Contact: Anna Fox, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, amfox@noctrl.edu
 
MEQUON, Wis. (Nov. 23, 2024) - After a 10-day hiatus, the ninth-ranked North Central College men's wrestling team went north to compete in the Concordia Wisconsin Open. The Cardinals had eight wrestlers place in the top five of their respective weight classes.
 
In the 125-pound weight class, second-ranked Christian Guzman defeated Chris Kish from Carthage College with a technical fall (16-1). Next, Guzman pinned Harper College's Joey Sikorsky in three minutes and 36 seconds. In the quarterfinals, Guzman took down Wartburg College's Zein Bazzi by a 22-5 technical fall before defeating Connor Fiser (Loras College) with a major decision (12-2). In the championship match, Guzman dominated the match over ninth-ranked James Levy (Warburg) with a 19-3 technical fall. Guzman currently holds a spotless 10-0 record this season.
 
Ethan Spacht opened his day in the 133 class with a win over Wheaton College's Yuki Uchishiba with a pin in just 40 seconds. In the second round, Spacht defeated Carter Anderson of Loras College in a nail-biting 5-3 decision. Spacht picked up a major decision over Jamal Chakkour (Wartburg) with a major decision (8-0) but fell to Josh Garvey (Wartburg) by a 9-4 decision. In the consolation bracket, Spacht fell to Anthony Zamora (Wheaton) by a 6-4 decision. Spacht took sixth place after falling to the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse's Teague Holzer by a decision (8-2).
 
In the 141-pound class, Bradley Rosen picked up a technical fall win and a major decision to work his way to the quarterfinals. Rosen defeated Riese Thornberry (UW-Stevens Point) with an 8-2 decision in the semifinals but would fall in the semifinals to Wartburg's third-ranked Kyler Romero. In the consolation bracket, Rosen was immediately moved on to the third-place match as a result of a medical forfeit from his opponent. In the third-place contest, Rosen worked hard to hold a 4-1 lead to win a decision over University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Justin Fortugno.
 
Fifth-ranked Alex Villar met Christian Gilbert of Carthage College on the mat in his first-round match in the 165 bout. Villar dominated Gilbert with an 18-3 technical fall before pinning Concordia's Ethan Onan (4:37). In the quarterfinals, Villar defeated Brett Skaug (UW–LaCrosse) with an 8-1 decision. Villar took first place after pinning both Kale Roth of the University of Dubuque (5:00) and Robert Flege from UW-LaCrosse.
 
In the 174 weight class, Javen Estrada picked up four consecutive wins by technical falls. Estrada started with a 16-1 technical fall over Zachary Huckaby (Wabash) before taking down Dalton Simmons (Harper) by a 20-5 technical fall. Next, Estrada defeated University of Chicago's Tyler Joseph with an 18-2 technical fall and moved to the semifinals to defeat No. 13 Matt Rogge (Wartbug) with a 19-4 technical fall. In the championship match, Estrada fell to Leo Draveling (UW-LaCrosse) by a pin.
 
Both Payton Geigner and Casey Aikman were placed in the top five of the 184-pound weight class. Geigner opened his day by defeating Abe Michel (Loras) with a 7-2 decision prior to shutting down Alecxander Robeson (Dubuque) with a 5-0 decision. In the quarterfinal, Geigner defeated teammate Aikman by an 11-5 decision. Geigner defeated Matthew Doyle (Wartburg) in a nailbiting 8-7 decision in the semifinal. In the first-place match, Geigner fell to fifth-ranked Kasey Ross in a close 6-3 decision.
 
Aikman earned two technical falls to start his day, first a 23-8 technical win over Sammy Saunders (Wabash) and then a 19-4 technical win over Harper's Ali Adel. Aikman bounced back to take down UW-Whitewater's Gavin Kohel with a 19-2 technical fall but then fell to a pin in his next match against Tyler Dormanen (UW-LaCrosse). In the fifth-place match, Aikman pinned teammate PT Schoolman in three minutes.
 
In the 285 class, third-ranked Robby Bates defeated Wheaton's Joseph Kruse with an 18-2 technical fall. Next, Bates defeated Edward Perry (University of Chicago) by a 10-0 major. In the quarterfinals, Bates pinned Carthage's Mason Kochersperger in six minutes and 40 seconds but fell to Dubuqe's Justin Matson by a 4-1 decision in the semifinals. Bates defeated Elmhurst College's David Ortiz with a nail-biting 2-0 decision. In the third-place match, Bates defeated Titus Waters (Wabash) in sudden victory (5-2).
 
The Cardinals will be back in Gregory Arena at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, when they host Illinois Wesleyan University for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin dual meet.
 
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