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| #25 Dante Rigal Vs #20 Hunter Bennett 125 |
Have a good one here between two tough young men. Dante Rigal finished 3rd at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championships last season and is looking to move up the ladder. A win over Hunter Bennett would most certainly get him up a few rungs. Bennett, has had his share of ups and downs this season. While he placed at last year's Friends Invitational, he failed to place here a few weeks ago. A win over Rigal would be good way to bounce back.
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| #16 Zach Zitek Vs #10 Creighton Baughman 141 |
Here's a good one at 141 lbs. The last time Zach Zitek & Creighton Baughman met, it was an 8-3 decision for the Bulldog. Zitek gave him a good match, but the experience of Baughman secured the match with two takedowns, to the one reversal of Zitek's. Baughman, a two time NAIA qualifier, was 2nd in the GPAC last year. He's a pinner and he knows how to put opponents onto their back. Something Zitek will need to watch out for.
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| #18 Tommy Wentz Vs #15 Kaleb Bigelow #18 Tommy Wentz Vs #5 Zander Ernst |
Here's our star pupil of the day. Hosted by the Concordia (NEB) Bulldogs, this presents itself the perfect opportunity for Tommy Wentz to be a hero in front of his home crowd fans, wrestling on his mats, in his arena. The GPAC runner-up was unable to defeat Kaleb Bigelow in two matches last year, but match #2 was a heck of a lot closer than was match #1. In the dual, Bigelow controlled Wentz rather easily in an 8-1 decision. However, in the finals of GPAC, it was a much closer 4-2 decision. Bigelow is not out of Wentz's league & home mat advantage could spell the difference. Even better news for Wentz, he has defeated Zander Ernst before. Matter of fact, he pinned him at the 1:05 mark in the GPAC semi-finals. Was it for real? Was it a fluke? I suppose we'll answer that question later today when Wentz meets up with the 8th in the NAIA nation All American.
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| #19 Kaleb Lind Vs #2 Kasten Grape or #4 Brad Antesberger 197 |
I enjoy seeing Red Raiders do well on the mat, but has Kaleb Lind got his work cut out for him when Northwestern (IA) duals Doane. He'll either get 4th in the NAIA nation Kasten Grape or he'll get 3rd & 7th in the NAIA nation Brad Antesberger. Fun, huh? Grape tech'd him 21-4 in a dual last year. A year is a long time though. A lot can change in a year. Perhaps it is bias. Had I went the wrestling route instead of trying to do college theatre, I'd have worn the red and white myself. Do I see Lind winning a match here? No, I have to be fair and realistic. I do hope he can give a better match though.
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| #17 Mason Garcia Vs #9 Jakob Jerabek HWT |
These two were at two different weight classes last season, so it's hard to evaluate how this match will go. Mason Garcia competing at 197 lbs was 3rd in the GPAC, where as Jakob Jerabek took runner-up honors competing at HWT. For the record, Jerabek also took 3rd at a very tough and loaded Missouri Valley Invitational. Hard to say what will happen in this match. I do think it'll be good though.
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| #11 Alton Allen Vs #14 Eli Criblez HWT |
Here's another battle at HWT that interest me. Personally, I think both of these wrestlers have the ability to be All Americans this year. Alton Allen impressed me most by placing 5th at last year's Missouri Invitational. Eli Criblez wasn't far behind him, earning himself a 7th place finish. At the GPAC, turn it around. Criblez finished in 4th place & Allen finished one spot lower on the podium by taking 5th. Head to head, the match went into sudden victory the last time the two met. Allen scored the takedown to earn a 4-1 win. Should be another good one today.
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