KCAC Men's Wrestling Media Day

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whoa and once again welcome back to the Short Time
Wrestling Podcast. I'm your host, Hall of Fame wrestling writer,

(00:23):
broadcaster and announcer Jason Bryant. Today we go out to
the great wrestling state of Kansas. It's KCAC Media Day.
Nate Naza the NWCA will be your host. This has
been an annual thing the last I think three or
four years, and we've had it for you on the
Matt Talk podcast network where Nate talks with every coach
in the KCAC and that is an NAIA conference and

(00:45):
of course Kansas that would make sense, although there are
affiliate members in Nebraska, so we've got Avala, Ottawa, Saint
Mary Friends, Oklahoma, Wesleyan, York, Bethany, and Jamestown on the schedule,
although Jamestown's Rest Jones in his first year, was not
available to be on the show. But we'll have comments
and questions from yours truly handled by Nate Niles on

(01:08):
the show. That being said, KSEAC Media Day for the
women will be on October twenty third will also have
that for you with the NAI Women's Championships coming back,
and of course Kansas has been like kind of a
beacon for a lot of the wrestling growth. We've had
a lot of new programs from virtually every division outside
of Division one. Granted I don't think there's any Division
threes off the top of my head that started wrestling

(01:29):
in Kansas, but a lot of D two, ANAI junior
colleges and women's programs that have popped up in Kansas.
And of course Wichita has been the host of the
NAI Men's Championships for a number of years before that
they've been in Topeka. There's just been some really cool stuff.
And Patrick Kelly, by the way, a little shout out
to Patrick Kelly down and Seemen in Topeka. He's working
on a book on the history of Kansas State wrestling,

(01:50):
and I had a chance to read some excerpts of
that and provide some historical validation.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
On some things.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
These are the types of stuff that I love. I
love learning about school and stories. So keep an eye
out for Patrick Kelly's book upcoming. While we were talking
about Kansas, one thing that also has happened in the
course of this week is the matt Talk Online daily
wrestling newsletter, proudly presented by Resulte has shifted homes. It
used to be on Mailchimp. Now it is on Substack.

(02:18):
Those of you who consume a lot of content on
the web and have noticed that Substack and places like
that and Beehive have become a popular place for writers
and content creators to have an outlet for their stuff. Well,
I've been doing this daily Wrestling newsletter for free for
eight years. As matter of fact, the launch date of
that was May twenty fifteen. The reason I know that

(02:39):
specifically is because that's my anniversary, not when I That's
not the day I got married, but it was an
anniversary date, and I'm sitting there looking at it, going wait,
I really did this on my anniversary. That's how much
I love wrestling. Wife also wore we wrestling shoes at
the wedding, not during the ceremony, but our wedding photographer
was a wrestling person and made sure that happened. So

(03:01):
what's that mean? So I'm still going to have a
free offering for the Daily Wrestling newsletter. The free delivery
will be delivered one to three times a week, depending
on the news flow. The paid subscription, which you can
get it's eight bucks a month, or you can pay
it all at once or you can. You know you
want to throw a couple extra bones, you can do
that too. That's going to be every day that I
do it. That's also going to include stat dumps when

(03:23):
I got those mind dumps. Those of you that are
on Patreon, you're not going to miss anything there because
it's also going to go on Patreon. So you have
two ways to get that extra content, whether it be
you like the newsletter itself via substack, which you can
go to mattalkonline dot com slash news that's going to
take it the same place. If you're already on that
mailing list, I've already poured them over. You're already taking
care of unless you want to upgrade. So I've already

(03:45):
got a couple people that have said, yep, this is
what I want. What the key is here is I'm
saving you time. I'm saving you hours of time. And
you know why, I know it's hours of time because
that's how long it takes me each week to put
these things together. So I'm actually gonna go a little
bit more robust too. I'm gonna add a few more graphics,
I'm gonna add a few more sections to make it
more consumable. So you're like, Okay, here's what's in it.

