by Shelby Small–Most people wouldn’t consider Topeka, Kansas a destination, but for five Morningside College wrestlers, it is just that, a destination.
The five wrestlers — Steven Garcia, Kyle Fowler, Keegan Hessler, Dakota Drenth and Jared McCoy — will all be heading to Kansas this week for the 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Championships taking place on March 4 and 5.
They earned their placements last weekend at the North Qualifier Tournament in Crete, Nebraska hosted by Concordia University.
At the lowest weight class we have freshman Keegan Hessler, who wrestled a respectable match despite his knee injury that left him out for the most of the season.
Freshman Dakota Drenth also qualified, coming in third place at 157 pounds. Steven Garcia finished first place in his 149 weight class followed by his freshman classmate Kyle Fowler where they wrestled each other in a nail biting championship match. Last but not least, Jared McCoy finished third with a 2-1 decision.
The Mustangs came in second for team points at this qualifier tournament where they ended an almost perfect season. Head coach and National Champion Jake Stevenson says that his focus has changed to helping the boys become more intrinsically motivated, and it has shown during this season The mustangs hope to continue their success at Nationals this weekend, following their teams motto: Believe.
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