 15th NAIA
184 – Jaxon Quail: 4th GPAC
285 – Cole Hennings: 6th GPAC
Following GPAC Day of Duals No. 2, the focus will shift to the GPAC Championships, slated for Feb. 20-21 at Northwestern. Each conference program is allowed to enter up to 12 wrestlers into the conference tournament. The Bulldogs placed third at the 2025 GPAC Championships hosted by Hastings.