Men's Wrestling Nationals Preview

Doane Men's Wrestling enters the 2023 NAIA National Championships on Friday ranked No. 4 in the NAIA. The Tigers are in search of their first team trophy at nationals which goes to a team finishing in the Top 4. Last year, the Tigers placed fifth in the national tournament.

This year, the Tigers bring 10 wrestlers to the national tournament, placing a wrestler in nine of the 10 weight classes. Seven of Doane's wrestlers have earned a Top 16 national seed with six of those in the Top 10. Preliminary brackets were released late last week.

In the 125 bracket, Daniel Vargas enters as the No. 3 seed. He is scheduled to take on Landon Smith of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.). Smith comes in with an 18-17 record and earned an automatic berth with his fifth place finish in the Cascade Conference tournament. With a win, he would match up against the winner of No. 14 Riley Siason (Menlo, Calif.) and Brody Gee (Saint Mary, Kan.).

Devin Avedissian will represent the Tigers at 133. He is the first Tiger to wrestle at nationals in the weight class. Avedissian will take on Jason Shaw of Central Methodist (Mo.), the No. 12 seed. The two wrestlers met in December at the Concordia Duals with Shaw picking up the win by pin. The two freshmen might be setting up a rivalry for the next three years.

Defending NAIA National Champion Baagii Boldmaa returns for one more go-around. Boldmaa received no favors as the No. 1 seed at 141, drawing Dawson Bates of Reinhardt (Ga.), who was ranked No. 17 in the final NAIA rankings and holds an 18-9 record. Boldmaa holds a win over Bates, a 15-5 win at the NAIA National Duals in 2022. With a win, Boldmaa would take on 16-seed Jaxon Marian of Eastern Oregon, who received a bye in the first round.

Nate Lendt picked up the No. 9 seed at 149 and will take on Steven Weathers of Missouri Valley. Weathers received an at-large berth and enters with a 10-5 record and is No. 16 in the NAIA rankings. He was an All-American last year at Missouri Baptist. With a win, Lendt would meet up with 9-seed John Diener of Morningside (Iowa), who received a bye. It would mark their third meeting with the first two meetings being split.

Tristan Zamilpa takes the mat at 157 as the 16-seed. He has drawn Kael Bruce from William Penn (Iowa), who enters with a 19-9 overall record. Bruce is ranked No. 24 in the NAIA and was an automatic qualifier after finishing fifth in the HAAC qualifying tournament. With a win, Zamilpa would likely face the top seed in the bracket, Giovanni Bonilla of Grand View (Iowa).

In the 165 bracket, Benjamin Dobler is scheduled to face off with the No. 9 seed, Gavin Smith off Campbellsville (Tenn.). Smith, a fifth-year senior and 2021 NAIA All-American, enters with a 16-2 record after winning the Mid-South tournament. The winner will face either 8-seeded Jordan Komac (Providence, Mont.) or Braeden Baller (Texas Wesleyan).

Two Tigers will compete at 174, Chinges Tsermaa and Michael Scarponi. Tsermaa enters as the No. 6 seed and will take on Joey Ewalt of Baker (Kan.). Ewalt qualified by placing third in the HAAC championship meet and is ranked No. 18. The winner takes on Michael Long of Cumberlands (Tenn.), the 11-seed, who received a bye in the first round of action.

Scarponi wil take on 8-seed Cole Tenety of Reinhardt (Ga.). Tenety took third place in his conference qualifier and holds an 18-7 record this season. Last year he finished sixth at the NAIA Championships. The winner will take on 9-seed Joe Koontz of Lindsay Wilson, who received a bye in the first round.

Bradley Antesberger is the No. 2 seed at 197 and will take on Levid Rodriguez of Campbellsville (Tenn.). Rodriguez, ranked No. 17, is 18-5 on the season and took runner-up honors in his conference qualifying tournament. The winner of the match will face either 15-seed Nathan Critchfield (Indiana Tech) or Branson Bottorff (William Penn, Iowa).

Brandon Antesberger drew Justin Darter of Ottawa (Kan.) for his opening round match. Antesberger is the No. 9 seed in the tournament. Darter comes in with a 19-10 record and received an at-large berth after placing second in the KCAC qualifying tournament. The winner will take on either 8-seed Hunter DeJong (Morningside, Iowa) or Carlos Figueroa (Lindsey Wilson, Ky.). If Antesberger and DeJong meet up in the second round, it would mark their third meeting of the season with each wrestling holding a win.

Action is set to begin on Friday at 10:00 AM at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas, and run through Saturday evening.