Morningside finished in a three-way tie for second place in the GPAC wrestling standings.

Alex Schmitz

Kyle Fowler

Morningside defeated Concordia 22-11 in Thursday’s GPAC wrestling dual to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the GPAC standings with a 6-2 league record.

The Mustangs, who completed the dual campaign with a 6-5 overall record, finished in a second place tie with Northwestern and Midland.

Morningside trailed Concordia 8-3 after the first three bouts before it took control with six victories in the final seven weight divisions.

The Mustangs took the lead for good when Kyle Fowler won a 3-2 decision against Jared Woods in the 157 lb. match to put the hosts up 10-8 at the midway point.

Steven Garcia had the Mustangs’ most lopsided victory with an 8-0 major decision against Chris Kimball at 149 lbs. Garcia, ranked fourth nationally in the NAIA, improved his season’s record to 21-3 with his 14th win in a row.

Jacob Wiley

Caleb Deemer

Three of the Mustangs’ wins against the Bulldogs came against 20-match winners. Alex Schmitz won a 4-3 decision against Giovanni Castillo (22-8) in the 133 lb. bout, Jacob Wiley won a  3-2 decision against Walker Fisher (20-9) at 174 lbs. and Caleb Deemer won a 6-4 decision against Josh Nelson (22-13) at 197 lbs.

The Mustangs’ other victors were Nick Madsen with an 8-6 decision over Keanu Tom at 165 lbs. and Phil Rasmussen with a 9-2 decision against Michael Duffy in the heavyweight finale. Rasmussen’s victory made him a 20-match winner in his freshman season with a record of 20-10.

Morningside will compete in the NAIA North Qualifier tournament on Feb. 17 in Hastings, Neb.

Box Score