ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Northwestern College wrestling team is set to open up the 2021-22 campaign on Saturday, November 6 at the Yellowjacket Open hosted by Rochester Community & Technical College in Rochester, Minn., under the direction of 14th year head coach Rik Dahl.
“We are excited to get going in a world after Covid-19. We have a tough schedule laid out to give our guys the best look at what the best looks like! If our preseason is evidence to what the season may look like, we could do really well. It has been fun watching this young team rally behind one another and remain committed to a high standard throughout the first months of school.”
2021-22 Outlook
“We are a young team but return seven guys who have placed at the GPAC tournament the last two years. It will be nice to get Sean Heeney back at 125lbs. You follow him up with Trey Schuck at 141lbs. and Breckin Sperling at 149lbs and you have a solid front end of your line-up,” said head coach Rik Dahl.
125lbs.
Returning at 125lbs. for the Raiders after a redshirt season a year ago is 2020 GPAC place-winner Sean Heeney (So., Sioux City, Iowa/East). He will look to establish himself once again at a chaotic weight class within the GPAC, and hopefully, carving his own path to Wichita in March.
Joining Heeney is a state-qualifier in Case Cauthron (Fr., Spencer, Iowa/Spencer). Cauthron was a staple in the Spencer H.S. wrestling line-up the last two years and will look to carry that success onto the mat for the Raiders this season.
133lbs.
At 133lbs., returning 2021 letter-winner and NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Manny Jaramillo (Jr., Selma, Calif./Selma) returns for his second season on the mat for Northwestern. He will look to use his speed and power to run through and overwhelm his opponents this year. The sophomore is primed to find a spot on the GPAC podium after having to forfeit his spot last season due to an injury.
141lbs.
The 141-weight class will be led by two freshmen (athletic-eligibility) entering the 2021-22 season by way of Trey Schuck (Sibley, Iowa/Sibley-Ocheyedan) and John Seth (Arlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison). Shuck was one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the conference a season ago, wrestling down at 133 lbs., as he prepares to make the jump up to 141lbs. this season. He earned GPAC Wrestler of the Week honors back in January after downing two nationally-ranked opponents in spectacular fashion.
Seth is another young Raider on the squad this season with an incredibly high ceiling for his career as a Raider. The coaching staff notes that Seth doesn’t know how to wrestle a boring match!
149lbs.
As Coach Dahl mentioned, returning at 149lbs. is Breckin Sperling (Fr., Lincoln, Neb./East) for his second season donning the red and white. He is a spark plug to the Raider lineup, always looking to put his opponents away fast and early. As a freshman last season, Sperling led the team in falls (12) and looks to continue his bid to enter the Raider wrestling record books for career falls. The sophomore walked away with a third-place finish at the GPAC championships, falling only to the No. 8-ranked NAIA wrestler, missing the national tournament by one match.
Highly touted freshman Erik Rodriguez (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) joins Sperling at 149lbs. this season. Rodriquez won a total of 180 matches in his high school career, and is set to be a serious threat for GPAC opponents this season.
157lbs.
The 157 weight-class is wide open and ready for the taking as freshman Eddy Punzalan (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) is primed to take the slot this year for Northwestern. Punzalan’s unorthodox style will make him a major threat in the Raider lineup this season.
165lbs.
After wrestling at 157lbs. a season ago, senior and team captain Blake Pomajzl (Sedalia, Mo./Smith-Cotton) is set to move up to the 165 weight-class this season. He was a 2020 GPAC place-winner at 157 pounds and a Scholar-Athlete this last year in 2021. He’s primed to test his high-paced offense against a new group of opponents on the mat this year.
Joining Pomajzl is sophomore Samuel Copley (Denton, Neb./Milford), who was also a 2021 Scholar-Athlete. According to the Raider coaching staff, Copley has had one of the most impressive progressions of improvement during his time at Northwestern. This past season, he jumped levels and tripled his win total from his freshman year.
174lbs.
After a stellar freshman campaign at 165, which included a win over a four-time national qualifier and nearly making the national tournament in a loaded GPAC bracket, team captain Jakob Francksen-Small (Fr., Merrill, Iowa/Le Mars Community) slides up to 174 pounds.