(04:07):
It's not just gonna be a list of block and text.
I'm gonna have a couple more things to put a
tweet from Shane Sparks in there the other day, an
image from Enzo Fano, who is out there covering the
U twenty three World Championships for USA Wrestling out in Albania.
So it's gonna be a little bit more robust of
putting more time into it. That way, it's a better
user experience for you. You get more out of it.
And I'm also designated some things. One of the common

(04:27):
things I've had is when I link the things that
are already paywalled, whether that be on Rock fin, whether
that be on Innermat's Platinum, whether that be on newspaper things,
I'm going to note them with dollar signs, so you
know that is a paid thing. I really do try
to make sure that I get as much free content
out there to save you that time. Because I've poured
through this stuff. I've got so many different searches and

(04:49):
feeds subscribe to. Each night, I sit there and look
at this stuff and I'm like, okay, what's what's interesting
for the wrestling fan. It's not just I don't put
everything in there. You know, I've got to temper this.
That's why I say it's curated. So during the course
of the of the wrestling season, you know, you'll get
all the D one scores because that is where the
Lion's share of the readership comes from. But from the

(05:09):
smaller conferences, they're smaller divisions. Yeah, you're gonna get the
rank schools when they hit, You're gonna hit a notable
coaching milestone. You're gonna get a coaching change, a higher
schedule releases. Basically, it's it's like a giant website in
your email. Each day, it's gonna have the links to
the schedules that are produced by the Seaton Hall Pirate.
It's gonna have links to my scoreboard pages. So you

(05:30):
just got here's your Okay, what did I miss last night?
You open up, you look at your coffee. There's the
links to the results. There's here.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
You scroll that.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Oh that's interesting. Oh I want to click that, and
I'm not interested in that. I'm gonna click that. I'm
saving you the time, but I'm not taking you away
from those websites. I am still making sure that those
websites Flow gets it. New York Times, whatever website that
does stories on wrestling, they get the traffic. So I'm
not taking any traffic away. I'm just saving you the time.

(05:57):
You the consumer of the time on Okay, we're got
to go. I might have all these things bookmarked, but
what do you how do you know de cifle through it.
I'm just saving you that time. It's convenience. So a
couple times a week for free or every day that
I do it. Sometimes seven days, sometimes I have to travel.
Sometimes it's five days. So there's a lot of stuff
going out there. Mattlkwonline, dot Com, slash News, you get

(06:17):
it on your substack app app. I'm still doing it
at six o'clock in the morning. That's not going to
go sixth Central, so you're gonna wake up, you're gonna
get it. So that's a bit of the news. I'm
already just blown away by the response I've gotten on
it so far. So thank you those who have subscribed.
Thank you that have jumped into that premium option. I
was on the fence about it, to be quite honestly,
I wasn't sure because I've done this again for free

(06:37):
for nine years and it's like, well, you know, a
lot of that time and the expense started piling up,
so I had to do something to recoup that a
little bit. And also a big thank you to Reslite,
who's also been supportive overall. So that's kind of my
housekeeping thing, that call to action, the stuff that you
can just skip on over about seven minutes into this episode,
but thank you. That's really what does help do more
stuff and do more research in history, because I've been

(07:00):
piling through these old Amateur Wrestling news and NCAA guides
and you know, they're trying to build a list of
known programs. That's one thing we don't have part in
nineteen eighty two. We don't know how many schools we
had at which time. If you've listened to the Match
to that show from the NBCA which I co host
with Glenn Gormalay and Kevin Hazzard, you know that's one
of the things I've always been trying to find out
how many programs I want to answer that question, and

(07:23):
that takes a lot of time. So that's what I've
got for you today. Here we go with the KCAC
Media Day. On the men's side, the women's side's coming
up on the next episode. As always, i'd like to
thank you for spending your time with me, because you've
always got time for a short time. Now, let's hear
from Nate Nas at the KCAC Media Day.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
WHOA.

Speaker 4 (07:43):
I'm Nate Naz from the National Wrestling Coaching the Association
and it's an honor to be here with you again
this year as we preview the KCAC men's wrestling season
with each program's head coach. This is a very exciting
time of year as practices are underway and first competitions
are just around the corner. We would like to say
make our viewers and coaches for joining us this morning.
Let's go ahead and get things going. This morning, we

(08:05):
are joined by Josh Miller of im A Financial Group,
the official sponsor of the KCAC Virtual Media Days. Welcome
to the show, Josh, and take it.

Speaker 5 (08:13):
Away, never slowing, never stopping, pushing forward every hour, every day,
every quarter, every year. You don't do it for yourself.
You do it for your company, your employees, your community,
for all of us. That is why IMA is proud
to help ensure the companies that form the backbone of

(08:35):
America Together. We are better together and we make a difference.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Thanks Nate, appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (08:49):
Just wanted to take the opportunity person foremost to thank
Ted and the entire KCAC team for all the work
you guys do on behalf of the conference for these
media days.

