Warriors Compete Across Divisions at Younes Hospitality Open

KEARNEY, Neb. — Midland University sent a handful of wrestlers to compete in the Younes Hospitality Open on Saturday at the Kearney SportsPlex, hosted by the University of Nebraska–Kearney.

In the Elite Division at 125 pounds, Dylan Atherton dropped his opening match to Air Force's Nico Tocci by a 12-2 major decision. He was then defeated by Mary's Mason Gutenberger by fall at 4:35.

Nate McDonald, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA at 184 pounds, received an opening-round bye before defeating South Dakota State's Jared Thiry 5-2 in overtime. McDonald then fell to Northern Colorado's Mahonri Rushton by technical fall, 18-2, and later dropped a 7-2 decision to Nebraska–Kearney's Lazaro Crespo.

At 285 pounds, Zeph Sivels, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA, opened with a bye before losing to Southeast Community College's Ira Jenkins by a 15-0 technical fall. Sivels later bowed out against Newman's De'Leon Freeman by medical forfeit.

In the Intermediate Division at 149 pounds, Zion Amerson placed sixth after a strong run through the bracket. He won his opening match over Aaron Zamora (Adams State) in sudden victory, 8-5, then followed with a 17-2 technical fall over Juell Sanchez (Colorado State–Pueblo) and a 17-4 major decision over Romiz Monaco (Newman) in the quarterfinals. Amerson fell in the semifinals by a 17-0 technical fall to Royce Uhrig (Adams State). In the consolation rounds, he dropped a fall to Wyatt McDermott (Chadron State) in 2:08 and a 17-1 technical fall to Patrick Preston (Colorado Mesa) in the fifth-place match.

At 197 pounds, Treyton Tweton opened with a tough 7-6 tiebreaker loss to Dante Pallone (Western Colorado). After receiving a bye in his first consolation match, he was eliminated following a 17-7 major-decision loss to Jonah Anderson (Southwest Minnesota State).

In the Amateur Division at 157 pounds, Francisco Duran opened with a loss by fall to Kyler Knaack (Northern Iowa) in 1:36. After a bye in the first consolation round, he earned a 6-5 decision over Chase Groff (Concordia) before being eliminated by a fall to Talan Braswell (unattached) in 4:05.

At 174 pounds, Jayden Adams received a first-round bye before falling by a 23-4 technical fall to Max Wiezorek (Southwest Minnesota State). He advanced with another bye in the consolation bracket but was eliminated by a fall to Charlie Herting (Western Colorado) in 1:23.

At 197 pounds, Collin Stone lost his opening match by fall to Ryker Woodward (Western Wyoming) in 1:30. After a consolation-round bye, he was defeated 8-0 by major decision against Sonnie Deheer (Rochester Community & Technical College).

Midland will return to the mats next Tuesday when it travels to Sioux City, Iowa, for the first installment of the GPAC Duals. The Warriors will face Dakota Wesleyan at 4 p.m., followed by a 5:30 p.m. dual with host Morningside.