Wrestling Concludes Season at National Tournament
Mar. 3, 2019, Sterling, Colo. — The Plainsmen wrestling team qualified nine student-athletes for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament. Northeastern represented in all weight divisions except the heavy weight division, so the men had high goals of placing as a team as well. Five Plainsmen, Quintel Fuchs, Hayden Wempen, Sebastian Robles, Sammy Eckhart, and Maverick Keigher were seeded in the top eight in their weight class.
The first round had victories and upsets alike amongst the Plainsmen. The first three matches of the day, Cian Apple, Quintel Fuchs, and Sammy Eckhart all pinned their opponent within the opening minutes, advancing them on. Sebastian Robles and Josh Betts lost their opening round by a decision. Maverick Keigher, Dillon Thomas, Hayden Wempen, and Braeson Lewis each won their match by a decision. Those wins shot the Plainsmen to the top of the leaderboards as a team, putting them in third place.
In their second round, Apple lost in a 14-12 decision while Eckhart and Fuchs kept things rolling with Fuchs winning by a pin and Eckhart winning with a 15-3 major decision. Keigher lost by a pin, where Robles and Thomas won. The Plainsmen dropped from third to fifth as a team after a few of the losses. Wempen won his second match by a slim 4-2 decision and Lewis lost 12-4 in his.
The third round was where adversity struck some players and made them dig deep for the wins. Apple, Keigher, and Robles all dug deep and pinned their opponents. Josh Betts received a bye in the second round, and in the third he won by a pin. Lewis lost his final match by a narrow 5-4 decision, ending his run at the tournament. After winning many of the matches by pins, the Plainsmen shot back up to third place as a team.
Having four matches in a day can be a tall task for any athlete, but being at a national championship where one gives it their all each match makes it even more daunting. Northeastern did get an hour break from the morning session to the night session to rest and recoup, so some men were able to gather their thoughts and get some valuable rest. Hayden Wempen, Quintel Fuchs, Sammy Eckhart, and Dillon Thomas all were in the quarterfinal brackets looking to advance to the championships on day two. Cian Apple was the first Plainsmen to wrestle in the second session, but he ran out of gas, lost by tech fall, and ended his run at the tournament. Eckhart lost his first match of the tournament by a pin. Fuchs stayed victorious and won his final match of the day by an 11-0 major decision, putting him in contention to win the national championship by being in the final four. Maverick Keigher and Josh Betts bowed out of the tournament after falling by decision. Wempen and Thomas both lost by a slim margin, giving them their first loss of the tournament. Robles won by a 16-4 major decision, advancing him on. After a few Plainsmen losses, Northeastern now sat in sixth as a team.
In their fifth matches of the day, four Plainsmen ended their run at the tournament after being defeated their second time. Robles, Eckhart, Thomas, and Wempen all lost by decision after wrestling valiantly in the tournament. After the end of day one, Quintel Fuchs was the last Plainsmen in the tournament. In his first match of the second day, he matched up against the number one seed in his weight class.
Fuchs had a hard road in front of him if he wanted to be a national champion. He had to beat competitors who were higher ranked than he was. He had a game plan for how he was going to do it and took that mat for his first match. Fuchs drew first blood and took the 2-0 lead with a takedown. A reversal tied it 2-2. He again found a way to get to his opponents legs and get a two-point takedown before a reversal tied it 4-4. Fuchs was undersized in this matchup, but his quickness made up for it. The first period ended and it remained tied 4-4. In the second, Fuchs got in a predicament and gave up a near fall to now trail 8-4. While in that same sequence, he was unable to get himself out which resulted in him being pinned. That was his first loss of the tournament, which puts him in the consolation bracket to now wrestle for third place.
The match began and Fuchs tried to feel out how his competition was going to attack. Once he understood how he would wrestle, Fuchs took action. He took him down and received two points for a takedown. He stayed on top and gained valuable riding time. At the end of the first period, Fuchs led 2-0. In the second, neither Fuchs nor his opposition got any points and the score stayed 2-0. The third and final period began with both wrestlers in the neutral position, and Fuchs got the takedown, letting him go up 4-0 and gain more riding time. The period ended and Fuchs gained another point for riding time, and won 5-0 advancing him to the third place match.
The final match of the tournament was for third place in the nation. Fuchs's opponent was from Iowa Western and proved to be a tough competitor. Right away Fuchs fell behind 2-0 after being took down. He then turned the tables and went up 7-2 with an escape, takedown, and a nearfall. He was on the cusp of pinning his opponent when time ran out in the period. In the second, Fuchs allowed his man tie it 7-7 after being took down, then giving up a point after a second stalling call. It all came down to the final period. Fuchs had a rough go in the period as he gave up six points and lost in an 11-7 decision. With that loss, Fuchs finished in fourth place and a spot as an NJCAA All-American.
The Plainsmen finished with 48.5 team points, putting them in 11th place overall. Congratulations to the Northeastern wrestling team on a very successful season and being a top tier team in the nation.
