Six Raiders Take First At DWU Open

Six Northwestern wrestlers won their respective brackets at the Dakota Wesleyan Open held today in Mitchell, S.D. Today’s event marked the season debut for Head Coach Rik Dahl’s squad; 19 Raiders competed and compiled an overall record of 35-31.

Freshman Trey Schuck (133) made quite an impact competing in his first meet as Raider. Schuck went a perfect 3-0 on the day, picking up a pair of wins by major decision and a a third victory by fall, pinning Freddy Moreno (Waldorf) to win the 133B bracket.

Another freshman for Coach Dahl, Breckin Sperling (157B), also shined in his debut, winning the 157B bracket with a perfect 4-0 mark. Sperling picked up three wins by fall, pinning Trevor Zeitner (Briar Cliff), Matt Thompson (Jamestown) and Coby Eikenhorst (Dakota Wesleyan). He picked up a narrow 2-1 win against Tavoris Smith (CNC) n his second match of the day.

Two additional freshmen, Edward Punzalan (157) and Jakob Francksen-Small (165), won their respective brackets. Punzalan was the star at 157C, winning all four of his bouts, two by fall and two by major decision. He defeated Michael Teasley (Waldorf) in his final match, 14-3. Francksen-Small claimed all three bouts at 165A, picking up two wins by decision and a third by medical forfeit.

Matthew Dahl (174) won all three matches, pinning Andrew Reid (CNC) in his first match at the 5:41 mark. The junior then defeated his teammate, Trevor Sagness, by major decision, and downed Maurice Blackmon (Waldorf) by an 8-4 decision.

Luke Jenness (184), a national qualifier in 2020, continued his tremendous career with a perfect 3-0 mark. Jenness opened with a victory against Jake Leicht (BCU) and then pinned Cyrus Marshall (Concordia) at 4:51. In his final match, the sophomore defeated another Bulldogs wrestler, Oscar Ramirez-Garcia, by major decision to win the 184 bracket.

Other Raider wrestlers of note; Chase Peterson finished second with a 2-1 record at 149A; Sam Copley went 2-1 and placed second at 165B and Elijah Blare went 3-1 at 285 to place second.

Said Head Coach Rik Dahl, “I was pleased with our young guys. Both Briar Cliff and Concordia have solid wrestlers and we went toe-to-toe with them. I was impressed with the way our young guys attacked and forced the action. Sperling, Punzalan and Schuck were really good. Sperling led the tournament with three falls in under four minutes. Punzalen had four wins, two pins and two major’s while Schuck had a pin and two major decision wins. These young guys really impressed us. Another highlight was when Francksen-Small defeated a nationally ranked wrestler from Briar Cliff (9-4). Also winning his first college tournament was Dahl. Overall, there are some things we need to clean up and work on before we take the mat again on Wednesday…but there was much to celebrate today.”

Northwestern will compete in two duals this week, at Briar Cliff on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and at Jamestown on Friday, Nov. 20.

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