Wrestling

Morningside College will offer the 2013 Summer Wrestling Academy from June 3 to Aug. 1 in the Hindman-Hobbs Center.

The academy is a nine-week long, individualized program that focuses on the development of high school athletes. Sessions are dedicated towards physical, mental, and technique development.

The academy is run by Morningside College head wrestling coach Jake Stevenson and former Mustang head coach and current athletic director Tim Jager.

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John Sievert, a senior from Akron, Iowa, became the second NAIA National Champion in Morningside College history and added to his career pin record during the 2012-13 wrestling season.

Sievert won a 3-1 decision against Carl Lawrence of Missouri Valley College in the 197 lb. title match at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships to join Mustang head coach Jake Stevenson as the only national titlists in Morningside history.

Aside from winning a national title, Sievert also added to his school-record pin total. He had a 21-2 record with eight falls to raise his school-record total to 44 career falls. One of his falls came in just 13 seconds against Eric Johnson of Calumet College at the NAIA National Championships for the fastest pin in Morningside history, topping the previous record of 15 seconds by Weston Frahm during the 2005-06 campaign.

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Morningside College’s wrestling team was announced as the winner of the 2012-13 Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Team Award during the 2013 NAIA Wrestling National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

They are the second team from Morningside to receive a Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Team Award this academic year, joining the Mustangs’ women’s cross country team, who received the same distinction last fall.

The Mustang wrestlers, coached by Jake Stevenson, participated in Morningside’s “Into the Streets” campus wide community service project last fall by picking up trash at several city parks. This winter they gave a presentation to a Sergeant Bluff-Luton seventh grade class where they discussed the NAIA Champions of Character’s five-core value emphasis on respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership, and sportsmanship.

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John Sievert, a senior from Akron, Iowa, became the second wrestler in Mustang history to win a NAIA National Championship when he defeated sixth-ranked Carl Lawrence of Missouri Valley College by a 3-1 decision in the 197 lb. title bout at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Sievert joined Morningside head coach Jake Stevenson as a national champion. Stevenson won the NAIA 184 lb. National Championship as a sophomore in 2007.

Sievert, ranked seventh in the nation, closed out the season with a 19-match winning streak to finish with a record of 21-2.

He took a 2-0 lead against Lawrence when he scored a takedown with 49 seconds left in the first period. Sievert made it 3-0 with an escape early in the second period. Lawrence closed within 3-1 when he escaped Sievert’s grasp early in the third period to complete the scoring.

Sievert beat another Missouri Valley opponent to earn his berth in the finals when he upset top-ranked Josh Manu with an 8-7 decision in the semifinals.

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Morningside College is ranked 12th in the nation in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Post-Season Poll released on March 11.

The Mustangs, who were ranked 10th in the final regular season poll, finished the season with an 11-4 dual record, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to win the GPAC championships for the third year in a row.

Morningside is one of three teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA Top 20. Midland University is ranked ninth and Dakota Wesleyan University is 20th.

The Mustangs John Sievert, a senior from Akron, Iowa, is ranked No. 1 at 197 lbs. in the individual rankings. Sievert was the 2013 NAIA 197 lb. National Champion after he defeated Carl Lawrence of Missouri Valley College by a 3-1 decision in the NAIA Wrestling National Championship finals.

John Sievert, a 197 lb. senior from Akron, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Wrestler of the Year to highlight the Mustangs’ representatives named to the 2012-13 All-GPAC Wrestling Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

Morningside’s Jake Stevenson was named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Wrestling Coach of the Year after he guided the Mustangs to a 12-4 dual record, including a perfect 6-0 mark in GPAC competition to win the conference championship in his first season as the Mustangs’ head coach. The Mustangs captured their third consecutive GPAC title and finished second at this past weekend’s 11-team NAIA North Regional Tournament.

Sievert has a 17-2 record with seven falls and was the 197 lb. champion at this season’s NAIA North Regional tourney and the Briar Cliff University Open. He has an 82-32 record for his career and is Morningside’s all-time leader with 43 career falls.

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John Sievert, a senior from Akron, Iowa, was the 197 lb. champion at the NAIA North Region Qualifier wrestling tournament held in Fremont, Neb.

Sievert won a 15-8 decision against Bradlee Carls of York College in the 197 lb. title bout. Earlier in the tournament he pinned Skyler Carroll of Dickinson State University in 2:36, won a 20-8 major decision against Jade Hoisington of Dakota Wesleyan University in the quarterfinals, and won by injury default against Morningside teammate Chris Bridgeford in the semifinals.

Sievert’s performance led Morningside to a runner-up finish in the 11-team tournament behind team champion Dickinson State University.

Aside from Sievert’s championship effort, the Mustangs had second place finishes from Kory Kistner at 125 lbs. and Tyler Kacmarynski at heavyweight. The Mustangs had third place finishes from Chad Morehead at 165 lbs., Rulin Pederson at 174 lbs., and Brian Block at 184 lbs., and fourth place efforts from Garret Lambrecht at 141 lbs. and Chris Bridgeford at 197 lbs.

The top four finishers in each weight class qualified for the 2013 NAIA Wrestling National Championships to be held March 1 and 2 in Des Moines, Iowa.

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Nathan Ryan, a 133 lb. freshman from Moville, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Wrestler of the Week for Feb. 4 to 10.

Ryan won both of his matches in Morningside’s dual meet victories against Hastings College and Briar Cliff University to help the 10th-ranked Mustangs secure their third consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference championship with a perfect 6-0 record in league duals.

Ryan pinned Alec Chanthapatheth in 3:58 in the Mustangs’ 31-15 victory against Hastings and won a 7-2 decision against Devon Jackson in Morningside’s 26-13 triumph against Briar Cliff to raise his season’s record to 23-9. Ryan leads the Mustangs with his 23 victories.

Morningside will compete in the NAIA North Region Tournament in Fremont, Neb.

Morningside wrapped up its third consecutive GPAC wrestling championship with a 26-13 victory at city rival Briar Cliff on Feb. 7.

The Mustangs finished their GPAC slate undefeated with a 6-0 record and raised their season’s mark to 12-4. The 10th-ranked Mustangs, who will wrap up the regular season at the NAIA North Region Tournament on Feb. 16 in Fremont, Neb., closed out their dual season with seven straight victories.

Thursday’s dual started with the 174 lb. match and the Mustangs opened the dual with three straight victories to open an early 13-0 lead.