Also, at 174 pounds, a familiar face in junior captain Tyler Zeimen (Cherokee, Iowa/Washington) returns to the Raiders’ lineup. Being the man for Northwestern at 174 the last two postseasons, and has improved exponentially every year on campus.
Be prepared for both Francksen-Small and Zeimen to make some noise come March in Wichita.
184lbs.
Two-time national qualifier Luke Jenness (So., Primghar, Iowa/Sheldon) returns to the mat this season as the man at 184 pounds, for the third straight year. Jenness boasts a nearly pristine 20-1 career dual meet record, and an equally impressive 28-2 mark against GPAC opponents through two seasons of competition.
197lbs.
197lbs. is up for grabs entering this season, as freshmen Braeden Campbell (Lees Summit, Mo./Lees Summit) and Jose Sanchez (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) are the two up for the slot in the lineup. Campbell is a two-time Missouri State place-winner, he is ready to make some noise in the red and white. Sanchez looks to build upon his success he had a season ago during the so-called “Covid-year,” as both men are set to step up this season for the Raiders.
285lbs.
Rounding out the Raider lineup entering the 2021-22 season is freshman Lincoln Siebert (Burns, Wyo./Burns) at 285lbs. Siebert comes to Northwestern fresh off a Wyoming State Championship his senior year of high school, capping off an illustrious career at Burns-Pine Bluff High School.
“What makes this team special is the way these guys rally together. We are very intentional about using wrestling as a metaphor for life. That training we do in the wrestling room should transfer over to their day-to-day and we have seen the benefits of that in our team culture and in life beyond wrestling,” said Dahl on his team. “We stress that Godly men REJECT PASSIVITY, EXPECT THE GREATER AWARD, ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY, and LEAD COURAGEOUSLY – and this team has bought into that vision. It is a blessing to see a diverse group of young men live out those attributes in the classroom, the practice room, and around campus.”
GPAC Outlook
A season ago, the Raiders placed fifth as a team in a tough Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), at the 2021 GPAC Championships. The Morningside Mustangs took home the team crown – and earned the NAIA North Qualifier berth – with 149.5 points. Entering this season, the Doane Tigers are the highest-ranked GPAC team at No. 3 in the nation, coming off a third-place finish at the 2021 GPAC Championships.
“Our conference has improved greatly in recent years and that has forced us to up our training and think better of ways to prepare. Every team has shown great improvement and that means there will be no “gimmies.” From our first dual in Mitchell, S.D. to the GPAC Duals on January 29, we expect a dogfight every night and at every weight,” said Dahl. “I think there are a number of teams that could win it and several other teams who could make it difficult for those teams. I have to believe that we are a team to contend, but at this point, teams like Doane, Briar Cliff, and Morningside have been in the driver’s seat the past few years.”
Coach Dahl Profile
Coach Dahl enters his 14th season leading the Northwestern wrestling program, his alma mater where he competed for the Raiders. He was a team captain on the 1997 wrestling team that finished eighth at the NAIA Championships, the highest team-finish in program history. That same season, Dahl was named an All-American.
Dahl is assisted by graduate assistant Dylan Costello (’20) who wrestled for Northwestern at 174 pounds. He is also assisted by Luis Rivera-Santiago (’17) and Jon Groskreutz.
Under Dahl’s leadership, the Red Raiders have sent 55 wrestlers to the NAIA National Tournament and crowned six All-Americans. Dahl’s leadership is also evident off the mat as his 2009 and 2011 teams were crowned the NAIA Champions of Character for their impact in and around the Northwestern Community. Ten of Dahl’s wrestlers have been recognized as Academic All-Americans. His 2010 and 2012 teams placed 10th and 8th respectively in the country for highest GPA in the NAIA. Additionally, this past academic year, Dahl’s squad had the fourth-highest GPA in the NAIA at No. 4. He has also coached seven NAIA Scholar-Athletes at Northwestern, who have achieved a minimum 3.5 GPA.
