Men's Wrestling Leads GPAC Championships After Day One

Men's Wrestling opened the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championship Tournament on Friday afternoon in Seward with 12 wrestlers competing. At the end of the first day of action, Doane stood in First Place with 81.0 points, ahead of Morningside's 73.5 points.

The Tigers will enter the second day of action on Saturday with 10 wrestlers in the semifinals of their brackets and two alive in the consolation bracket.

In the 125 bracket, Nathan Rizek went 2-0 as he opened the tournament with the first match of the day. He posted a pin in 1:21 and followed with a pin in the quarterfinals in 2:08, erasing an early takedown. Hunter Bennet went 1-0 after a bye to open action. He defeated Seth I'nama who was disqualified for too many stalling calls.

Devin Avedissian is into the semifinals despite not wrestling on Friday. With only seven wrestlers in the 133 bracket, Avedissian picked up a bye and moved directly to the semis. Nate Lendt received a first round bye before posting an 18-2 tech fall win in the quarters.

Benjamin Miller went 1-0 on the day, picking up a second period pin at 4:32 after a first round bye. Cael Jordan and Michael Scarponi both received byes in the opening round at 174. Jordan posted a 17-1 win in his match while Scarponi collected a pin at 5:54.

In the 184 bracket, Tyson Beauperthuy went 2-0 as he opened with a pin in 2:26 and followed up with a 19-4 tech fall win. Chase Stieb went 1-1, dropping his opening match to NAIA No. 10 Luke Jenness before bouncing back with an 8-4 decision victory. 

Kasten Grape and Bradley Antesberger advanced to the semifinals at 197 with undefeated days. Grape went 2-0 with a pair of pins. Both pins came in the first period at marks of 2:14 and 1:33. Antesberger went 1-0 after an opening bye, winning by tech fall, 18-2.

Eli Criblez went 1-1 in the 285 bracket. He dropped his opening match to NAIA No. 8 Hunter DeJong, 8-1. The score was tied until the final 20 seconds when DeJong picked up a takedown and nearfall points. He bounced back with a 7-3 win to advance in the consolation bracket.

Saturday's action in Seward will start at 10 AM as the wrestlers compete for individual titles, bids to nationals, and GPAC team championship.