MITCHELL, S.D. – The (RV) Northwestern College wrestling team saw seven individuals place at the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Wrestling Championships, as Luke Jenness highlighted the Raiders with the 184-pound title, guiding Northwestern to a fifth-place team finish with 84.5 points.
The 184-pound title for Jenness marks his second in as many seasons for the sophomore.
“I’m proud of the way our guys battled! It’s not easy to get seven placers at the conference championships,” said head coach Rik Dahl. “For our guys to keep battling showed a lot of character and pride. I’m proud to coach these young men!”
Joining Jenness at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Wrestling Championships will be third-place finisher Jakob Francksen-Small (Fr., Merrill, Iowa/Le Mars Community). He went 4-1 and was given a wildcard allocation from the GPAC.
Day 1 Recap
Three Raiders wrestle their way into the semifinal round after the first day of wrestling at the 2022 GPAC Championships on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University. Eddy Punzalan (Fr., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) at 157, Francksen-Small at 174, and No. 10-ranked Jenness (So., Primghar, Iowa/Sheldon) at 184 all punched tickets into the semifinals on Saturday.
Punzalan began the tournament with a 5-2 decision over Ray Aranda (Midland), prevailing with a 5-2 decision. An injury forfeit in the quarterfinals from Tyson Johnson (DWU) set up his spot in the semifinals on Saturday. “He will have a test in the morning against a top-5 guy from Hastings,” noted Dahl.
Francksen-Small picked up two huge extra point victories on Friday to set himself up for a semifinal appearance heading into Saturday. In the opening round, he defeated Concordia’s Hunter Weimer by way of tech fall (6:03, 19-3). In the quarterfinals, the freshman took down Jake Leicht from Briar Cliff in a 11-0 major decision.
As the top seed, Jenness received a first-round bye. His first opponent was Jamestown’s Austin Morris where he won by fall (1:44) to put himself in position for a championship push on Saturday in Mitchell.
“As is our way, our guys battled hard this afternoon! Unfortunately, we came out flatter at times and that forced us to wrestle out of some holes in some big weights,” said coach Dahl. “Punzalan is the hero of the day. He went unseeded and knocked off the No. 4 and No. 5-seeded wrestlers in the conference. I’m feeling good about how some of these brackets are turning out and look forward to seeing how the eight guys who remain carry us to the end!”
Day 2 Recap
Jenness would be the lone Raider to punch a ticket into a championship bout, winning by fall (6:37) over Doane’s Cael Jordan. He will go toe-to-toe with Briar Cliff’s Jeremiah Glise in a rematch from the dual in Orange City back on January 12, where Jenness prevailed with a 9-2 decision, for the 184-pound GPAC title. In the title match, the sophomore downed Glise for the second time this season with a 5-1 decision to pick up the 184-pound title.
Punzalan’s day started with a tough match against No. 4-ranked Thomas Stevenson of Hastings College. The freshman battled hard, dropping the match in a 2-0 decision. Moving to the consolation bracket, he would take on senior Ray Aranda of Midland in a rematch for a chance to advance to the third-place bout, but fell in a 9-3 decision. In the fifth-place match, he would fall to Briar Cliff’s Garrett Arment, picking up a sixth-place finish at 157 pounds.
Francksen-Small would drop his semifinal match to No. 14-ranked Michael Scarponi (Doane) in a 7-2 decision. He took on Jackson Chapin (Morningside) for a chance at a third-place bout, prevailing with a 14-4 major decision. The victory set up a third-place bout against Timothy Huber (Concordia (Neb.)), where the freshman would prevail with a hard fought 3-2 decision and third-place.
battled his way out of the consolation bracket, losing in his opening round on Friday. In the consolation bracket, he picked up a fall victory (2:09) over Elijah Barajas (Jamestown), before being pinned by Briar Cliff’s Seth I’nama, sending him to the fifth-place match. Not deterred, the sophomore picked up another fall victory (2:42) to secure fifth-place at 125 pounds.
Manny Jaramillo (Jr., 133lbs., Selma, Calif./Selma), Erik Rodriguez (Fr., 149lbs., Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay), and Sean Heeney (So., 125lbs., Sioux City, Iowa/East) all earned fifth-place finishes at this year’s championships. Trey Schuck (Fr., Sibley, Iowa/Sibley-Ocheyedan) also placed, earning sixth at 141 pounds.
Up Next: The qualifying Raiders – Francksen-Small and Jenness – will prepare for the 2022 NAIA Wrestling Championships set for March 4 and 5 from Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan.
