By Katrina Kowitz, Staff Writer
Newman’s wrestling team started its season this month, and so far, the team is off to a strong start, said head coach Ryan Smith.
In fact, he said, he believes the wrestlers are becoming better every day. The goal this year is to be conference champions, national qualifiers and All Americans.
“I’m excited about this group of young guys,” Smith said. “We’ve got some key pieces this year. We got to stay healthy and be ready when we need to be.”
The Jets opened their 2024-2025 season at the Falcon Open, a tournament hosted by Friends University that happened on Nov. 2. Since then, the team has also wrestled in The Red and Blue Dual, an intrasquad match that happened on Nov. 10.
At the Falcon Open, Two wrestlers placed: Sophomore Bryce Kegley took first in the open amateur division, and junior Caleb Wunsch placed third in the open elite division.
Wunsch was 2-2 overall during the tournament. He received a bye in the first round, and in the second round, he won by technical fall against Paul Sharp from Central Oklahoma.
In the tournament’s quarterfinals, Wunsch won by decision over Jacob Jerbek from Morningside, Iowa (5-0). In the semi finals, he lost by decision (7-2) to Alton Allen from Briar Cliff, Iowa. This loss took Wunsch to another round in the semi finals, where he was able to win against Central Oklahoma’s Sharp. Wunsch won his final match against Cole Mair from Grandview to secure his third place victory.
Kegley, meanwhile, started the tournament with a bye in the first round. In the second round, he won against Oklahoma City, and in the third round, he won by major decision over Brock Roberts from Cowley College. In the quarterfinals, Kegley also won against unattached wrestler Damon Ingram. In the semi finals, Kegley won by fall over unattached wrestler Wesley Madden, which got him to the final for the tournament. Kegley beat Ben Smith to take first place in the 149 lb weight class.
“This offseason, we really worked on just getting better on the mat, and it paid off,” Kegley said.
Sophomore wrestler Jaxson Newcomb, who comes from Andover, said that he also has high hopes for the wrestling season.
“We’ve got a great mix of talent and good team chemistry, which I believe will help us perform at a high level,” he said.
The Jets will next wrestle in the Upper Iowa Duals on Friday in Fayette, Iowa. They take on the University of Sioux Falls at 3 p.m. and Upper Iowa at 7 p.m.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Unsplash
