Robby Bates
Mark Black

Men's Wrestling

Three Cardinals Take 1st Place at CUW Open

Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5324

Results

MEQUON, Wis. (Oct. 18, 2023) - Three North Central College men's wrestlers won their weight classes with a six total placing in the Concordia University Wisconsin Open on Saturday inside R. John Buuck Field House.

Five Cardinals competed in the 125-pound bracket with Christian Guzman picking up two pins, a tech fall, major decision and decision on the way to a first-place finish. He won 8-2 over teammate Ethan Spacht in the championship match. Spacht tallied three pins on the day along with a decision. Davion Johnson and Cameron Phillips earned two wins with Nore Turner earning one pin in the event.

Jad Alwawi opened up his run to a fifth-place finish with a 17-1 tech fall before moving to the consolation bracket with a loss in the quarterfinal. There, he picked up an 18-3 tech fall. In the fifth-place match, Alwawi won by medical forfeit to take fifth place.

Kayle Bearson represented North Central in the 141-pound division and opened with a second round sudden victory over Kolten Crawford of Loras. His day ended with a loss to his Wartburg opponent. 

Tyler Starr, Caleb Magruder, Kenny Siwicki, and Aleksander Pejovski all won their first round matchups in the 149-pound bracket. Following a loss in the second round, Starr rattled off three straight wins to advance to the consolation championship where he lost to Caden Kirchner of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Magruder and Swiwcki each won twice with Pejovski and Josh Dorr winning once.

Moving up a weight class didn't affect the No. 2 wrestler in Division III at the 149-pound as Javen Estrada cruised to a first-place finish in the 157-pound bout. Estrada picked up three tech falls, a pin and a major decision in the championship match. 

After falling in the opening round to his UW-Whitewater opponent, Tanner Willett won four straight matches before ending his day in the third round of the consolation bracket. Jared Gumila rattled off five straight wins after falling in the opening round.

Tyler Rodriguez won four of his six matches on the day in the 165 bracket while Armando Murillo won three times including a 20-2 tech fall win in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.

Following a first-round loss, Casey Aikman earned a pin, a major decision victory and a win by tech fall before falling to his opening-round opponent in the consolation championship. Branson Byrd won with a pin and a decision before exiting in the fourth round of the consolation bracket at the 177-pound weight class.

Payton Geigner and Jon Kratz earned two wins on the day in the 184-pound division. 

David Pirozhnik recorded two pins in his first two matches before falling in the semifinal to Massoma Endene of Wartburg, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country. Pirozhnik earned a win via decision before losing in the third-place match to take fourth place. Elijah Brockie and Landen Molina each totaled two wins on the day.

Robby Bates won a hard-fought match over Jake LaMonto of Loras, 2-1 in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. After pinning his quarterfinal opponent, Bates won by a tiebreaker to advance to the first-place match where he won 6-0 to take first place. Nelson Toro overcame a loss in his first match of the day to win three straight matches, two via pin, before falling in the consolation championship match.

The Cardinals host Augustana College in their home opener on Wednesday in a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin clash against the Vikings. North Central has won 44 straight conference matches.

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Players Mentioned

Casey Aikman

Casey Aikman

174
Sophomore
Robby Bates

Robby Bates

285
Senior
Elijah Brockie

Elijah Brockie

197
Junior
Javen Estrada

Javen Estrada

149
Junior
Payton Geigner

Payton Geigner

184
Junior
Jared Gumila

Jared Gumila

157
Sophomore
Christian Guzman

Christian Guzman

125
Sophomore
Davion Johnson

Davion Johnson

125
Junior
Jon Kratz

Jon Kratz

184
Sophomore
Caleb Magruder

Caleb Magruder

149
Senior
Cameron Phillips

Cameron Phillips

125
Sophomore
David Pirozhnik

David Pirozhnik

197
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Casey Aikman

Casey Aikman

Sophomore
174
Robby Bates

Robby Bates

Senior
285
Elijah Brockie

Elijah Brockie

Junior
197
Javen Estrada

Javen Estrada

Junior
149
Payton Geigner

Payton Geigner

Junior
184
Jared Gumila

Jared Gumila

Sophomore
157
Christian Guzman

Christian Guzman

Sophomore
125
Davion Johnson

Davion Johnson

Junior
125
Jon Kratz

Jon Kratz

Sophomore
184
Caleb Magruder

Caleb Magruder

Senior
149
Cameron Phillips

Cameron Phillips

Sophomore
125
David Pirozhnik

David Pirozhnik

Sophomore
197