PARK CITY, Kan. – It was a day of growth and development for a large number of underclassmen on the Concordia University, Nebraska Wrestling roster. The Bulldogs opened the 2025-26 season on Saturday (Nov. 1) with 14 competitors taking part in the Falcon Open hosted by Friends University. Park City Arena in Park City, Kan., hosted wrestlers from more than 30 collegiate programs in a largescale event. Concordia grapplers combined for 16 wins on the day.
The event marked the start of year two of Head Coach Josh Watts’ tenure leading the Bulldogs. Most of Watts’ top wrestlers will wait at least another week to officially begin their seasons.
“We brought mostly underclassmen to get them matches,” Watts said. “I thought the guys competed hard but when you bring a lot of young guys, you see a lot of young guy mistakes. We saw a lot of stuff that we need to work on but also some positive things. Aaron (Wilson), Simon (Arredondo) and Gabe (Kant) all had pretty good days. Gabe almost knocked off the No. 12 guy in the country. We saw some positives and learned a lot. We’ll get back to work on Monday.”
Bulldogs with multiple wins at the Falcon Open:
· 141 – Bryce Karlin: 2-2
· 149 – Kaden Gutsch: 2-2
· 157 – Aaron Wilson: 3-2 (finished top six)
· 165 – Simon Arredondo: 4-2 (finished top six)
· 285 – Gabe Kant: 2-2 (finished top eight)
A sophomore from Fresno, Calif., Simon Arredondo topped the Bulldogs with four wins on Saturday. Two of his victories came by major decision as he placed in the top six of the 165-pound weight class. A freshman out of Cozad High School, Wilson recorded a trio of victories and placed top six at 157 pounds in his first experience on the collegiate scene. Wilson earned a victory by technical fall. At heavyweight, Kant went 2-2 on the day (top eight of his class) with a pair of pins. In the match mentioned by Watts, Kant fell by a tight 14-11 score to NAIA 12th-ranked Emmett Bivens of Wayland Baptist University (Texas).
Two other Bulldogs emerged with multiple victories as Bryce Karlin went 2-2 (one pin) at 141 and Kaden Gutsch went 2-2 (one pin and one tech fall) at 149. Three additional Concordia competitors claimed one win at the Falcon Open: Cal Price (141), Francisco Mendez (165) and Ramon Arredondo (184). A total of four freshmen made their college debuts, including Coach Watts’ son Aidan.
Tournament No. 2 of the 2025-26 season will be next Saturday (Nov. 8)’s Dakota Wesleyan Open in Mitchell, S.D. The action is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m. CT. Tournaments and duals can be followed live throughout the season via TrackWrestling.com.