Northeastern Oklahoma A&M wins NJCAA championship behind three individual champions

Jacobe Smith (NEO A&M) celebrates winning 2016 NJCAA National Championship. Photo: Roy Tucker.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - The 2016 NJCAA Championships have come to a close with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M bringing home the program’s second national title in the past three years.

A year removed from falling to ICCC, NEO A&M is back on top. Coach Joe Renfro’s squad has restored order winning the title once again. NEO also went three-for-three in the finals round to bring home three champions.

“We had our ups and downs but they came through in the round that we needed them,” said NEO A&M Head Coach Joe Renfro. “We focus on wrestling our match and score lots of points.  It’s always going to be competitive with Iowa Central.  We focused on our wrestling.

It was a great combination of backside battling and high placements to get the job done for NEO. Dawaylon Barnes, Jacobe Smith and Blake Andrews all made the finals. NEO had six other placers for a whopping nine medalists.

“We focused on what we’re doing and our wrestling. It’s just another day, we simulate the same thing every day in practice. Jacobe comes out like a fireball. He doesn’t get worked up and doesn’t get worried. His mindset is always in the same place. We came together, we all back each other up to cheer for one another.”

Placing third for NEO A&M was Curtis Burnett (149), Kristian Holquin-Mendez (149) and Jacob Hill (184). At 141, Mitchell Sellers was fifth. At 125, Logan Terrill placed seventh as did 197-pounder Josh Latham.

The defending champions from Iowa Central were thwarted on day two and finished in second place. 

The 125 pound finals were a high flying affair with a number of counters. Alex DelaCruz (Iowa Central) was the winner, 8-6. Runner-up Cole Verner nearly sent the bout into overtime when he locked up a headlock and nearly scored 2 nearfall as time expired, but would fall 8-6.

Not to be outdone, at 133 pounds Shiquan Hall (NIACC) got two very late stall calls to send the match into overtime against Iowa Central CC’s Zak Hensley. In sudden victory, Hall was able to secure the winning takedown to take the title, 5-3.

“I felt like I was working the entire match,” Hall said. “I’m glad I had a chance to take it in overtime. My movement got him uncomfortable and he was on his heels.”

Hall, the brother of ISU All-American Earl Hall, would go on to mention he is considering Iowa State, Iowa and Michigan State after this school year wraps up.

Don’t be mislead by the 10-4 final, Jason Alfau (Iowa Central CC) was on the brink of losing to Colton Adams (Iowa Western) before scoring a late takedown and nearfall to win a great 141-pound match and capture the NJCAA title.

Northwest Wyoming’s John-David Henderson took the 149 bout by a 3-2 score over Chris Garcia of Clackamas. Henderson won with a takedown late in the 3rd period. Henderson was able to negotiate the edge on the finish to secure the 3-2 win.

A pair of early takedowns and some tough riding aided NEO A&M’s Dawaylon Barnes in a 5-2 victory over Ridgewater’s Christopher Schmidt at 157 pounds. In the 165-pound match, Dajour Reece was a winner by a 7-5 score. Reece scored early with a variety of takedowns but it was a pancake late in the second period that separated him from Daquan Wilson of Spartansburg Methodist.

Jacobe Smith (NEO A&M) cemented himself as the pound-for-pound class of this entire tournament with a dominant 14-5 win over Jordan Gundrum of Ellsworth at 174 pounds. Smith was able to score from all positions effectively. Gundrum had a few bright spots including a headlock that nearly scored nearfall before Smith was able to free himself.

“The goal is always bonus, if it comes, it comes, if it doesn’t just wrestle,” Jacobe Smith reflected.  “Coming out of high school I could have gone D1 but coming here (NEO) helped me grow.”

Tyler Hoffman of Iowa Central went back-to-back after winning by fall over Wesley Schultz of Iowa Lakes at 184 pounds. Hoffman scored early but a wild counter from bottom by Schultz saw Hoffman nearly pinned. Hoffman would recover and ultimately win by fall at 184 pounds.

At 197 pounds Dymere Rappa of Camden County was a 4-2 winner over John Morin of Clackamas. Rappa made some great adjustments mid-match to secure the winning takedown.  

