Quartet of national qualifiers ready to take on Wichita

Four Morningside wrestlers will compete starting Thursday in Wichita, Kansas, at the NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships, and all four share the same goal of finishing on the podium.

When the tournament begins Thursday, Caden Eggleston (149 pounds), Carson Turnis and Zander Ernst (165), and Mekhi Bovee (197) will represent the Mustangs as they look to earn All-American honors.

Ernst and Turnis qualified automatically through the conference tournament, while Eggleston and Bovee earned at-large bids.

"All four guys have a great opportunity to go down and win some matches," head coach Rulin Pederson '15 said. "We're excited to take those guys down there and hopefully come home with some hardware."

Eggleston enters nationals with a 17-3 record and picked up two major decisions at the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament. He earned the No. 12 seed in the 149-pound bracket and has been ranked throughout the season.

"We sacrifice a lot day in and day out, and our coaches help us prepare," Eggleston said. "It means a lot for me as a whole to have my teammates and my family come out and watch me compete. My main growth happened in the offseason where I focused on one or two techniques and worked on perfecting the little stuff."

This will be Eggleston's second straight appearance at the national tournament.

The other Mustang who has spent most of the season in the rankings is Ernst. The 165-pounder enters nationals with a perfect 20-0 record.

"He has done a great job staying with his offense and dominating every single match," Pederson said. "He likes to score a lot of points and he has a high motor."

This will be Ernst's third national tournament appearance. In 2024, he finished eighth to earn All-American honors.

"I feel really calm," Ernst said. "The work has been done, and I want to be a national champion. I need to enjoy it. This isn't my final season, so this isn't my final time doing it. I've lived a disciplined life over the last few months. I know deep down I'm a tough out, and someone's going to have to go through a lot of pain."

Turnis, meanwhile, battled back after missing the early part of the season with a lower-body injury. He has since won 10 matches, including two victories over Top 20 opponents at the national-qualifying tournament to earn an automatic berth at 165 pounds. Turnis reached the finals before facing Ernst.

Even though Ernst claimed the match, Turnis viewed it as a valuable opportunity heading into nationals.

"I've done extra workouts and got my gas tank up," Turnis said. "I've done a lot of swimming so I knew I could wrestle for a full seven minutes. Iron sharpens iron, so it was just like an extra practice. I've trusted God's plan and put my faith in it, and it paid off and got me to nationals."

Bovee secured his spot in the field with an at-large bid, capping a remarkable first year at Morningside. The freshman from Casper, Wyoming, is also a member of the Mustang football team, which qualified for the NAIA playoffs in the fall and shared the GPAC championship.

Pederson told Bovee at the beginning of the season that he had the potential to become a national qualifier. Even though Bovee didn't see it at first, he stayed committed to the plan.

"It's hard to describe how much I've improved … it's been an insane amount," Bovee said. "It's for sure been a great season, but it's been everything I've learned. I've earned my spot, and I have nothing to lose."

Bovee was recently named GPAC Freshman of the Year after winning 17 matches this season. While he experienced some growing pains along the way, Pederson said Bovee's persistence stood out.

"He was a guy who was resilient and really answered the call when it came to those challenging matches," Pederson said. "I think it gives him a ton of momentum going into this postseason and into next year if he continues to stay consistent with our goals."