2009 NJCAA Nationals Preview

BY MATT PFIFFNER

Three wrestling programs in Junior College history have won four consecutive team National Championships. Top-ranked Iowa Central looks to join that group at the 2009 NJCAA Nationals held this weekend in Rochester, Minn.

The Tritons have grabbed the past three NJCAA National titles and with 10 National qualifiers, including eight ranked in the top 8 at their respective weight classes, they are favored to make history. Coach Luke Moffitt has done an amazing job back at the place where his collegiate career began and knows what it takes to get a team ready for this tournament.

NIACC had an outstanding first season back in NJCAA wrestling last year, with a fourth-place tam finish. The eighth-ranked Trojans also qualified all 10 of their wrestlers for Nationals and should be in the fight for team hardware.

12th-ranked Ellsworth brings in nine wrestlers to the championships and looks to build on a solid sixth-place finish from a year ago.

First-year program Iowa Lakes is ranked seventh in the nation and has a solid group of eight National qualifiers looking to put the program on the map.

Here is a quick look at each weight class for the upcoming 2009 NJCAA Wrestling Championships.

125
Who's No. 1? - Tico Baez, Waubonsee (Did not qualify)
Returning All-Americans - None.
Iowa school qualifiers - #2 Brian Moreno, Iowa Lakes; #4 Patrick Hunter, Iowa Central; #7 Jeremiah Barkac, NIACC; Nate Williams, Ellsworth.

Moreno begins the tournament with a bye and then will face the winner of Tom Webster of Muskegon and Sam Spradlin of Darton. A possible quarterfinal bout against No, 8 Collin Hase of Labette looms. Third-ranked Alex Gorton of Neosho is also on that side of the draw. Nate Williams takes on Derek Sorensen of Mercyhurst in the first round, with the winner facing No. 3 Gorton in the second round.

On the top half of the bracket, No. 4 Hunter meets Tony Reyes of Triton in the first round. Hunter is the only rated wrestler in his quarter and should make it to the semifinals. Waiting for him there could be the winner of a possible second-round bout between No. 6 T.T. Prayther of Meramec and No. 7 Barkac. Barkac meets Paul Bauberger of Gloucester in the first round and would meet Prayther if victorious.

133
Who's No. 1? - Billy Murphy, Iowa Central
Returning All-Americans - No. 4 Silas Murray, Nassau (5th at 125); Cody Hogan, NIACC (7th at 133)
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 1 Billy Murphy, Iowa Central; No. 7 Tim Thurston, Iowa Lakes; Cody Hogan, NIACC; Keith Klink, Ellsworth.

After a first-round bye, the top-ranked Murphy would meet Mike Gustafson of Alfred State or Craig Chiles of Meramec. A possible quarterfinal match with second-ranked Aaron Smith of Highline looks quite possible. Also on this tough half of the bracket are the fourth, fifth and sixth-ranked wrestlers, who should battle it out for the other semifinal spot.

No. 7 Thurston will face the winner of Klink and Alex Luzon of Thaddeus Stevens in the second round. The winner of that bout likely meets third-ranked Lester Brown of North Idaho in the quarterfinals. Hogan finds himself in the top quarter of the bracket without a ranked wrestler. With his All-American finish last season, he should be the favorite to make it out to the semifinals.

141
Who's No. 1? - Aaron Senzee, Meramec
Returning All-Americans - No. 1 Aaron Senzee, Meramec (1st at 141); No. 7 Derek Ward, Labette (5th at 141); No. 5 Demond Carter, Lincoln (8th at 141).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 2 Vinny Pisani, Iowa Central; No. 3 Jeremy McCoy, Ellsworth; Jordan Hasenkamp, NIACC.

Pisani begins his march for gold with a first-round bout against Zeke Flores of Middlesex. If he wins that bout, he would meet fourth-ranked Kyle Wirkuty of Clackamas in the second round. The winner of that bout should reach the semifinals, where defending champ Senzee could be waiting. Hasenkamp is also on the top half of the draw and meets Chris Wright of Pratt in the first round.

On the bottom half of the bracket, third-ranked McCoy of Ellsworth has a bye and then faces the winner of No. 7 Ward and Nathan Allen of Darton. Expect it to be Ward, in what could be an outstanding early-round match. If McCoy and Ward do meet, the winner should reach the semifinals, where the No. 5, 6 and 8 wrestlers should fight for the other semi spot.

