Warriors Kickstart Season at Falcon Open

PARK CITY, Kan. – Midland University opened its 2024-25 season with 14 wrestlers competing at the Falcon Open, hosted by Friends University at the Park City Arena on Saturday. Four Warriors participated in the Falcon Elite Division, while 10 grappled in the Falcon Amateur Division.

Colton Horne competed in the Elite Division at 184 pounds. He began with a first-round victory over Bruce Lukehart of Grand View, 12-7, and followed up with a 7-6 win against Kaden Street of Morningside. In the quarterfinals, Horne fell to Seth Sarasua of Central Oklahoma by fall at 1:22, and in the fourth consolation round, he lost to No. 13 Joseph Teguia of Graceland, 18-4.

Burton Brandt, who moved to the mats this season after playing football for the Warriors the past three seasons, had a strong showing in his collegiate debut in the Elite 197-pound division. After a first-round bye, Brandt defeated No. 19 Kaleb Lind of Northwestern, 6-2. He then won his quarterfinal match over No. 18 John Schuttler of Graceland, 9-0, and defeated No. 2 Kasten Grape of Doane in the semifinals, 13-9. Brandt finished as the runner-up, falling to No. 6 Ryker Blackburn of Saint Mary by technical fall, 18-3.

Also wrestling at 197 pounds, Ryan Kocovsky began with a first-round loss to Bryce Kwiecinski of Morningside by fall at 2:54. Following a bye, he was defeated by Lind in the second consolation round by technical fall, 17-0.

In the Elite 285-pound weight class, Remington Gay, another former Midland football player, advanced after a first-round bye but lost to No. 9 Jakob Jerabek of Morningside by fall at 2:48. Gay rebounded with a 6-3 sudden-victory win over Megaeska Kalskett of Morningside before his day ended with a loss to Paul Sharp of Central Oklahoma by fall at 1:54.

Kaydon Mueller represented Midland in the 125-pound Amateur Division. After a first-round bye, Mueller won by forfeit against a Carl Albert State wrestler. In the third round, he lost to Nik Govea of Northwestern by technical fall, 19-3.

At 141 pounds, Jackson Duncan went 0-2. Following two byes, he lost to Evan Rodriguez of Cowley College by technical fall, 19-3, and then to Xzavier Martinez of Colby Community College by fall at 4:50.

Also at 141 pounds, Trevin Arlt lost his second-round match to Gunner Morris of Morningside, 4-2, after a first-round bye. He then won a consolation match over Antwane Webster of Waldorf, 10-5, before losing to unattached wrestler Adam Maki by technical fall, 17-1.

Zion Amerson went 1-2 in the 149-pound division. He began with a 20-second pin over Julius Martin of Graceland but fell to unattached wrestler Alec McDoufett, 14-7. In the consolation round, Amerson was defeated by Omar Faris of St. Thomas, 6-4.

At 157 pounds, Francisco Duran and Tyren Schaefer each competed for Midland. Duran lost to Jesus Sanchez of Briar Cliff, 12-3, before pinning Khalil Hampton of Graceland in 1:29. His day ended in a 13-2 loss to Logan Sell of Friends. Schaefer also lost to Sell, 12-6, won a high-scoring match over Adam Ohnoutka of Briar Cliff, 22-15, and then lost to Sanchez, 18-5.

Three Warriors competed at 165 pounds. McKayde Clevenger went 0-2, losing to Kash Alley of Colby by fall at 1:41 and then to Gaven Bremenkamp of Drury by fall at 1:25. Logan Millikan also went 0-2, narrowly losing to Austin Tilley of Missouri Baptist, 11-9, and then falling to Anthony Smith of Drury at 1:29. Alex Mainor, the third 165-pounder, lost his first match to Preston Ray of Waldorf due to injury in 44 seconds and later forfeited his consolation match to Shane Bertero of Embry-Riddle.

At 285 pounds, Collin Stone was pinned by Gabe Kant of Labette Community College, 20-3. In the consolation bracket, he won a 4-2 decision over Xavier Smith of Graceland before falling to Carlos Ruiz of Graceland, 8-7.

The Warriors will return to action at home, hosting (RV) Concordia in a GPAC dual on Wednesday, September 6, at 7:00 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center.