Estherville, IA – The No. 19 nationally ranked Indian Hills Men's Wrestling team took home a third-place finish at the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) North Central District Championship on Sunday night for the team's fourth consecutive top-four finish.
Led by freshman Isaac Gibbs' (Prosper, TX/Rock Hill) individual District title at 125lbs, the Warriors tallied 120.0 team points on the day to take third-place overall. Iowa Central Community College took home the District title with 144.5 team points followed by Iowa Western Community College with 130.0 points.
For their efforts, all 10 individuals competing at the District tournament on Sunday for the Warriors earned bids to the upcoming NJCAA National Tournament Mach 1-2 in Council Bluffs, IA. Indian Hills collected seven automatic qualifiers with top-four finishes while three individuals earned wild card bids to the national tournament.
Gibbs, ranked No. 7 in the nation entering the weekend, became Indian Hills' seventh all-time individual District champion, and the fourth freshman in program history to earn a title.
"It was exciting – very fast-paced against a very good opponent," Gibbs stated. "It was very back and forth… but I had to trust in the scramble and believe in myself in those high intensity moments."
"Isaac has been one of the most consistent guys all year in terms of lifestyle, work ethic, academics there's balance in what he does," stated head coach Cole Spree. "Awesome to get that job done – it's not easy to win a District championship, especially in our District."
As a team, the Warriors placed four individuals in the championship round of their respective weight classes. Joining Gibbs in the title rounds were Arojae Hart (Murphysboro, IL/Murphysboro) at 133lbs, Jaquan East (Kokomo, IN/Kokomo), and Darion Thompson (Cleveland, OH/Cleveland Heights) at 184lbs. In total, Indian Hills saw six individuals place in the top-three of their weight class.
125lbs – No. 7 Isaac Gibbs | District Champion
The top-seeded individual in the 125lb bracket, Gibbs made a thrilling run in the championship bout to claim the title. Following a first round bye, Gibbs posted a dominant 19-4 tech fall over Chris Compton of Ellsworth Community College to advance to the finals.
Trailing 4-3 in the third round against Dallas Dunn of Iowa Western, Gibbs scored a three-point takedown with under 30 seconds remaining and held off a late push from Dunn to secure a 7-5 decision. The championship victory gave Gibbs 27 wins on the season, tying the Indian Hills single season school record.
133lbs – No. 7 Arojae Hart | 2nd Place
Sophomore Arojae Hart secured a second-place finish at 133lbs to punch a ticket to the national tournament. Hart scored back-to-back wins to open the day, including a 4-0 decision over Iowa Lakes' Ayden Rader in the semifinal round.
Hart battled in the championship bout against No. 5 nationally ranked Paul Ruff of Iowa Western, but fell short of the District title, dropping an 8-4 decision.
Hart wrestled back in the second-place match against Jamey Bruner of Iowa Central and secured a thrilling 6-5 decision to finish as the District runner-up.
141lb – Arieh Hart | 6th Place*
Arieh Hart secured a wild card bid to the national tournament with a sixth-place finish for the Warriors. Hart earned an opening round 16-12 decision over Nick Koch of Ellsworth before falling in the consolation bracket.
149lbs – Yaveion Freeman | 5th Place*
Yaveion Freeman earned a fifth-place finish and a wild card bid to the national tournament after picking up a pair of wins on Sunday. Freeman scored an impressive 17-1 tech fall in the quarterfinal round, but dropped to the consolation bracket after a semifinal loss.
Freeman battled back in the fifth-place match with a second consecutive 17-1 tech fall over Kael Glenn of Ellsworth in the second round.
157lbs – Ayden Kingery | 3rd Place
Ayden Kingery secured three victories for the Warriors on Sunday to take a third-place finish at 157lbs. Asbury earned a first round pin in 1:20 in the quarterfinal round, but fell short in the semifinals to Tanner Warden of NIACC.
Kingery bounced back in the consolation bracket with back-to-back first round pins for the Warriors to advance to the second-place match, but fell short to take a third-place showing on the podium.
165lbs – No. 6 Peyton Asbury | 6th Place*
Peyton Asbury, the Warriors' lone returned with District experience this year, entered the day seeded No. 2 in the 165lb bracket, but suffered an injury in the opening round that forced the sophomore to miss the remainder of the tournament.
Despite Asbury's setback, the sophomore was awarded a Wild Card bid to the national tournament after an impressive body of work throughout the regular season.
174lbs – No. 9 Jaquan East | 2nd Place
Jaquan East soared into the championship match at 174lbs as the top-seeded individual in the bracket. Following a first-round bye, East dominated the semifinal match with a 20-3 tech fall over Marco Guzman of NIACC.
Squaring off against Lawrence Rosario of Iowa Central, East dropped a tight 5-1 decision in the championship match, but secured a victory in the second-place match to secure an automatic bid to the national tournament.
184lbs – No. 8 Darion Thompson | 3rd Place
Darion Thompson earned a spot in the 184lb championship bout after back-to-back victories to open the day. Thompson, ranked No. 8 in the nation, held off a late push from No. 6 nationally ranked Brent Greenfield of Ellsworth to score a 14-12 decision in the semifinal round.
Thompson dropped a narrow 4-1 decision in the title match to Trystin Irvin of Iowa Central before falling in the second-place match to Jessey Colas of NIACC>
197lbs – Ansel Cervantes | 4th Place
Ansel Cervantes scored Indian Hills' fastest fall of the day with an opening round pin in just 35 seconds over Kaleb Homan of Ellsworth. Cervantes fell in the semifinal round, but battled back in the consolation bracket with a 20-4 tech fall to advance to the third-place match.
Cervantes, who dropped a narrow 7-5 decision in the championship bracket earlier in the day, dropped a tight decision, 5-4 in the third-place match to take fourth in the 197lb bracket.
285lbs – Treyshawn White | 3rd Place
Competing in his first-career District tournament, White posted three wins on Sunday to take home a third-place finish. The sophomore opened the day with a pin in 1:37 in the quarterfinal round, but dropped to the consolation bracket with a semifinal loss.
White battled back with a second pin in the consolation semifinals, a 1:23 fall to advance to the third-place match. An injury default win allowed White to advance for a shot at a runner-up finish, but fell in the final match of the day to place third overall.
The Warriors have now sent 10 individuals to the national tournament in each of the last four years. The Warriors will head to the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA for the NJCAA National Tournament March 1-2.
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