The Event... The Red Raider wrestling team will begin competition at the 2008 NAIA National Championship this Thursday evening at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The championships will take place over a three day span and will conclude with the championships and final matches on Saturday night, March 8.
Red Raider Notes... A total of nine NWC grapplers qualified for the national tournament and eight of which will compete this weekend. Jordan Keckler, an All-American last year at the championships, qualified earlier this year but will not compete due to injury. Of the eight wrestlers competing, five have won more than 30 matches and the team has scored over 100 bonus points this season with over 60 by fall. Northwestern is currently ranked 12th in the NAIA and four grapplers finished the season ranked in the top 10. Last season, Head Coach John Petty's squad finished 15th overall as a team and had three wrestlers earn All-American honors (Keckler, Enock Francois and Andrew Lundgren). As Petty states "The ultimate goal is to win the tournament and claim the team and individual titles but we also want to focus on improving where we finished last season. We are going to have to compete very well to hold our ranking (12th in the NAIA) by the end of the tournament."
The eight Red Raider wrestlers competing:
Levi Price, Jr. at 149: 33-10. Price was literally a half of a second away from achieving All-American status at last year’s championship. This season, he has been one of the team leaders both on and off the mat. Price leads the team with 15 pins out of his 33 victories and is a first team all-GPAC selection and a GPAC and regional champion. He enters the championship as the top seed from the North Region.
D.J. Jackson, Soph. at 157: 33-12. Jackson has had an outstanding year, leading the team in bonus points (18) and in hustle. He has inspired the team and wrestling fans throughout the year with his “never quit” mentality. Jackson is a second team all-GPAC selection and finished as a GPAC and region runner-up. He finished the season ranked seventh in the NAIA and will be the second seed from the North Region.
Lamar Reed, Soph. at 165: 36-15. Reed qualified for nationals last year and has shown great improvement throughout the season. He has been ranked as high as sixth and currently is eighth in the NAIA. Reed is a second team all-GPAC selection and finished second in the conference. He has defeated a number of nationally ranked opponents which is what he will have to do to accomplish his goals at this year’s championships.
Enock Francois, Jr. at 174: 30-5. Francois is our lone returning All-American as he placed fourth at last year’s national championships. He is currently ranked third in the NAIA with a win over the second-place wrestler at last year’s championships. For the second straight year, he is a first team all-GPAC selection and a GPAC and regional champion. Francois has been asked to make huge sacrifices for this year’s team by wrestling up one and sometimes two weight classes. He became the school's all-time career take-down leader with over 300. Francois will be the top seed from the North Region.
Tom Eaton, Jr. at 174: 33-10. Eaton has been consistent all year, joining the 30-wins club and leading the team with nine major decisions. He is a second team all-GPAC selection and placed second in the Region. Eaton was also co-GPAC champion and is currently ranked seventh in the NAIA. He will be the second seed from the North Region.
Cole Spree, Jr. at 184: 25-14. Spree finished third at this year’s GPAC Championships, which earned him honorable mention all-GPAC honors. He placed fifth in the region and has also made sacrifices by wrestling up one weight class on many occasions to help his team.
David Carter, Fr. at 184: 15-16. Carter is the only freshman on this year’s team to qualify for the national championships. He has had a very solid year with 12 bonus point matches and seven pins.
Martin Beeler, Soph. at 197: 9-21. Beeler placed fourth both in the GPAC and region this year. He has also made sacrifices by wrestling in the heavyweight division and gives up 50-85 pounds in the majority of his matches this season. Beeler has improved and is competing at a high level going into the weekend.
Competition will get underway Thursday night at 7:00 pm. To follow the tournament, click on the link below to the NAIA National Championship site.
2008 NAIA National Championship Site
2007-08 media guide
