NJCAA MEN'S WRESTLING INVITATIONAL - DAY ONE RESULTS
Council Bluffs, IA – The Indian Hills Men's Wrestling squad saw a school record six individuals advance to the semifinal round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Men's Wrestling National Championship on Friday. As a program, the Warriors currently sit in first-place with 113 team points, 14 points ahead of second-place Clackamas Community College (OR).
An action-packed day at the Mid-America Center saw the Warriors put together its most dominant performance at a national tournament in program history. Coming off its second NJCAA North Central District Championship, the Warriors will head into the final day of competition on Saturday with its sights set on the program's first-ever national title in just its fifth year of existence.
Here's a breakdown of how all 10 Warriors fared on the opening day of the NJCAA National Championship.
125lbs
The No. 3 seed in the 125lb bracket, sophomore All-American Riley Bettich cruised to the semifinals with a pair of tech falls and a major decision. Bettich opened the day with 16-0 tech fall in 5:00 of mat time before securing a 17-1 tech fall in the second round in 5:43.
In the quarterfinal round, Bettich earned an 11-1 major to secure a spot in the semifinal round where he will square off against No. 2 Ane'e Vigil of Clackamas Community College (OR), the defending 125lb national champion.
Bettich has now secured an All-American spot for the second time in his Indian Hills career after placing seventh overall as a freshman in 2023.
133lbs
Freshman Deontae Forest, the No. 8 seed in the 133lb bracket, earned a dominant 15-0 tech fall to open the day before falling to the consolation bracket. Forest earned a 9-1 major to keep his day alive, but ultimately fell in the consolation round of eight to complete his national tournament debut.
141lbs
Freshman Gavyn Whitehead put together an electrifying performance for the Warriors, earning a pair of overtime victories to advance to the semifinal round.
Seeded No. 4 in the 133lb bracket, Whitehead escaped the opening round with a 14-11 extra session victory before a fall in the second round in 42 seconds. Whitehead battled to the wire with No. 5 seed Ely Olberding of Southeast (NE) before needing an overtime period to determine the winner. Whitehead earned a three-point takedown in the first nine seconds of action to punch his ticket to the semifinal round.
Whitehead will square off against No. 9 seed Colby Klinger of Southwestern Michigan on Saturday.
149lbs
In his national debut, freshman Shehabeldin Mohamed (Alexandria, Egypt/Smouha Military) punched his ticket to the semifinal round. Mohamed, seeded third in the bracket, went 3-0 on the day, earning an opening round fall before a 13-3 major decision. Mohamed closed out the day with a last-second 2-1 decision over No. 6 Teshawn Matthew of Niagara County Community College (NY) in the quarterfinal round.
Mohamed will square off against No. 2 Keith Smith of Southeast (NE) in the semifinal bout Saturday.
157lbs
Top-seeded Brice Coleman (Indianapolis, IN/Indiana Tech) suffered an opening round defeat, but preserved through the consolation bracket with a dominant performance to earn All-American honors. Coleman battled back with consecutive pins before three straight decisions to advance to the final four of the consolation bracket on Saturday.
Coleman will square off against Jacen Jackson of Cowley College (KS) on Saturday.
165lbs
Freshman Cinsere Clark (Des Moines, IA/Valley) made a remarkable run to the quarterfinal round before falling to the consolation bracket. Clark, unseeded entering the day, knocked off No. 5 seed Caleb Marx of Snow College (UT) in the second round with a dominant 10-1 major decision. Clark earned a fall in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals, eventually falling to fourth-seeded Kaden Clark of Iowa Central Community College.
174lbs
Freshman Mohamed Tarek Abdelhady (Alexandria, Egypt/Sports Military School) made an unprecedented run on Friday to advance to the semifinal round. Unseeded entering the national tournament, Abdelhady made a statement in his opening match with a 7-5 decision over second-seeded Leo Tukhlynovuch of Rochester Community & Technical College (MN).
Abdelhady followed up with a 20-4 tech fall before knocking off Giles Cowell of Ellsowrth Community College 19-2 to advance to the semifinals.
Abdelhady will match up with No. 3 seed Mustafa Salimi of Triton College (IL) on Saturday.
184lbs
Looking to become a two-time NJCAA All-American, third-seeded Jaquan East (Kokomo, IN/Kokomo) advanced to the semifinal round of the 184lb bracket after going 3-0 on the day. East pinned his opening round opponent in 46 seconds before earning a 16-0 tech fall in the second round. The sophomore dominated his way through the quarterfinal round with an 18-3 tech fall over No. 6 seed Aiden Poe of Niagara County Community College (NY).
East, who earned a sixth-place showing at 174lbs at last year's national championships, will take on No. 2 seed Banks Love of Western Wyoming Community College on Saturday.
197lbs
No. 2 seed Andrew Marquez (Rock Island, IL/Rock Island) worked his way through the 197lb bracket to advance to the semifinal round on Saturday. Marquez went 3-0 on the day, earning a tech fall, a decision, and a major while outscoring his opponents 38-13 on the day.
Marquez will match up with No. 3 seed Ghee Rachal of Triton College (IL) in the semifinals on Saturday. Marquez defeated Rachal with a 10-5 decision in the championship bout of the Art Kraft Memorial back on December 14 in River Grove, IL.
285lbs
Naasir Edmonds' (Virginia Beach, VA/Landstown) run to the semifinal round came up just short as the freshman went 2-0 before a narrow 4-2 defeat in the quarterfinal round. Seeded seventh in the 285lb bracket, Edmonds scored a 7-3 decision over No. 10 seed Tucker Hugg of Ridgewater Community College (MN) before falling to second-seeded Jeisser Sampson Sanchez of Fort Hays Tech (KS).
Edmonds, who has secured an All-American honor with a top-eight finish, will face off with third-seeded James Bankston of Pratt Community College (KS) on Saturday.
Fans can keep up with all the action live on Saturday:
WATCH LIVE: NJCAA Network ($)
LIVE RESULTS: FloWrestling
LIVE LOOK-INS: GoHillsTV Facebook
SCHEDULE: 2025 NJCAA Men's Wrestling Championship
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