2023 NAIA The Season = Lincoln

 

I'm well aware. Trust me I'm well aware. I know that there will be no Lincoln Lynx wrestling this season because there is no more Lincoln College (Illinois). However, they had a very good team last year & I know I can't be the only person curious as to what will become of what would have been their returning roster.  Found some answers, while others still remain a mystery. 

125 lbs 
Jake Jozwiak 

One school's tragedy is another school's fortune as what Lincoln College lost, Eureka College gained. For the first time in school history the Red Devils will field a wrestling program & it's obvious that they aren't going to sit around and wait on father time to be successful. Last season for the Lynx, Jozwiak was a American Midwest Conference champion. While it usually takes time before a first year program has a qualifier to the national tournament, with talent like Jozwiak on the roster, I can see it being a real possibility for Eureka this season.  (Eureka will be at the NCAA DIII level). 

141 lbs 
Dominic Tenayuca 

I'm very anxious to see what becomes of Dominic Tenayuca. He's a senior who not only wrestled for Lincoln, but he also played baseball. Have to question  at this point if he continues to do both wrestling and baseball, or if in his final season of eligibility he choses one over the other. I haven't heard or read yet, but anxious to find out. 

165 lbs
Andrew Sims 

Another American Midwest Champion that will be making his new home Eureka is junior Andrew Sims. Like Jozwiak, he gives the Red Devils a reason to believe their first season could very well be a successful one. 

184 lbs 
Thomas Culp 

Sophomore Thomas Culp makes yet a third former Lynx who will be a Red Devil this upcoming season. He was a American Midwest Conference runner-up last season who went 2-2 at the NAIA championships. 

197 lbs                            HWT
Jackson Creasy           Desirgeon Keys 

Have yet to hear where Jackson Creasy or Desirgeon Keys are headed. Both American Midwest Conference champions this past season, Creasy at 197 & Keys at HWT.  Creasy is only a sophomore with three years of eligibility left, where Keys is a senior. Wherever they end up, both will make great additions to a line up. 

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As noted it's rewarding to see in the darkness that is the loss of Lincoln, that a negative is turned into a positive in what will be the light of the addition of Eureka. Having three NAIA qualifiers to jump start your program in its inauguration is a commitment to excellence that should not go overlooked. Hope to see Tenayuca back on the mat somewhere this winter, but in the least hope that if he doesn't continue wrestling that he does continue baseball. The ideal situation is that he continues both.  Anxious to see where Creasy and Keys end up.