The Ellsworth Community College Panthers took to the mat again at the highly competitive Iowa State Open in Ames on Sunday, Nov. 15. The tournament included teams from Iowa State University, University of Nebraska, University of Minnesota, South Dakota State, Boise State, St. Cloud State, Grand View College, Iowa Central, and many more. Most of the brackets featured top athletes from every division in collegiate wrestling.
Leading the way for the Panthers were Tepra Wright and Jordan Gundrum, two Wisconsin natives who both placed in the tournament. Wright reached the semi-finals before losing to Minnesota's Ethan Lizak. Wright ended the day with a medical forfeit victory over former Ellsworth All-American Da'Wayne Robertson for a 5th place finish. Gundrum also made his way to the semi-finals before dropping a decision to South Dakota State's Alex Kocer. Gundrum then picked up two consecutive victories over Burke Paddock (Iowa) and Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) for a 3rd place finish.
Of his team's performance, Head Coach Cole Spree said, "It was great to see both Tepra and Jordan be able to have the days that they had. Overall this is some of the toughest competition we will see throughout the year, but that is not an excuse. We need to continue to get better and we have to close matches out when the opportunity presents itself."
Next up for the Panthers is the Lindenwood Open on Saturday, Nov. 21, in St. Charles, MO.