Council Bluffs, IA – The No. 12 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Wrestling squad sits in a tie for seventh place following the opening day of the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Men's Wrestling National Championship at the Mid-America Center.
Four Warriors remain in contention heading into the final day of action, including sophomore Kawaun Deboe (Erie, PA/Cathedral Prep) who will battle for a spot in the championship finals after advancing to the semifinal round with three pins on the day. Each of the four are guaranteed NJCAA All-American honors with their place in the top eight of their respective bracket.
Riley Bettich (Stevensville, MI/Crown Point) at 125lbs, Matthew Lewis (Centerville, IA/Centerville) at 141lbs, and Weston Milnes-Bowers (Chandler, AZ/Valiant College Prep) at 157lbs will each head into Saturday with a shot at third-place finish as each individual remains in the final four of the consolation round in their respective bracket.
As a team, the Warriors scored six upset victories in the opening two rounds. Overall on the day, Indian Hills earned 11 upset victories.
Catch all the action live via the GoHillsTV Facebook page for live interviews and updates.
Fans can also watch live via the NJCAA Network with live results available via FloWrestling
125lbs
Riley Bettich entered the tournament unseeded but ranked No. 3 in the nation in the final NJCAA poll. In the first match of the day, Bettich jumped out to a 19-2 lead before scoring a pin in 6:52 to upset the No. 14 seed in the opening round. Bettich made a run through the consolation bracket to secure a spot on Saturday after scoring an 18-3 tech fall and a 5-2 decision over No. 9 Lane Cowell of Iowa Central. The win over Cowell was the second of the year for Bettich.
Bettich will now face No. 5 Kevin Lopez of Nassau Community College on Saturday in the consolation round of four. Two wins on Saturday would place Bettich in the third-place bout on Saturday afternoon. With the top-eight finish, Bettich is guaranteed a spot as an NJCAA All-American.
133lbs
One of the top Warrior wrestlers in the lineup over the past two months, No. 10 Manuel Limon (Rock Island, IL/Rock Island) picked up a 16-7 major decision in the opening round to advance. Limon suffered a 10-5 decision loss to NO. 7 Paul Ruff of Iowa Western to fall to the consolation bracket.
In the consolation round of 16, Limon earned a fall in 4:13 before a 10-3 decision in the following round to advance. Limon's tournament run came to an end in the consolation round of eight with a first round fall.
141lbs
Matthew Lewis returned to the NJCAA National Championship for the second consecutive year and entered the 141lb bracket unseeded. The sophomore scored back-to-back upsets with narrow decisions in each round to reach the quarterfinals. Lewis defeated the No. 9 seed 5-3 before a 7-5 decision over the No. 8 seed.
In the quarters, Lewis, dropped a tight 4-2 decision to the top overall seed Brant Porter of North Idaho. Lewis earned a 9-1 major decision in the consolation round of eight to earn a spot on the All-American podium.
Lewis will square off with Henry Ford College's (MI) Jager Kwiatkowski on Saturday.
149lbs
No. 13 Nevertessone Lahens (Immokalee, FL/Immokalee) picked up an opening round tech fall with a 19-4 victory to advance to the second round. Lahens dropped a thrilling 4-3 double overtime decision to No. 4 Peyton Hughes of Clackamas before bowing out in the consolation bracket.
157lbs
Weston Milnes-Bowers put together one of the most impressive showings in the 157lb bracket after entering the tournament unseeded. Milnes-Bowers scored an 18-2 tech fall in the opening round over No. 16 Nik Pagaon of Sussex County before dropping a narrow 3-1 decision to top-ranked Fabian Padilla of Iowa Western
Milnes-Bowers battled back and scored three-straight victories in the consolation bracket, including two wins over ranked opponents to reach the final eight. Milnes-Bowers earned a 15-3 major, a 15-0 tech fall, and a 13-1 decision over No. 6 Diego Isiordia of Ellsworth.
Milnes-Bowers will face off with No. 2 Adam Busiello of Nassau on Saturday.
165lbs
After falling in the opening round, Peyton Asbury (Brownsburg, IN/Brownsburg) scored two consecutive wins in the consolation bracket before falling in the first round of the consolation of eight. Asbury earned a 4-2 decision and a 3-1 decision before falling.
174lbs
Sophomore Lucas Henderson (Centerville, IA/Centerville) fell in the opening round to top-seed Aziz Fayzullaev of Northwest College (WY) before bouncing back with a pin in 4:30 in the consolation bracket. Henderson dropped his next match to finish out his first nationals appearance as a Warrior.
184lbs
Unseeded Cade Linn (Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia Area) picked up a major upset in the opening round with a 19-12 decision over No. 7 Jack Farinaro of Bergen Community College (NJ). Linn jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second round before sustaining a tournament-ending injury.
197lbs
Sophomore Tobias Bell (Chicago, IL/Curie) earned a hard-fought 6-4 decision in an upset over No. 5 Ryker Blackburn of Northwest. Bell suffered a late pin in the second round and bowed out in the consolation bracket to finish up his Indian Hills career.
285lbs
Kawaun Deboe, the lone returning All-American for the Warriors marched through the heavyweight bracket to earn a spot in the semifinal round and a guaranteed All-American honor.
Deboe scored three consecutive pins – 2:05, 4:37, and 6:53 to cruise through the bottom half of the championship bracket.
MWREST ��♂️
— ICCAC Sports (@ICCACSports) March 4, 2023
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ��
SESSION I | TEAM SCORES
After the second session, Iowa Western & Iowa Central remaining the top 5⃣ -- Indian Hills in the top ��!
Semifinal action begins tomorrow 9:30 a.m.#NJCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/iMpZrYDxsQ
