McDonald Leads Warriors at Missouri Valley Open

MARSHALL, Mo. — The Midland University men's wrestling team competed at the two-day Missouri Valley Open on Friday and Saturday at the Burns Athletic Center. Four Warriors took to the mat, led by Nate McDonald, who paced Midland with a sixth-place finish at 184 pounds.

Dylan Atherton competed at 125 pounds for Midland. He opened the tournament with a 9-5 decision victory over Wyatt Engwicht (Dickinson State), followed by a win by fall at 4:40 against Creel Weber (Hastings) in round two. Atherton suffered his first loss of the meet against Brody Gee (St. Mary) by fall at 1:15. In the consolation round, Atherton was defeated by Jackson Eylar (Eastern Oregon) by fall at 4:56.

Zion Amerson wrestled at 149 pounds. He dropped his opening-round match to Nakkos Benton (Baker) by fall at 4:04. In the consolation round, Amerson was defeated by Thailyn Reynolds (Missouri Valley) by technical fall, 19-4, at 6:54.

McDonald wrestled nine bouts over the two-day meet to claim a sixth-place finish at 184 pounds. The 19th-ranked wrestler in the NAIA opened with a 7-2 decision win over Spencer Fields (Truett McConnell) and followed with a 2-1 decision victory against Bronson Swan (Arizona Christian). In the quarterfinals, McDonald suffered his first loss of the weekend, falling by pin at 0:34 to No. 21 Cade Gubler (Montana State-Northern). He rebounded with a 5-2 decision win over Joseph Monge (Morningside) in the consolation round.

On Saturday, McDonald opened with a 13-3 major decision victory over Brady Heckathorn (Cornerstone) and then defeated No. 15 Jackson King (Dickinson State) by a 2-0 decision. He secured a place finish with a 6-1 decision win over Jack Simons (Dickinson State). In the consolation semifinals, McDonald fell 2-1 to No. 17 Barret Brandt (Concordia). He concluded the tournament with a 2-1 loss to No. 23 Jason Bowers (Friends) in the fifth-place match.

Collin Stone competed at 197 pounds. After a first-round bye, Stone earned a 4-3 decision win over Sendeska Kalskett (Morningside). He was defeated in round three by No. 20 Cameron Cornman (Central Methodist) by major decision, 13-0. Stone bounced back in the consolation round with a technical fall victory (16-0, 6:06) over Cameron Pride (Oklahoma Wesleyan), before his weekend ended with an 11-6 decision loss to Jackson Turner (Cornerstone).

Receiving votes in the NAIA rankings, Midland will return home for a pair of duals this week. The Warriors will host Southeast Community College in an exhibition match on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center. Midland will then host 10th-ranked Doane in a Great Plains Athletic Conference dual on Friday at 6 p.m. The dual will be held in conjunction with the Midland women's wrestling match against Hastings, also beginning at 6 p.m.