Concordia Wrestling Team Wins GPAC Title Again
Concordia wrestlers won a match against Briar Cliff University on Feb. 2 in Walz Arena. Photo by Adam Christiansen.
by Taylor Roby
Fans headed to Walz Arena on Thursday night to cheer on the Concordia wrestling team as they won Concordia’s third consecutive wrestling GPAC title against Hastings College.
Hastings came into the match after five consecutive conference dual victories on Feb. 9. They got off to a good start as Nolan Laux picked up a victory for the Broncos. Concordia then went on to win all but one of the rest of the matches.
To fuel the success, senior Ken Burkhardt Jr. defeated Jeremiah Gerl. Seniors Kodie Cole and Ceron Francisco also won. Other Bulldog wins included sophomore Walker Fisher (174), senior Foster Brunce (141), freshman Gabe Crawford (157), sophomore Josh Nelsen (184) and junior Kirk Kaliszewski (165).
The wrestling team also celebrated Senior Night by honoring 12 seniors. This historic senior class includes many accomplished wrestlers, including All-American Burkhardt Jr., who picked up 100 career wins. Other Bulldog All-Americans this season included Francisco and Cole. Brunce, Demitri Smith, DJ McIntyre, Tommy Bailey, Nicholas Boes, Ignace Hakizimana, Clayton Hintz, Daniel Melcher and Tommy Andrews were also recognized.
“This senior class has been awesome. We couldn’t have asked for better role models and leaders for this team,” sophomore Walker Fisher said. “These guys push us each and every day, have high expectations for us and always expect our best effort.”
Next up, the Bulldogs will continue to look up to the senior leadership as they begin to prepare for the postseason tournament. They will compete in the NAIA North Group Qualifier on Feb. 18 in Crete.
