Led by Rodriguez and Jackson, Cowley places 18th at wrestling championships

With the duo of Evan Rodriguez and Jacen Jackson garnering All-American honors, the Cowley College wrestling program placed 18^th at the NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championships held Friday and Saturday in Council Bluffs, IA.

Tiger freshman Evan Rodriguez, the district champion at 141 pounds, won all three matches on Friday to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round. He went on to finish 6-2 and place fifth.

Competing at the national tournament for a second straight year, Cowley sophomore Jacen Jackson also went 6-2 and placed eighth.

"I am happy with the guys and the team," Cowley head coach Justice Circle said. "We had some guys gut it out and wrestle with injuries. Jacen has put the time in to be an all-American, and he has earned every bit of it."

Indian Hills won the national championship with 182 points, while Clackamas (141.5) and Western Wyoming (137.5) placed second and third, respectively.

Fort Hays Tech placed fourth (125.5 points) and was the top Jayhawk Conference school at the national championships. Cowley finished with 41 points.

Jackson was the lone sophomore competing at nationals for the Tigers, so Cowley should return some promising athletes for next season.

"We will hate to see Jacen move on to the next level, but he has left his mark here at Cowley," Circle said. "Evan wrestled really well. He had a heartbreaking loss in the quarter-finals and had to pick up and move on, and that's just what he did. Evan will be back next year and will be in the hunt for a national title."

Cowley results:

*133 pounds – Cam Kiser (CC) received a bye in the first round; won a 7-1 decision over Jake Aho (Rochester); lost by fall against Drew Cooper (Iowa Central); won by fall over Anthony Cage (Muskegon); lost a 6-3 decision against Zachary Covolo (Northwest).

*141 pounds –Evan Rodriguez (CC) won a 4-2 decision over Matthew Roche (Iowa Central); won by fall over Stephen Dmytryk (Rowan-Gloucester); won a 7-6 decision against Ethan Boulton (North Idaho); lost a 15-3 decision against Colby Klinger (SW Michigan); won a major decision against Bronson Richins (Northeastern); won a 6-4 decision over Jordan Cullors (Labette); lost a 10-6 decision against Cesar Avelar (Clackamas); defeated Kaiden Rubash (Northwest) in the fifth place match.

*149 pounds – Shawn Bamba (CC) received a bye in the first round, won by fall over Lennon Steinkuehler (Harper); lost a 5-0 decision against Cohen Wiste (Rochester); won a 5-1 decision over Gary Walker III (Iowa Central); won a 5-2 decision over Josh Hannan (Clackamas); lost a 16-7 major decision against Sam Silveria (North Idaho).

*157 pounds – Jacen Jackson (CC) won by tech fall over Billy Brenton (Northeastern); lost by fall to Chance Davis (Iowa Central); won by fall over Brody Hoyt (Hawkeye); won by fall over Kale Geiser (Northland); won by fall over Alex Messing (Henry Ford); won by fall over Dayveon Rupert (SW Michigan); won a 5-1 decision over Zach Dawson (NE Oklahoma); lost by tech fall against Brice Coleman (Indian Hills); lost by tech fall to Johnny Thomas (Pratt) and placed eighth.

*165 pounds – Dylan Reed (CC) lost by tech fall against Kaden King (Iowa Central); lost a major decision against Cah'mari Johnson (Colby).

*174 pounds – Keenan Smith (CC) lost by fall against Tucker Hass (Itasca); lost by tech fall against Dylan Scott (SE Nebraska).

*184 pounds –Brannigan Reyes (CC) received a bye in the first round; lost a 12-6 decision against Leighton Robb (Rochester); won by tech fall over Micah Cauthers (Cloud); lost an 11-3 decision against Jessey Colas (NIACC).

*285 pounds – Jacob Acedo (CC) received a bye in the first round; lost a 4-2 decision against Naasir Edmonds (Indian Hills); lost to Dillon Sorenson (Snow).