Pratt, Kan. – Last weekend the #4 Pratt Community College (PCC) wrestling team traveled to Colby, KS for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) South-Central District Championships. The district championships comprised of teams from both NJCAA Region II and IV. After a very successful day on the mats the Beavers qualified ten wrestlers for the NJCAA National Championships in Council Bluff, IA on March 4-5.
The Beavers set a school record for national qualifiers and have never sent a full roster (ten wrestlers) to the national championships. As a team, the Beavers finished second overall with 167 points. They were 25 points back from the district champion #5 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) from Miami, OK. They did finish as the top NJCAA Region IV and Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) team.
Sophomore Jason Henschel was voted the most outstanding wrestler of the district championship. At 125 pounds, Henschel is ranked #1 and won first place after defeating Jaxson Roxley from Carl Albert State College. Also winning first place for the Beavers was sophomore Scott Radke who at 165 pounds is ranked #7 in the nation.
Finishing runner-up for the Beavers at 149 pounds was former national champion sophomore Jacob Beeson. Beeson is currently ranked #1 in his weight class. In addition, both sophomores Deston Miller and Devon Dawson finished runner-up in their weight classes. #8 ranked Miller wrestles at 184 pounds with #3 ranked Dawson is the Beavers heavyweight wrestler.
At 174 pounds, freshman Cayden Atkins who is currently ranked #5 finished in third place. Sophomore Jacob Mitchell also finished in third place at 141 pounds. Mitchell is currently ranked ninth in the nation. Both freshman Cayden Winter and sophomore Drew Liles finished in 5th place. Winter wrestles at 197 pounds with Liles wrestling at 133 pounds.
Finalizing the national championship team for the Beavers is freshman Samajay Alboyd who at 157 pounds finished in sixth place. Alboyd was not originally scheduled to wrestle in the district championship as sophomore Dayton Porsch was unable to wrestle due to a prior commitment. Porsch was ranked #1 in the nation and was the returning national runner-up.
Last season the Beavers set a program record by finishing fourth as a team with 126.5 points at the NJCAA National Championships. This year the team with a full roster will look to improve upon that mark.