Blake Andrews of NEO A&M put a major exclamation point on the tournament in the 285 pound finals when he won by fall in the first period. He gave up the initial takedown to Guy Henson of Iowa Lakes, but was able to get a quick reversal before pinning Henson with a half nelson to end the night.

The 2016 NJCAA Championships had a heated team race that came down to the later rounds before NEO A&M clinched the title.

It was a back-and-forth battle for the top spot but a late surge in the wrestle backs ultimately sent Iowa Central to second place. Luke Moffitt’s Tritons had the most finalists of any team with four making the big stage in Council Bluffs. The 1-2-3 punch of Alex DelaCruz (1st), Zak Hensley (2nd) and Jason Alfau (1st) at 125, 133 and 141 provided a huge boost to the Tritons cause with all three making the finals. 184 pounder Tyler Hoffman was the lone upper-weight finalist for ICCC, he won by fall in the second period.  Placing fifth for ICCC was Kendrick Jones
at 197. Brandon Murray was seventh at 157 pounds.

“We did the best with what we had,” Moffitt said. “Obviously it’s a numbers game so the more guys you have wrestling on the 2nd day the better off we’re going to do as a team.  3 out of the 4 champs, we’ll take that.”

Third place went to the Ellsworth Panthers. They sent Jordan Gundrum to the finals at 174 pounds.  The Panthers placed a whopping seven athletes in all. They had three third place finishes from Blake Walker at 125, Matthew Kirkland at 157 and Dalonte Holland at 285. Placing seventh were Sadarris Patterson and DeAndre Jones at 165 and 184, respectively.

In fourth place another squad from Iowa had a strong performance. Iowa Western had a finalist in Colton Adams as well as third place from Preston Lauderbach at 174. Iowa Western also had a pair of seventh place finishes from Oscar Ramirez at 149 and Chase Lemons at 157.

North Iowa Area had a fine showing coming in fifth place. The Trojans were bolstered by Shiquan Hall who won the title at 133 pounds. Jake Nichel placed 5th at 149 pounds, Mario Pena placed 4th at 285 and Kyler Mathews was 7th at 197.

2016 NJCAA Championships
Feb. 26-27 at Council Bluffs, Iowa

Team Standings
1. NEO A&M - 152.5
2. Iowa Central - 128
3. Ellsworth - 98
4. Iowa Western - 90.5
4. North Iowa Area - 90.5
6. Clackamas - 77.5
7. Iowa Lakes - 72.5
8. Nassau - 60.5
9. Northwest Wyoming - 52.5
10. Niagara - 47.5

Final Results
125
1st: Alex DelaCruz, Iowa Central dec Cole Verner, Western Wyoming, 8-6
3rd: Paul Mascarenas, North Iowa Area dec Blake Walker, Ellsworth, 3-2
5th: Will Bardezbain, Barton fall Andres Tereza, Highline, 2:18
7th: Logan Terrill maj Josh Antoine, Nassau, 11-1

133
1st: Shiquan Hall, North Iowa Area dec Zak Hensley, Iowa Central, 5-3
3rd: Eduardo Pehna dec Curtis Burnett, NEO A&M, 9-5
5th: Clay Stine, Iowa Western maj Tepra Wright, Ellsworth, 10-1
7th: Detric McCoy, Mercyhurst dec Andrew Ramirez, Highline, 7-5

141
1st: Jason Alfau, Iowa Central dec Colton Adams, Iowa Western, 10-4
3rd: Jaydon Rogers, Western Wyoming dec Braydon Akeo, Southwestern Oregon
5th: Mitchell Sellers, NEO A&M fall Matt Schmidt, Northwest Wyoming, 0:27
7th: Lamont Cannon, Minnesota West dec Downey Wood, Pratt, 7-4

149
1st: John-David Henderson, Northwest Wyoming dec Chris Garcia, Clackamas, 3-2
3rd: Nate Skonieczny, Jamestown maj Kristian Holquin-Mendez, 17-5
5th: Toby Hague, Rowan at Gloucester fall Cory Pych, 1:52
7th: Oscar Ramirez, Iowa Western dec Cody McGregor, Niagara 6-4 SV1

