The ultimate goal for the Ellsworth Community College Panther wrestling team is to compete at Nationals. The first milestone toward that goal was to compete well and qualify at Districts, held this past weekend in Fort Dodge.
The Panthers finished 3rd in the Central District Wrestling Championships with 120.5 points, behind Iowa Western with 143 points and Iowa Central with 173 points.
Javier Moreno (125) was the only champion for the Panthers, but they qualified all 10 weight classes for Nationals. The Panthers finished the day as follows: Javier Moreno (125) - Champ; Justin Folley (133) - Runner up; Keegan Powers (141) - 5th; Josh Adams (149) - 5th; Steven Lawrence (157) - 3rd; Myron Crawford (165) - 5th; Anthony Collins (174) - 2nd; Jordan Shahrikian (184) - 4th; Tim Young (197) - 2nd; and Charles Griffin (285) - 3rd.
"Overall it was a very inconsistent day. Some guys wrestled really well and some not to level of which they are capable, " commented ECC Head Wrestling Coach Cole Spree. "Javier Moreno really put a great tournament together, beating a nationally ranked opponent in the semi-finals and then revenging a loss in the finals."
NJCAA National Wrestling will be held Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24 at Mid-American Center in Council Bluffs.
