The Lopers entering Saturday night’s finals at 7 p.m. in Sioux Falls with 79.0 team points. MIAA rival and No. 2 Central Oklahoma, with two in the finals, has 72.0. UNK can win a second straight title if it wins once or if the ‘Chos lose once or both. A win is worth four points, so UCO can still win by an 80-79 margin.
Senior and fifth seed Trenton Munoz (165 lbs.), who already has wins over the number one and four seeds, faces second-seed David Hunsberger of Lander (S.C.) with junior Otgonbayar Batsuuri (174 lbs.) battling top-ranked Hunter Jump of UCO for a third time this year. A class lower, undefeated Gabe Johnson of UCO goes for his third straight 157 lbs. title. Finally, senior Crew Howard (285 lbs.) looks to right a wrong as he takes on top seed Dorian Crosby (Gannon, Pa.). Last year at the NCAA’s, Crosby beat Howard in the third-place match and that allowed him to be the top seed in this tourney.
Finishing up Saturday afternoon were junior Joseph Airola (141 lbs.), senior Kaden Hart (184 lbs.) and senior Jackson Kinsella (197 lbs.). Airola came in fifth with the seniors sixth. Kinsella (Creston, Ia.) is now a three-time All-American with Airola a two-timer.
Munoz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) gave up an early takedown this morning to fall behind top seed Nolan Gessler of Tiffin (Ohio). He quickly countered with a reversal and added a takedown of his own late in the first period. Munoz never trailed again, won 10-5 and handed Gessler his first loss. Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) also had to take on an undefeated foe, former Iowa and South Dakota State Division I national qualifier Zach Glazier of St. Cloud State. Also the 2024 Big 10 runner up, Glazier came in 9-0 with six bonus point victories, but Howard shut him out, 5-0. He used a third period escape, a stall call and Glazier and a late takedown to record win 21 in a row.
Finally, Batsuuri (Mongolia) didn’t need any drama as he was about to tech fall unseeded Kydyn Lima of San Franciso State, 21-5, but instead got the fall at 4:04. He and Howard have amassed 37 team points to date.
Airola (Ward, Colo.) fell behind early in his semis match and lost 5-3 and then had to wrestle third seed Sean Solis of SCSU. He took him into overtime but fell, 4-1. Airola tallied a key team point by winning his fifth place match, 7-2, over a Lander (S.C.) Bearcat. In the upper weights, both Hart (St. Peters, Mo.) and Kinsella dropped their final two collegiate matches. Hart beat top seed Cole Glazier of SCSU, 4-2, before dropping two matches by a combined five points with Kinsella losing back-to-back bout in the first tie break. His last collegiate win came over ninth seed Jeramiah Larson of Maryville (Mo.), 7-2.
- Prelim – Zachary Ourada won by decision over Drew Stanfield (Central Mo.) 17-8 (Dec 8-1)
- Champ. Round 1 – #5 James Joplin (Lander, S.C.) won by decision over Zach Ourada (Dec 10-6)
- Cons Rd 1 – Zach Ourada won by tech over Eli Carrington (Belmont Abbey, N.C.) (TF 6:00; 19-4)
- Cons. Round 2 – #6 Jakob Romero (Adams St.) won by decision over Zach Ourada (Dec 5-3)
- Champ. Round 1 – Joseph Airola won by decision over Joey Ortega (Kutztown, Pa.) (Dec 5-0)
- Quarterfinal – Joseph Airola won by decision over #4 Colton Stoneking (Fairmont State, W.V.) (Dec 5-2)
- Semifinal – Ronan Schuelke (McKendree, Ill.) won by decision over Joseph Airola (Dec 5-3)
- Cons. Semi – #3 Sean Solis (Mary, N.D.) won in sudden victory over Joseph Airola (SV-1 4-1)
- 5th Place Match – Joseph Airol won by decision over Elijah Lusk (Lander, S.C.) (Dec 7-2)
- Champ. Round 1 – Trenton Munoz won by decision over Kole Marko (Minnesota St.) (Dec 6-1)
- Quarterfinal – Trenton Munoz won by decision over #4 Grant MacKay (Gannon, Pa.) (Dec 4-1)
- Semifinal – Trenton Munoz won by decision over #1 Nolan Gessler (Tiffin, Ohio) (Dec 10-5)
- Champ. Round 1 – Otgonbayar Batsuuri won by dec over Cole Ritter (Maryville, Mo.) (Dec 9-3)
- Quarterfinal – Otgonbayar Batsuuri won by dec over #6 Emilio Arellano (Tiffin, Ohio) (Dec 14-10)
- Semifinal – Otgonbayar Batsuuri won by fall over Kydyn Lima (San Francisco State) (Fall 4:04)
- Champ. Round 1 – Kaden Hart won by decision over Oliver Byerly (West Liberty, W.V.) (Dec 2-1)
- Quarterfinal – #4 Damon Ashworth (Central Mo.) won by decision over Kaden Hart (Dec 4-1)
- Cons. Round 2 – Kaden Hart won by tech fall over Cole Casilio (Kutztown, Pa.) (TF 7:00; 15-0)
- Cons. Round 3 – Kaden Hart won by decision over #1 Cole Glazier (St. Cloud State) (Dec 4-2)
- Cons. Semi – #2 Keegan Gehlhausen (Chadron State) won by decision over Kaden Hart (Dec 6-4)
- 5th Place Match – Sullivan Ramos (Wisc.-Parkside) won by decision over Kaden Hart (Dec 11-8)
- Champ. Round 1 – Jackson Kinsella won by major decision over Ethan Farnell (Indianapolis) (MD 12-4)
- Quarterfinal – #5 Logan Kvien (McKendree, Ill.) won by decision over Jackson Kinsella (Dec 1-0)
- Cons. Round 2 – Jackson Kinsella won in sudden victory over Tyson Meyer (St. Cloud) (SV-1 4-1)
- Cons. Round 3 – Jackson Kinsella won by decision over #9 Jeremiah Larson (Maryville, Mo.) (Dec 7-2)
- Cons. Semi – #6 Mason Villwok (Chadron St.) won in tie breaker over Jackson Kinsella (TB-1 2-1)
- 5th Place Match – Joey Lyons (Gannon, Pa.) won in tie breaker – 1 over Jackson Kinsella (TB 1-1)
- Champ. Round 1 – Crew Howard won by major decision over Jake Powell (Tiffin, Ohio) (MD 15-1)
- Quarterfinal – Crew Howard won by major decision over #7 Luke Tweeton (Mary, N.D.) (MD 8-0)
- Semifinal – Crew Howard won by decision over #3 Zach Glazier (St. Cloud State) (Dec 5-0)
