Men's Wrestling Has Promising Results at Missouri Valley Invite

(Marshall, MO) - The Hastings men's wrestling team competed at the Missouri Valley Invite in the two-day event in Marshall, MO beginning on Friday.

Freshman Koen Mattern had a great performance at the invite competing in the 285-weight class, pinning his Marian opponent less than three minutes into the match. In the second round, he knocked off Concordia with a 10-2 major decision over Mason Garcia to move into the third round. Mattern lost on a close 4-3 decision in the third round to Braden Morgan of Friends.

Mattern rebounded on Saturday in the consolation bracket with a 4-0 decision win over Jayden Joseph of Missouri Valley. He pinned Dickinson State at the 1:37 mark and took out 18th-ranked Randy Gonzalez of Missouri Valley with a 11-4 decision to move onto the consolation quarterfinals. He advanced to the semifinals on a 4-0 decision win over 20th-ranked Eli Criblez of Doane, then lost on a 20-10 major decision in the consolation semifinal to Grand View's Cole Mair. In the fifth place match, Mattern defeated #14th-ranked Shane Mattson of Montana State-Northern via tech fall to take fifth and finish the invite 7-2.

Freshman Jordan Tobias won a 14-13 thriller by decision at 149 over Conner Wright from Brewton-Parker in his first match, then advanced to the third round with a 14-5 major decision against Midland before exiting the invite.

At 133, sophomore Justin Rodriguez dropped his first match, but found success on the consolation side. He pinned Isaac Green of Lourdes at the 4:43 mark to open consolation play, then pulled out a 13-10 sudden victory against Oklahoma Wesleyan. Rodriquez rode his momentum into his next consolation match against Bryce Carlin of Concordia by winning a close 5-3 decision. On Saturday, Rodriguez dropped his first match of the day on a 9-6 decision to Providence to end the invite at 3-2.

Sophomore Creel Weber began his day at 125 with a quick pin over his William Penn opponent, just 26 seconds into the match. He lost to Jamestown in the second round, getting pinned in the fifth minute of the bout. In the consolation bracket after a bye in his opening round, Weber lost his first consolation match by fall against Smith from Cleary, finishing 2-2.

Hastings picked up another win at 174 from freshman Esteban Sedano, who after losing early in his first round match to Missouri Valley, regrouped to pin Bryan Ayala from Oklahoma Wesleyan at the three-minute mark in his first consolation match. In his second consolation match, Sedano was pinned in the fifth minute versus Southeastern to end his day at 1-2.

Up next, Hastings will travel to wrestle York in a dual on Thursday, Jan. 30.