Mustangs crown two champions at 2022 GPACs

MITCHELL, S.D. – A lower-weight combination of juniors Taylor Vasquez and John Diener spotlighted a sparkling outing for Morningside University at the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18-19. 

Head coach Jake Stevenson's Mustangs, battling dual league champion and top 10 nationally ranked Doane University tooth and nail throughout at the Avera Sports and Wellness Center, posted 101 points for runner-up honors. Vasquez, increasing his win streak to nine, captured the 133-pound title taking three decisions to the top of the awards podium including a 6-1 win over Mario Ybarra of Concordia University in the final. Diener, upping his win string to eight in a row, was a bonus-point machine for Mside. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics No. 11-ranked individual produced a pin and technical fall to reach the final where he defeated Doane's Tristan Zamilpa 6-1. 

Stevenson's crew narrowly missed a third champion. Junior 125-pounder Evan Shell (Fort Collins, Colo.) made the championship. However, he was deterred from the gold with a 6-1 loss to top-seeded Daniel Vargas of Doane.

That trio was joined by three more Mustangs in punching a ticket to the 2022 NAIA Championships Thursday through Saturday, March 3-6. Junior 141-pounder Noah Styskal (David City, Neb.), sophomore 157-pounder Caleb Connor (Papillion, Neb.) and sophomore 197-pounder Hunter DeJong (Sibley, Iowa) all earned berths. Styskal was a fourth-place finisher, while Connor and DeJong were consolation champions.