157
1st: Dawaylon Barnes, NEO A&M dec Christopher Schmidt, Ridgewater, 5-2
3rd: Matthew Kirkland, Ellsworth dec TJ Barnes, Muskegon, 12-6
5th: Quincy Kalkbrenner, North Iowa Area tech Zach Colgan, Niagara
7th: Brandon Murray, Iowa Central fall Chase Lemons, Iowa Western 8:26 TB1


165
1st: Dajour Reece, North Idaho dec Daquan Wilson, Spartansburg Methodist, 7-5
3rd: Sam Schwartzafel, Nassau dec Sam Colebert, Mercyhurst, 6-4
5th: Gavin Grater, Colby fall Zach Revier, Ridgewater, 0:51
7th: Sadarris Patterson, Ellsworth dec Tyree Overton, Lincoln 14-13

174
1st: Jacobe Smith, NEO A&M maj Jordan Gundrum, Ellsworth, 14-5
3rd: Devan Richter, Muskegon inj def. Preston Lauterbach, Iowa Western
5th: Kaden Campbell, Western Wyoming dec Dominic Ruggiero, Rowan at Gloucester, 2-0
7th: Tyler Noon, Highline dec Alex Kelly, Niagara, 9-4

184
1st: Tyler Hoffman, Iowa Central fall Wesley Schultz, Iowa Lakes, 4:21
3rd: Haszell West, Clackamas dec Jacob HIll, NEO A&M, 10-6
5th: Deuly Espinal, Nassau tech Anthony Liberatore, Niagara, 16-0
7th: Micah Felton, Pratt fft. DeAndre Jones, Ellsworth

197
1st: Dymere Rappa, Camden County dec John Morin, Clackamas, 4-2
3rd: Christian Dulaney, Iowa Lakes dec Elias Mason, Highline, 10-6
5th: Kendrick Jones, Iowa Central fall Anthony Whitmarsh, Southwestern Oregon, 1:25
7th: Kyler Mathews, North Iowa Area dec Josh Latham, NEO A&M

285
1st: Blake Andrews, NEO A&M fall Guy Henson, Iowa Lakes, 2:05
3rd: Dalonte Holland, Ellsworth dec Mario Pena, North Iowa Area, 5-2
5th: Ben Aquilina, Middlesex County dec Jenard Rosemond, Nassau, 4-3
7th: Damian Trujillo, North Idaho dec Ian Lynch, Camden County, 5-3


Semifinal Results
125
Alex DelaCruz, Iowa Central fall Andrea Tereza, Highline, 1:28
Cole Verner, Western Wyoming dec Blake Walker, Ellsworth, 6-4 SV1

133
Shiquan Hall, North Iowa Area dec Eduardo Penha, Northwest Wyoming, 5-3
Zak Hensley, Iowa Central fall Tepra Wright, Ellsworth, 1:19

141
Colton Adams, Iowa Western dec Braydon Akeo, Southwestern Oregon, 5-2
Jason Alfau, Iowa Central dec Jaydon Rogers, Western Wyoming, 8-4

149
John-David Henderson, Northwest Wyoming dec Toby Hague, Rowan at Gloucester, 7-5
Chris Garcia, Clackamas maj Cory Pych, Harper, 11-0

157
Christopher Schmidt, Ridgewater dec Zach Colgan, Niagara, 4-1
Dawaylon Barnes, NEO A&M dec Quincy Kalkbrenner, North Iowa Area, 7-5

165
Daquan Wilson, Spartansburg Methodist dec Zach Revier, Ridgewater, 7-4
Dajour Reece, North Idaho dec Gavin Grater, Colby, 17-13

174
Jacobe Smith, NEO A&M fall Preston Lauterbach, Iowa Western, 6:23
Jordan Gundrum, Ellsworth maj Dominic Ruggiero, Rowan, 10-0

184
Wesley Schultz, Iowa Lakes fall Jacob Hill, NEO A&M, 1:08
Tyler Hoffman, Iowa Central dec Haszell West, Clackamas, 3-4

197
Dymere Rappa, Camden County dec Elias Mason, Highline, 6-3
John Morin, Clackamas dec Kendrick Jones, Iowa Central, 2-1

285
Guy Henson, Iowa Lakes dec Mario Pena, North Iowa Area, 3-2
Blake Andrews, NEO A&M dec Dalonte Holland, Ellsworth, 7-1 TB2