Ernst's Championship Headlines List of Five Top Four Finishes

Photo courtesy of Tim Tushla

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Morningside may have been a bit battered and bruised as it entered the Great Plains Athletic Conference Men's Wrestling Championships this weekend, but that didn't stop five Mustangs from taking fourth place or better, headlined by Zander Ernst's GPAC title.

Ernst started his title run through the 165-pound bracket with a second-period pin of Waldorf's Ronald Hooten, ending the bout in 1:58. In the quarterfinal round he picked up an 11-0 major decision over Doane's Vincent Donatelle, before winning 7-2 over Erik Lessears, from Briar Cliff, in the semifinal round. Ernst's journey wasn't over, as that set up a championship bout against teammate Carson Turnis.

Turnis' tournament began in the quarterfinals, where he picked up a 5-1 win over Dakota Wesleyan's Jackson Remmers. A 3-2 decision in the semifinals came in tiebreak period no. 1, where accumulated riding time gave the Mustang the advantage over Concordia's Cole Price, pitting the two Morningside 165-pounders against each other.

Ernst scored a pair of takedowns of his grappling mate and added riding time at the conclusion of the bout, while Turnis scattered a trio of escapes throughout the second and third periods, lifting Ernst to the GPAC title and naming Turnis the runner up. 

At 149 pounds, Caden Eggleston took second place, starting the weekend in the quarterfinal round with an 8-0 decision over Noah Avila of Waldorf. Eggleston picked up a 12-3 major decision in the semifinals over Northwestern's Johnny Burnette, but came up just short in the championship match as Concordia's Cal Price got the pin in the second period.

Josue Munoz' tournament started with a tech fall that forced the freshman to battle back through the consolation side of the 141-pound bracket. His first match, which came in consolation round no. 2, was a 12-4 major decision over Briar Cliff's Logan Mainard. He advanced to the semifinal round following a medical forfeit by teammate Isaac Lomas, winning the consolation semi 7-6 before falling 14-1 in the third place match.

Mehki Bovee's tournament had a similar, though not identical path, as the freshman won his quarterfinal match in the 197-pound bracket, 8-4, over Hastings' Justyce Hostetler. A 17-1 loss in the semifinal round moved him to the consolation side of the bracket, where a 16-3 win over Northwestern's Joel Arias in the consolation semifinals moved him to the third place match, where he suffered a 13-3 loss.

Ernst and Turnis, by virtue of taking the top two spots in their weight class, claimed two of the GPAC's three automatic bids to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Wrestling National Championships. The Mustangs' remaining top contenders will await the distribution of at-large berths, due to be announced by the NAIA on February 24.