149
Who's No. 1? - Ganbayar Sanjas, Colby
Returning All-Americans - No. 8 T.J. Moen, NIACC (3rd at 141); No. 4 Anthony Varnell, Northwestern (6th at 141).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 3 Tanner Kampen, Iowa Central; No. 8 T.J. Moen, NIACC; Blake Gill, Iowa Lakes; Richard Fessler, Ellsworth.

A trio of former Iowa prep standouts are involved in this bracket. Kampen of Humboldt, Moen of Saydel and Gill of Sioux City.

Moen, the third-place National finisher at 141 a season ago, enters this tournament ranked eighth at 149 and has a very tough first-round bout, against No. 6 Rodney Dollar of Western Wyoming. The winner will be favored to reach the semifinals with a possible meeting with top-ranked Sanjas. Fessler, a former Minnesota high school standout who received a first-round bye, will meet the winner of Robert Sams of Mercyhurst and Austin Thompson of Southwestern Oregon in the second round.

Kampen, a State champ at Humboldt last season, opens his tournament against Mike Skatkowski of Waubonsee in the first round. Kampen will be favored to reach the quarterfinals, where he could meet No. 2 Bobby Ward of Nassau. Gill meets Shay Shive of Niagara in the first round, with the winner possibly facing No. 5 Anthony Weerheim of Clackamas in the next bout.

157
Who's No. 1? - Carrington Banks, Iowa Central
Returning All-Americans - No. 1 Carrington Banks, Iowa Central (4th at 157); No. 6 Zolboo Enkhbar, Southwestern Oregon (7th at 157).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 1 Carrington Banks, Iowa Central; No. 3 Jon Rivera, NIACC; No. 4 Karon Reid, Iowa Lakes; Steven Moreno, Ellsworth.

With three of the top four rated individuals at this weight from Iowa colleges, there is a very good chance to see an all-Iowa final, or at least the NJCAA champion from the state.

After a first-round bye, the top-ranked Banks will meet Hayden Theodorakis of Springfield Tech or Jace Lewis of Clackamas in the second round. Banks is the lone ranked individual on the top half of the draw and is a huge favorite to reach the finals. Moreno of Ellsworth is also on this side of the draw and meets P.J. Starnes of Harper in the first round.

In the bottom half of the bracket, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth-ranked wrestlers should battle for the title match spot. No. 3 Rivera of NIACC meets Bryce Lumzy of Lincoln in the first round. No. 4 Reid of Iowa Lakes faces Marcus Allen of Darton in the first round, with a possible second-round meeting with No. 6 Enkhbar on the horizon.

165
Who's No. 1? - Brad Lower, Iowa Central
Returning All-Americans - No. 1 Brad Lower, Iowa Central (2nd at 165); No. 4 Donald Woods, Meramec (7th at 165); No. 8 Justin James, Niagara (8th at 157).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 1 Brad Lower, Iowa Central; Tim Springs, NIACC.

This is the only weight class where there are fewer than three National qualifiers from the state, with one being favored to improve on last year's runner-up finish.

Lower received a first-round bye and then begins his run at a NJCA title against either D.J. May of North Idaho or David Brandon of Muskegon in the second round. No. 5 Ronnie Tetreault of Colby could be a possible quarterfinal foe.

Springs is on the bottom half of the bracket and starts the tournament against Drew McElrath of Spartansburg. If Springs can get past that match, he would meet No. 2 Zach Pagnotta of Southwestern Oregon in the next bout.


174
Who's No. 1? - Travis Hammonds, Kennedy King (Did not qualify)
Returning All-Americans - Ethan Hackbarth, Rochester (8th at 174).
Iowa school qualifiers - Bradley Banks, Iowa Central; Tom LaCombe, Ellsworth; Rowan Stander, Iowa Lakes; Brett Rosedale, NIACC.

This is the only weight class in the tournament where there isn't a ranked wrestler from one of the Iowa schools.

On the top half of the bracket, Banks gets a first-round bye and will face the winner of a match between Don Schildhauer of Niagara and Josh Ploof of Gloucester. LaCombe is also on the top half and starts off with a tough test against eighth-ranked Allen Rutherford of Labette. A pair of first-round battle between ranked wrestlers highlight this half of the draw.

