Kelsey Ackerman | Sports Co-Editor
Buena Vista University (BVU) freshman wrestler, Nashid Barrow, has secured a spot in the National Tournament at 141 pounds. This was achieved after his runner-up finish last Saturday at the Central Regional Tournament in Dubuque.
In Barrow’s first match, he came out easy with a 23-6 victory over Jackson Faulkner of Knox College. In his quarterfinal match was a bit closer, with a 6-3 win over Collin Tomkins of Augustana College.
The biggest upset of the day for Barrow came in the semifinals as he came out on top by pinning Nick Steger of Loras College. Steger came into the regional the number one seed, as well as an undefeated record.
In the championship match, Nashid fell short to Drew Van Anrooy of Luther College. Anrooy is an Oregon State transfer and was the number two seed coming into the tournament, as well as second-ranked in the country.
“Individually, we are very happy to have a National qualifier. We did hope to get a couple more guys there. We have a great group of senior leaders, and I wanted a better result for them, they certainly deserve it,” Head Coach Jeff Breese said.
With this last tournament, three Beaver seniors wrestled their last collegiate duals.
“I will miss this senior class the most for their steadiness and consistency. It was a group I could count on in the classroom, the mat, and socially. They set a great example by how they lived and trained. It will be tough to replace,” Breese said.
At 157 pounds, senior Seth Shatto fell just short of a bid to nationals where he ended up at sixth place. He will end his final campaign at 22-13. Fellow seniors Steve Gutschenritter at 149 pounds and Jared Bronaugh at 184 pounds both ended one match short of ending in the top six.
“One thing I won’t miss is cutting the weight. I will miss my teammates the most. Every athlete can relate to this. You build a strong relationship with your teammates throughout the few months you are competing,” Gutschenritter said.
Out of the weekend, BVU will see it’s first national qualifier since 2013 (Brian Broll) in Barrow.
“The goal is to win a national title. That can be the only goal. If the mindset is not to win the whole thing, then mentally you may not be ready,” Breese said.
The National Tournament will take place on March 13 and 14 in Hershey, Penn.
The 2014-15 Beaver wrestling team as a whole ends their season with a ninth place finish out of thirteen at the regional tournament and a 3-13 record.
