NAIA wrestling tourney begins at Tyson
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2008
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is hoping for a great and dramatic escape from the fourth and final NAIA national wrestling tournament in Sioux City.
The meet, expanded from two to three days this year, gets under way tonight (7 o'clock) at the Tyson Events Center with several preliminary matches in the double-elimination competition.
"Our intent is for no wrestler to be eliminated Thursday night,'' said tournament co-director Doug Manley. "The schedule will fluctuate according to that plan.''
Sioux City is hosting the meet for the fourth and last time. The national tourney moves to Oklahoma City for a two-year run beginning next year.
Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., is the defending champion after scoring 177 points in winning the title last year, 67 more than runner-up Embry-Riddle of Arizona.
"Repeating as champions will not be easy,'' said Joe Parisi, who also guided Lindenwood to team titles in 2005 and 2002. Dana won the 2006 crown at the Tyson Events Center, scoring a tourney record 193 points.
"We're looking forward to this exciting tournament, but, as always, it is going to be extremely competitive,'' added Parisi, who has coached 21 individual national champs. "But, you can bet that when the whistle blows the Lions will be ready to go.
"We only wrestled four duals this season, all in the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, and we've been in regular-season tournaments that I hope will prepare us for nationals.''
Among the returning individual national champs is Morningside senior Jake Stevenson, the winningest wrestler in school history with a 125-24 record.
Injuries have shortened Stevenson's season and he takes a 24-4 record into the meet.
Eleven other Morningsiders have qualified, including fifth-ranked 141-pounder Jared Pickett. The senior from David City, Neb., is 38-8 this season and ranks second in career victories with 111.
Stevenson defeated Joffre Lander of Embry-Riddle 3-1 in the finals last year.
The Morningside standout was ranked third going into the tourney last year and that's the case again this year for the senior from St. Petersburg, Neb.
He's in a loaded weight class that includes No. 1 Mike Kummer of the University of Great Falls, No. 2 Calvin DeVault and No. 5 Travous DeGroat of Embry-Riddle and No. 4 Jeremiah Toavs of Dickinson State.
Toavs was named the outstanding wrestler in the recent North Regional after beating Stevenson in the finals, 4-2.
The West Regional in Great Falls, Mont., also featured a major upset at 184 pounds when Kummer took DeVault down in the opening seconds, but the Embry-Riddle senior reversed the Argo to his back and scored a stunning fall in just 1:21.
In a mid-February dual, Dickinson State upset Great Falls 28-11, when Kummer beat Toavs 6-0.
Along with Stevenson, Zach Flake of Campbellsville (Ky.) Hayden "Hurricane'' Harrison of Embry-Riddle and Justin Schlecht of Dickinson State are back seeking more gold.
Flake, though, is just 3-1 after sitting out the majority of the campaign with injuries. He's unranked at 141 pounds after winning at that weight last year.
Harrison, after winning at 157 last season, is now at 174 pounds and ranked fourth behind Matt Cauley of Lindenwood, John Wilcox of Oklahoma City and Enock Francois of Northwestern.
Schlecht, a senior from Whitewood, S.D., is back to defend his 197-pound crown and is the school's career leader with 137 wins.
Friday's action begins at 9 a.m. and the finals on the elevated stage at the Tyson Saturday night will start at approximately 6 o'clock.
The meet, expanded from two to three days this year, gets under way tonight (7 o'clock) at the Tyson Events Center with several preliminary matches in the double-elimination competition.
"Our intent is for no wrestler to be eliminated Thursday night,'' said tournament co-director Doug Manley. "The schedule will fluctuate according to that plan.''
Sioux City is hosting the meet for the fourth and last time. The national tourney moves to Oklahoma City for a two-year run beginning next year.
Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., is the defending champion after scoring 177 points in winning the title last year, 67 more than runner-up Embry-Riddle of Arizona.
"Repeating as champions will not be easy,'' said Joe Parisi, who also guided Lindenwood to team titles in 2005 and 2002. Dana won the 2006 crown at the Tyson Events Center, scoring a tourney record 193 points.
"We're looking forward to this exciting tournament, but, as always, it is going to be extremely competitive,'' added Parisi, who has coached 21 individual national champs. "But, you can bet that when the whistle blows the Lions will be ready to go.
"We only wrestled four duals this season, all in the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, and we've been in regular-season tournaments that I hope will prepare us for nationals.''
Among the returning individual national champs is Morningside senior Jake Stevenson, the winningest wrestler in school history with a 125-24 record.
Injuries have shortened Stevenson's season and he takes a 24-4 record into the meet.
Eleven other Morningsiders have qualified, including fifth-ranked 141-pounder Jared Pickett. The senior from David City, Neb., is 38-8 this season and ranks second in career victories with 111.
Stevenson defeated Joffre Lander of Embry-Riddle 3-1 in the finals last year.
The Morningside standout was ranked third going into the tourney last year and that's the case again this year for the senior from St. Petersburg, Neb.
He's in a loaded weight class that includes No. 1 Mike Kummer of the University of Great Falls, No. 2 Calvin DeVault and No. 5 Travous DeGroat of Embry-Riddle and No. 4 Jeremiah Toavs of Dickinson State.
Toavs was named the outstanding wrestler in the recent North Regional after beating Stevenson in the finals, 4-2.
The West Regional in Great Falls, Mont., also featured a major upset at 184 pounds when Kummer took DeVault down in the opening seconds, but the Embry-Riddle senior reversed the Argo to his back and scored a stunning fall in just 1:21.
In a mid-February dual, Dickinson State upset Great Falls 28-11, when Kummer beat Toavs 6-0.
Along with Stevenson, Zach Flake of Campbellsville (Ky.) Hayden "Hurricane'' Harrison of Embry-Riddle and Justin Schlecht of Dickinson State are back seeking more gold.
Flake, though, is just 3-1 after sitting out the majority of the campaign with injuries. He's unranked at 141 pounds after winning at that weight last year.
Harrison, after winning at 157 last season, is now at 174 pounds and ranked fourth behind Matt Cauley of Lindenwood, John Wilcox of Oklahoma City and Enock Francois of Northwestern.
Schlecht, a senior from Whitewood, S.D., is back to defend his 197-pound crown and is the school's career leader with 137 wins.
Friday's action begins at 9 a.m. and the finals on the elevated stage at the Tyson Saturday night will start at approximately 6 o'clock.
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 0 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
