Graceland Wrestling Shows Grit at Doane's Connor Oppenheim Open

CRETE, Neb. – The Graceland University men's wrestling team competed at the Connor Oppenheim Open, hosted by Doane University, on Saturday. Yellowjackets wrestlers battled across several weight classes, showcasing resilience and determination in one of the season's most competitive events.

Graceland's standout performances were led by Aiden Sanchez, who advanced deep into the 184-pound bracket. Sanchez opened with an 8-1 decision over Isaiah Kellow of Hawkeye Community College and followed with a dominant technical fall, 17-2, against Thomas Vance of Northwestern College in the consolation rounds. In a closely contested match, Sanchez earned a 5-1 sudden victory over Braeden Campbell, also from Northwestern, cementing his status as one of Graceland's top competitors for the weekend.

At 133 pounds, Terrance Smith advanced to the second championship round with a 2-0 decision over Jaren Kimura of Embry-Riddle but fell to Matthew Terrence of Doane by fall in 2:45. Fellow 133-pounder Nick Foster faced a challenging bracket, falling in the second round to Freddy Barajas of Saint Mary (KS) in a 13-1 major decision.

Caden Lopez competed at 141 pounds, pushing Christian Lopez of Embry-Riddle in an 11-5 decision loss in the championship round before being eliminated in the consolation bracket. Ryan Anderson highlighted the 149-pound competition for Graceland, earning a hard-fought 8-6 decision over Brayden Eikermann of Missouri Baptist in the consolation rounds. Hoakea Salter also battled at 149 pounds, securing a 10-4 decision over Asher Larson of Ottawa in the championship rounds before falling in the quarterfinals to Macael Bear of Hawkeye Community College.

In the 165-pound bracket, Juan Lopez delivered a strong performance in the consolation rounds, earning a 10-2 major decision over Michael Ager of Saint Mary (KS). At 174 pounds, Jett Nelson showed technical skill in a dominant 14-2 major decision victory over Chase Stieb of Doane. Chris Wohrley added another win for Graceland at 174 pounds with a 9-4 decision over Leonides Ruvalcaba of Missouri Baptist in the consolation bracket.

Despite a tough draw, Graceland competitors like Jamar Toston (197 pounds) and Kazz Hyson (285 pounds) demonstrated determination and effort against strong opponents, including nationally ranked wrestlers in their respective brackets.

"Our focus was on perseverance, fight, and grit this weekend," said Head Coach Zack Mullins. "The team responded, competed hard all weekend, and represented our program and the university well."

The Yellowjackets will take a brief hiatus from competition to focus on final exams and enjoy time with family during the holiday break. They will return to action on Saturday, January 6, hosting Baker University at 7 p.m. in the Morden Center on Graceland's campus in Lamoni, Iowa.

For more information on the Graceland wrestling team and all of Yellowjacket athletics, visit GUjackets.com.