Diener tops Mustangs' performances at NAIA championships

Photo courtesy of Doane Sports Information.

WICHITA, KAN. – John Diener became Morningside's 35th All-American, placing eighth in the 149-pound bracket of the 2023 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Wrestling National Championship. The Mustangs qualified a program-high 11 wrestlers for the event, entering wrestlers in nine of the 10 brackets, with two in the 133- and 285-pound weight classes.

Diener placed eighth at 149 pounds. Following a bye in the first round, he was bounced to the consolation bracket by Doane's Nathan Lendt, with whom he had split the season's matches. 

In the consolation bracket, Diener got a win by injury forfeit to move to the third round. A 13-3 major decision over Embry-Riddle's Jonah Chew advanced him to round four, where he won a 3-2 decision over Indiana Tech's Nick Gates. A loss in round five pushed him to the 7th place match, where he lost 11-4 decision to Lindsey Wilson's Trent Johnson.

Evan Shell was Morningside's entry at 125. He was sent to the consolation bracket by an 8-2 decision. Shell won a 6-4 decision over Thomas More's Shay Horton, before being eliminated in consolation round two.

Taylor Vasquez won a 9-2 decision over Vanguard's Julian Leon in the first round of the championship bracket. A 9-4 loss rolled him to the consolation bracket, where he was eliminated in a 6-1 decision.

Ben Schmitz joined Vasquez at 133 pounds, getting kicked to the consolation bracket by a 10-7 decision. After receiving a bye in round one of the consolation bracket, he was eliminated in an 8-3 decision.

The Mustangs sent Nicholas Walters to the mat at 141 pounds. A 14-5 major decision bounced him to the consolation bracket, where he received a first-round bye. Walters was pinned in the second round of the consolation bracket to eliminate him from the tournament.

Noah Styskal received a bye in the first round of the championship bracket at 157 pounds. He won a 6-4 decision over Wilder Wichman, from Thomas More, moving onto the quarterfinals. A 15-3 major decision sent Styskal to the consolation bracket, where he suffered a 6-5 decision.

At 165 pounds, Zander Ernst won a 7-2 decision over Ian James from Truett McConnell. Moving to round two of the championship bracket, Ernst suffered a tech fall to send him to the consolation bracket where a pin eliminated him from the tournament.

Alex Vandyke won a 15-6 major decision over Eastern Oregon's Keegan Mulhill in round one of the championship before suffering an 11-6 decision to move to the consolation bracket. In consolation round 2, Vandyke suffered a 10-2 major decision to eliminate him from the tournament.

Morningside's Hayden Wempen received a bye in the first round of the 184-pound bracket. He won a 5-4 decision over Embry-Riddle's Michael Densmore before a 10-5 decision sent him to the consolation bracket, where an 8-2 decision eliminated him.

The Mustangs had a pair of wrestlers at 285. Hunter DeJong repeated a win over Lindsey Wilson's Carlos Figurerora, winning a 5-2 decision this time around. He continued to win a 3-1 decision in round two over Doane's Brandon Antesberger before a 4-1 decision bumped him to the consolation bracket. In the consolation bracket, DeJong suffered a 3-2 decision to end his season.

Jakob Jerabek represented the second half of Morningside's heavyweights, pinning Campbellsville's Jaden Sonner in 6:13. He was pinned in the second round to send him to the consolation bracket, where Jerabek suffered a 3-2 decision to Ottawa's Benito Hernandez, improving upon the result the last time the two met.

The Mustangs finished 23rd out of 58 teams participating in the national championship.