The NW wrestling team had a few competitions in the past week. They had their last GPAC dual last Friday, Feb. 2 in the Bultman Center. The Raiders rebounded from their close loss at Concordia to beat Jamestown University 43-6.
The night started at the 285 pound weight class. Out of the first four matches three of them were forfeits and the last one was a decision win from senior Jake Hergott. After those four, the Raiders went up 21-0 and did not look back. NW was open at the 149 weight class and gave up the six point forfeit at that weight.
However, the Raiders would win the last five matches to secure a massive win. Sophomore Andrew Null and senior Brandon Shuler earned back-to-back technical falls for the Raiders. Senior Nick Null ended the night with a bang as he pinned his foe in just 32 seconds. NW is currently in second place in the GPAC overall.
Then on Saturday, Feb. 3, seven wrestlers traveled south to compete in the Sioux City Open. This was the last regular season tournament of the year. Three out of the seven Raiders went 2-2. Leading that group was senior Brock Brenneman, who earned a pin in the first round. After dropping a close next match Brenneman rebounded and got a quick fall.
Freshmen Reid Seelhammer and Marcus Tucker were the other two wrestlers to notch two wins on the day. Tucker was able to earn a pin and a tech fall. Seelhammer dropped his first match but was able to get a major decision in the next match. Senior Isaac Ruiz and freshman Andrew Poumele were both able to get a win on the day.
The Raiders have the weekend off and then will start preparing for the NAIA North Qualifier on Feb. 17 in Hastings, Nebraska. Twelve wrestlers will be heading down, all trying to punch their ticket to Nationals.
