Warriors Bow to Bulldogs in GPAC Dual

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University hosted (RV) Concordia University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) dual on Wednesday night at the Wikert Event Center. The Warriors won the last two bouts of the night but could not overcome the deficit from the previous matches, falling to the visiting Bulldogs from Seward, 36-6.

Both teams were open at 125 pounds to start the competition. At 133, Midland was open, awarding Concordia's Aidan Trowbridge a victory by forfeit and giving the Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead. In the 141-pound class, Midland's Jackson Duncan lost to Bryce Karlin by fall at 1:34, extending the Bulldogs' advantage to 12-0. Concordia continued its lead at 149 pounds as Steven Barnes defeated Midland's Zion Amerson, 8-0, putting the score at 16-0. At 157 pounds, Tyren Schaefer scored the first points for the Warriors but ultimately fell to Francisco Mendez, 10-3. At the midpoint of the dual, Concordia led 19-0.

Moving up to compete at 167 pounds, Midland's Francisco Duran faced Concordia's 18th-ranked Tommy Wentz, who won by technical fall, 17-1, at 4:40. The result widened Concordia's lead to 24-0. At 174 and 184 pounds, the Bulldogs recorded wins by fall. Logan Millikan of Midland was pinned by Barret Brandt at 2:18, and Midland's Treyton Tweton, making his collegiate debut at 184, was pinned by Hunter Weimer at 4:01. Heading into the last two bouts, Concordia led 36-0.

In the 197-pound bout, Midland's Burton Brandt put the Warriors on the board with a 9-4 victory over Torrance Keehn, improving his season record to 5-1. In the final match, Midland's Zeph Sivels pulled off an impressive upset, defeating Concordia's 17th-ranked Mason Garcia, 4-1. The night ended with a final score of 36-6.

Head coach Doyle Trout appreciated his team's effort despite the loss. "I liked the way our two seniors, Burton and Zeph, wrestled at the end," Trout said. "Burton has transitioned well from football, and Zeph has worked his way up through the program. They've earned their opportunities with hard work, and the team can learn from that."

Trout praised Sivels' performance, saying, "That was a big win for Zeph. He has a natural talent and does things on the mat you just can't teach. He's shown he can knock off nationally ranked opponents, and he did it again tonight."

Midland will return to action Friday night as they travel to Crete, Nebraska, to face No. 5-ranked Doane in another GPAC dual.

"We're facing strong opponents every time we step on the mat, which exposes areas we need to work on," Coach Trout added.

The dual between Midland and Doane is set for 7 p.m. Friday at the Haddix Center.