Wrestling national champions
Photo Credit: Amanda Gabbert/Thegrandviews
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Paul Selinger, staff writer
January 20, 2012
Filed under Features, Sports, Top Stories
They were crowned after an intense weekend at the Cliff Keen National Duals in Springfield, Illinois. The Jan. 7-8 tournament showcased the Vikings’ blend of hard work and talent as they rose above the rest to become champions.
After blowing out Cumberland (Tenn.) 44-3 and Midland (Neb.) 41-9 on day one of the tournament, the Vikings rolled into the semifinal match with momentum on their side.
They worked over their opponent when it mattered most by winning a close 19-18 decided dual meet against third seeded Southern Oregon.
“It came down to every single match and each match is very important along with bonus points,” TJ Moen, 149 Ibs senior, said. “If I would have lost my match we would have lost the dual. If our 197 pounder would have lost, that would have cost us the dual too and we both won those tight matches.”
Moen finished his match against fourth ranked Jimmy Eggemeyer in overtime fashion, winning 5 – 4.
Heading into the finals the Vikings handled top seeded Great Falls (Mont.), winning 31-7 to make history as Grand View wrestling’s first national champion dual team.
“We could have blew them out, we should have, but like I said those tight matches [mean everything],” Moen said. “They were supposed to be the number one team. After Cody Swim won his match at 184 we knew we had it because we knew we won points wise. People at home were watching on the Internet. It was probably one of the best moments.”
Nick Mitchell, head coach, shared in the excitement of the win with his team, but said they still have business to take care of this season.
“Now it’s back to focus on March again and that’s the most important thing for us now,” Mitchell said. “If anything, we have to recognize the fact that we just won the national duals but there’s a whole bunch of teams right now that are really motivated because they didn’t win. We really have to keep motivated and try to distance ourselves instead of letting those teams catch up to us.”
Eric Thompson, heavyweight sophomore, went 4-0 on the weekend. “It’s fun to wrestle big competition,” Thompson said. “This is our period where we compete a lot. We start training the second week of school so it’s nice now to really see how it has paid off.”
And paid off it has. Upon being crowned national dual meet champs, the Vikings move to the top of the rankings as the No.1 team in the nation.
“It was exciting for a program like ours that’s only four years old. I think after having that sort of great success, we want to go win another one in March,” Thompson said.
Becoming national champs, however, was not far removed from Mitchell’s imagination.
“As a coach, that’s the plan,” Mitchell said. “You have to stick to the plan. When I was interviewing and meeting with Troy Plummer (athletic director) we talked about what the four year vision was [for the program]. It’s great to look at this year as being the year that we would be able to compete for a title.”
National Wrestling Meet to be hosted by Des Moines
Des Moines has been awarded the honor of hosting the 2012 NAIA wrestling championships according to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) Web site. Grand View University will serve as the local host in conjunction with Des Moines Area Sports Commission. The tournament will take place March 1-3 at the Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Nick Mitchell, head coach, was able to shed some light on how they came to be the host team.
“It was scheduled to be in Cedar Rapids again this year but the U.S. Cellular Center was getting renovated from the flooding so they had to change it. Des Moines CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) came to us and they were interested in hosting it here. I had some input on that but that’s about as far as it goes for me. I just have to try to focus on how to coach.”
Reaching the national tournament and finishing No.1 is a goal on all wrestlers’ minds. Derek Nightser, junior who’s ranked fourth in the nation at 197 lbs, has his sights set on the tournament at the end of the season.
“[I want to] finish out, win regionals, and go to the national tournament. I also want do the best I can for my team,” Nighter said. “It’s definitely a plus being here at home. [We’ll] have a lot more fans at the tournament.”
Nightser isn’t the only one looking forward to the hometown advantage. Derek Thompson, top ranked sophomore, said, “It’s exciting. I haven’t really wrestled in a national tournament since high school and it would be the first college national tournament I’ve been in, so it’s exciting. We all want to bring home a team title for Grand View.”
Equally enthused, TJ Moen, senior ranked 10th at 149 Ibs, said, “It’s a big deal. Plus for us it’s a home crowd and we get the home advantage.”
The season capping national tournament boasts some above average large numbers. Approximately 320 athletes will compete with 10 individual national champions to be decided. A predicted 5,000-8,000 fans will be in attendance to witness what the team hopes will go down memorably in history.
In Grand View wrestling’s short history, they have crowned three individual champions and finished in the top 10 each year, finishing fifth in 2011.
This year seems to be the most anticipated yet with hosting the national championship and currently ranked No.1 in the nation.
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