The No. three ranked Beaver wrestling team has made their way to Council Bluffs, Iowa for the NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championships held at the Mid-America Center on Friday, Mar. 1 and Saturday, Mar 2.
Last time out for the Beavers was at the NJCAA South Central District Championships back on Saturday, Feb. 10 in Great Bend, Kan. The Beavers finished runner-up in the tournament finishing behind the champions by just 3.5 points. No. five ranked Kaden Spragis and No. one ranked Easton Taylor both won the South Central District championship in their respected weight classes. All ten Beaver wrestlers qualified for the national championships taking place this coming weekend.
Preliminary matches get underway on Friday, Mar. 1 at 9:00 a.m. with quarterfinals, consolation third round, and consolation fourth round finishing the first day of competition. On championship Saturday, Mar. 2 starts at 9:30 a.m. with semi-finals and consolation quarterfinals. The championship matches will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night. The tournament will be broadcasted live on NJCAA Network, ESPN+, or ESPNU.
125-lbs: #5 Kaden Spragis Preview
No. five ranked and district champion Kaden Spragis is seeded sixth in the 125-lbs bracket and will receive an opening round bye. In the second round, Spragis will wrestle Naci Robinson from Union College. Robinson went 3-1 and took third place at the NJCAA Gulf Atlantic District Championships. The winner of this match will go on to wrestle the winner of Keiichi Kong (Rochester) and either Josiah Crandall (Northland), or Osvaldo Ocampo (Iowa Lakes) in the third round.
133-lbs: #10 Kolton Field Preview
No. ten ranked Kolton Field enters championship weekend unseeded and will wrestle Jamey Bruner from Iowa Central in the opening round. Bruner finished third at the Region XI/North Central District Championships. The winner of this match will advance to face the twelfth seeded Michael Catanzaro from Niagara.
141-lbs: #1 Easton Taylor Preview
The No. one ranked wrestler and district champion Easton Taylor was seeded first in the 141-lb bracket and will receive an opening round bye. He will wrestle River Wardle from Western Wyoming in the second round. Wardle is a member of the defending national champions and current NJCAA Plains District champions.
149-lbs: #3 Gabe Maki Preview
At 149-lbs the No. three ranked wrestler Gabe Maki received the fourth seed in the bracket and will wrestle Jamarius Koshko from Labette. Maki and Koshko meet once during the regular season with Maki winning by fall in 4 minutes and 56 seconds.
157-lbs: Nick Carlson Preview
Nick Carlson will open his championship weekend against Benny Butler of Harper College. Neither wrestler is seeded in the bracket. Butler finished in sixth place at the NJCAA Great Lakes District Championship while his team took third place. The winner of this opening round match will move on to face eighth seeded Gavin Gust from Rochester.
165-lbs: #1 Cayleb Atkins Preview
The No. one ranked Cayleb Atkins received the third seed in the 165-lb bracket and will have an opening round bye. Atkins will await the winner of Dallas Porter (Otero) and Caleb Marx (Snow) in the second round.
174-lbs: Drew Withington Preview
At 174-lbs is Drew Withington who will enter championship weekend unseeded and will face Tyberious Clayton from Garrett College. Clayton finished runner-up at the NJCAA Gulf Atlantic District Championships.
184-lbs: #4 Blake Jouret Preview
The No. four ranked Blake Jouret received the fourth seed in the 184-lb bracket and will face Bryce Goucher from Cowley College in the second round. The two opponents meet in the semifinals of the district championship where Jouret won by major decision 10-0 over Goucher. The winner of this match will move on to face either Janathan Braun (Middlesex), or Braden Pease (Clackamas).
197-lbs: Kaden Glass Preview
Kaden Glass will face Connor Lorden from Harper College in the second round. Lorden is seeded tenth in the bracket while Glass is unseeded. In addition, Lorden finished runner-up at the NJCAA Great Lakes District Championships. The winner of this match will advance to face either Christian Slack (Snow) or Jase Grundy (Mott). Slack is the seventh seed in the bracket.
285-lbs: Cayden Winter Preview
In the 285-lb bracket Cayden Winter was given the thirteenth seed and will wrestle a familiar opponent in Faustino Chaydez from Northwest Tech. Winter pinned Chaydez in the quarterfinal round of the district championships. In the regular season, Chaydez won by decision 7-2 against Winter.