Stander of Iowa Lakes takes on Jonathan Killam of Springfield Tech in the first round on the bottom half of the bracket. The winner gets Rosedale of NIACC, who has a first-round bye. The winner there would likely get a quarterfinal bout against third-rated James Nakashima of Lincoln.

184
Who's No. 1? - Seth Holt, Muskegon (Did not qualify)
Returning All-Americans - No. 6 Joe Johnson, Iowa Central (4th at 184); No. 7 Dan Rosemier, Jamestown (8th at 184).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 6 Joe Johnson, Iowa Central; Onni Prestidge, Ellsworth; James Funk, Iowa Lakes; Will Worthy, NIACC.

Johnson starts off the tourney with a bye on the top half of the draw. He will face either Brennan Ward of Colby or Chauncey Smith of Meramec in the second round. A possible quarterfinal bout against No. 3 Kamron Jackson of North Idaho awaits. Prestidge battles George Hargrove of Springfield Tech in first-round action.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Funk meets Cameron Gill of Thaddeus Stevens in the first round, while Worthy faces off against Richard Dawson of Niagara. If Funk wins, he could meet the fourth-ranked wrestler in the second round, while Worthy could meet the second-rated wrestler in the second round if he survives his first bout.

197
Who's No. 1? - Chad Friend, Muskegon
Returning All-Americans - No. 1 Chad Friend, Muskegon (2nd at 197).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 5 Damonte Stogner, Ellsworth; Richard Kokesh, Iowa Lakes; Phil Hawes, Iowa Central; Preston Poyner, NIACC.

Stogner is the lone ranked wrestler from Iowa at this weight class and first-round draws don't get much tougher, as he faces top-ranked and returning runner-up Chad Friend of Muskegon in the opening round. The winner of that match doesn't have a cakewalk in the second round either, as No. 7 Mak Jones of Northwest Wyoming will be waiting after a bye.

The other three wrestlers from Iowa colleges are on the top half of the draw. Kolash meets third-ranked Travis Pettingill in another tough first-round match for an Iowan. Hawes has a bye and will wrestle either Jeremy Gross of Thaddeus Stevens or Nick Kriss of Colby in the second round. Poyner meets Mike Lukowski of Harper in the first round. There are no ranked wrestlers in the quarter that includes Hawes and Poyner.

285
Who's No. 1? - Brandon Williamson, Nassau
Returning All-Americans - No. 1 Brandon Williamson, Nassau (1st at 285); No. 6 Matt McGlaughlin, Rend Lake (6th at 285); No. 8 Ben Hohensee, Labette (3rd at 285); Bojan Djukic, Ellsworth (4th at 285).
Iowa school qualifiers - No. 4 Josh Marsh, Iowa Lakes; No. 5 Zach Rosol, NIACC; No. 7 Phil Mansdik, Iowa Central; Bojan Djukic, Ellsworth.

There are three ranked wrestlers from Iowa schools at this weight and, strangely enough, the one who isn't is the returning All-American of the group.

Djukic may not be ranked, but is dangerous, as his fourth-place finish at Nationals a season ago shows. He begins the tournament on the bottom half of a bracket against Julian Hightower of Colby. The winner gets Dave Christopher of Niagara in the second round. If Djukic can make it to the quarterfinals, he could meet second-ranked Tyrell Fortune of Clackamas. Iowa fans may remember him from the Dream Team Dual at 215 last spring in Iowa City. The seventh-ranked Mansdik of Iowa Central is also on the bottom half of the bracket and will wrestle either Corey Anderson of Lincoln or Cody Kinney of Ridgewater in the second round after receiving a first-round bye.

On the top of the bracket, No. 4 Marsh of Iowa Lakes has a bye and meets Ross Hayden of Mercyhurst or Justin Leonard of Muskegon in the second round. Marsh could meet top-ranked and defending champ Williamson in the quarters. The fifth-ranked Rosol of NIACC doesn't get to ease into the tournament, as he meets No. 6 Matt McGlaughlin of Rend Lake in the first round. McGlaughlin finished sixth a season ago. The winner will be favored to reach the quarters, where No. 3 Landon Harris of Northwest Wyoming could be waiting.