Men's Wrestling Wins Second Straight GPAC Duals Crown

Men's Wrestling won their second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Duals title on Saturday with a 44-3 win over Morningside. The victory gave Doane their fourth title in the last five years, a stretch that has seen the Tigers go 39-1 in conference action.

Doane won the first five matches to jump out to a 22-0 lead. Hunter Bennett started the match off for the Tigers at 125 and won by major decision, 11-2, over Noah Thorsen. Matthew Terrence followed with a pin in 3:33 over Christian Ahrens. A tight match at 141 saw Devin Avedissian win by sudden victory in overtime, 5-2.

Nate Lendt picked up a pin at 149 in 1:07 to defeat Chris Aragon. Ben Miller won a 6-3 decision against Caden Eggleston at 157. The Mustangs were able to get on the board at 165 as Blaine Christo edged Cooper Spaulding, 7-6.

Benjamin Dobler sealed the victory at 174 for the Tigers with a 13-3 major decision victory over Alex Vandyke. With the win, Doane could not be caught and the Mustangs elected to forfeit the final three matches to give wins to Tyson Beauperthuy (184), Bradley Antesberger (197), and Eli Criblez (285).

Doane closed out the dual season with an 8-0 conference record and a 12-2 overall record.

Next up for the Tigers will be the GPAC Men's Wrestling Tournament on February 21-22 in Hastings. Bids for the NAIA Championships will be decided as well as the postseason team champion.