(RV) Hastings Outscores (RV) Warriors on the Mat

FREMONT, Neb. — (RV) Midland University hosted the (RV) Hastings College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) men's wrestling dual on Thursday night inside the Wikert Event Center. In a bout between the longtime conference rivals, it was the visitors who came out on top, defeating Midland 36-18.

The most competitive bout of the evening came in the opener at 125 pounds, where Hastings' Aiden Rodriguez defeated Midland's Dylan Atherton 9-6 in sudden victory. In the 133-pound bout, No. 22 Justin Rodriguez of Hastings won via forfeit as Midland was open. After two bouts, the Broncos led 9-0.

Midland was open at 141 pounds, giving Hastings' Logan Hackman an uncontested win. Hastings was open at 149, allowing Midland's Hunter True to earn six team points. After four bouts, the Broncos held a 15-6 lead.

With multiple open weights, Midland bumped two wrestlers up a class. Zion Amerson moved to 157 pounds but fell by major decision, 13-2, to Jordan Tobias. Francisco Duran moved to 165 and was defeated by technical fall, 18-1, at 4:51 by Nicholas Freeland. After six bouts, Hastings led 24-6.

Midland was also open at 174 pounds, giving Esteban Sedano the victory. The Warriors earned their first contested win at 184 when No. 19 Nate McDonald pinned Conall Liburdi at 4:46. After eight bouts, Hastings led 30-12.

Treyton Tweton took the mat at 197 pounds in the penultimate bout and, despite a high-scoring match, fell by fall at 6:47 to Justyce Hostetler. The final bout featured top-10 heavyweights: No. 5 Koen Mattern of Hastings and No. 6 Zeph Sivels of Midland. Sivels led 1-0 after the first period and added a three-point takedown late in the second to go up 4-0. At the 5:35 mark, Mattern suffered a knee injury, giving Sivels the victory. The dual ended with Hastings winning 36-18, improving to 1-3 in GPAC duals as Midland dropped to 1-2.

Midland head coach Doyle Trout said the dual was another opportunity for the program to grow. "We need to execute our positions better as a whole," he said. "Atherton will learn from his bout at 125. That's a match I'd like to see him go out and take. Nate executed well to get good Turk positions. Zeph used a good body lock to record a big win. This was progress. The whole season is a journey. I want to see us keep wrestling well on the mat and execute our responsibilities off it. This Saturday at Bartlesville will be good to get more mat time. We want to go out and fight."

The Warriors will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13, when they compete at the 918 Open hosted by Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville, Okla.