After day one of the NAIA National Wrestling Championships, on Friday, MSU Northern Lights Martin Wilkie, Devin Crawford, Rylin Burns, and Carl Hansen were eliminated from competition, leaving Nakoda Siegel and Austen Vanek to continue into Saturday’s matches.
Siegel, wrestling at 174 pounds, faced his first loss of the tournament in a 3-2 decision, putting him into the semi final consolation bracket. Another 3-2 decision moved NaKoda into the consolation finals, with the opportunity to take 3rd place in the tournament. Siegel dropped a 6-4 decision in the round, to finish in 4th place.
Vanek, already in the 184 pound consolation bracket, lost his first match on Saturday by pinfall in 2 minutes 7 seconds. The loss put him into a matchup for 7th & 8th place for the tourney. Vanek emerged with a 7-5 decision, to finish in the 7th place slot.
Both Nakoda Siegel and Austen Vanek have earned NAIA All-American status.
