Fremont, Nebraska — Luke Jenness earned a spot in the upcoming 2021 NAIA Wrestling National Championship and highlighted the efforts of the 12 competitors who represented the Northwestern College wrestling program at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships held Friday and Saturday in Fremont, Neb.
Head Coach Rik Dahl, in his 13th season with the Northwestern wrestling program, finished in fifth place at the GPAC Tournament with 75.5 points, 10 points shy of a top four finish. Morningside won the championship with 149.5 points, followed by Briar Cliff (142), Doane (123) and Hastings (85.5).
Luke Jenness was the top finisher for Coach Dahl’s squad as the defending champion at 184 came up one win shy of duplicating his accomplishment from the 2020 season. Jenness went 2-1 over the two-day event, defeating Oscar Ramirez-Garcia (CNC) 9-2 and No.3 Garrett Cornwell (Doane) by a 13-1 major decisiion. The sophomore was shutout in the championship match, however, falling to top-ranked Tyson Beauperthuy (MOR) 13-0. Jenness qualified for the upcoming NAIA National Championships.
Breckin Sperling finished third at 149, closing the championship with a 3-1 record. Sperling, ranked fourth in the GPAC, began with a 3-2 win over Riley Dement (Hastings) but then lost to top-rated John Diener (MOR) by fall (3:38) in the semifinals. Sperling pinned Brandon Gonzalez early in the consolation bracket and advanced to the third place match where he defeated teammate Chase Peterson by fall (2:21).
Peterson placed fourth with a 3-2 record at 149, going 1-1 on day one (Friday). The senior defeated Dement (Hastings) 3-2 and then pinned No.3 Andrew Shea (BCU) at the 2:01 mark.
Three Raiders, Trey Schuck (133), Jakob Francksen-Small (165) and Austin Hendrickson (174), placed fifth. Schuck closed the championship with a 2-2 record, pinning No.4 Roman Carrillo (Jamestown) at the 5:29 mark in the fifth place match. A 2-0 start on Friday put Francksen-Small against No.1 Caleb Connor (MOR) in Saturday’s semifinal and the freshman lost a close 2-1 decision to the NAIA’s 10th-ranked wrestler. The freshman then lost to Concordia’s Gabriel Crawford before coming back to defeat Ethan Hatcher by major decision. Hendrickson, ranked fourth in the GPAC, went 1-2, picking up his win in the fifth place match against Carson Toedter (Jamestown) 6-3.
Jenness will compete in the NAIA National Championships for the second consecutive year.