Speaker 7 (09:00):
Thank you to all the.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
Coaches, athletic trainers and sids for all your dedication, and
to your respected schools as well and most importantly obviously
to all of your student athletes. IMA is grateful to
being able to partner with the KCAC for well over
a decade now sponsoring these media days as well as
the annual Champions of Character Awards. Currently, I am A
partners with eleven of the KCAC Conference schools in one

(09:22):
or all the following three areas. Athletic and student health insurance,
employee benefits, and Property and Casualty Insurance. Found in Wichita,
IAM is now the third largest private insurance brokerage firm
in the country, with over twenty four hundred employees and
serving over two hundred.

Speaker 8 (09:37):
Educational institutions across the US.

Speaker 6 (09:40):
I may continues our commitment and investment in NEI schools. Again,
thank you for the opportunity to partner with the KCAC
and we wish every team and coach says in the
upcoming season.

Speaker 4 (09:51):
Thank you, Josh. Joining guests now is KCAC Commissioner Ed Brydenthal.
Good morning and welcome Commissioner the floor yours.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
Thank you Nate very much, thanks for being here today.
Welcome everybody. Before we get into our individual programs, I
wanted to just say a couple of quick thank you
and a couple of quick notes for everybody. First, I
want to thank Josh Miller and everybody at im A.
You guys have been a great supporter of the KCAC

(10:24):
for what now ten years, and we couldn't do what
we do without all of your support. So I just
want to thank you and everybody at im A for
for all you do for our conference. So thank you
again to Mark Coffines, Mark, thanks again for setting this
all up. I know there's a lot of back office
work to make this thing happen, and I really appreciate

(10:46):
all your hard work to get this up and going.

Speaker 8 (10:50):
Today.

Speaker 3 (10:51):
I'd like to thank our leadership in this group, Chuck Carney,
our sports chair. Chuck, I want to thank you for
your leadership we have a new raider this year, Tom
Carr down at oak WU Tom looking forward to working
with you. Glad that you've stepped up to take on
the rare role this year. So I wanted to publicly
thank you for all your work, and then to Garrett Scores,

(11:14):
our ad at your Garrett is our ad liaison for
men's wrestling, So thank thank Garrett for his work as well.
You know, we're we're going to culminate our season on
the twenty first, which is a Friday, twenty first of
February at Avalon. We're gonna have the whole day, We're

(11:34):
gonna have the whole gym. We're not going to have
any conflicts. We're going to have a special day for
just our championship. So I'm really glad we were able
to make that happen, and I wanted to let you
guys know that our governing council just last week did
approve the following future dates and sites for our Men's
Wrestling Championship. So in twenty twenty six, we will go

(11:57):
to oak Woo on a Saturday, February twenty one, So
twenty twenty six will be at Oaklham Wesleyan on Saturday
February twenty first. In twenty twenty seven, we'll be at
Friends on Saturday February twenty and then in twenty twenty
eight we will be at Saint Mary that will be

(12:20):
on Saturday February ninth. So we've got the next four
years penciled up and glad we were able to get
that taken care of. We had to kind of work
through some issues with basketball, and I think we were
able to move things around so we don't have any
conflicts with basketball on those dates. So appreciate your patience

(12:44):
as we worked our way through this. So listen, that's
the news that I have really looking forward to this season.
Can't wait to see all of you guys here in
Kansas City of the Avelis as our season culminates on
the first of February, and just want to wish everybody
the best of luck. So thank you so much.

Speaker 8 (13:07):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (13:07):
Commissioner Denny. I recently released their preseason rankings and the
University of Saint Mary comes in at number eleven, receiving
top twenty five votes. We're Friends University, Oklahoma, Wesleyan University,
and York University. We would now like to welcome Eric Mateo,

(13:28):
Avala University coach. Mateo is entering his second season as
head coach and third with the Eagles coach. Can you
let us know how the preseason is going so far
and tell us a little about this year's squad.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yes, thanks for the introduction.

Speaker 9 (13:45):
Before I get started kind of talking about our team,
I just wanted to thank our president, doctor Burkee and
VP doctor Adams for their just continued support of men's
wrestling and our other fifteen varsity sports.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
So thank you to them.

Speaker 9 (13:59):
Yeah, we've been hard at work, you know, just focusing
on the task at hand, working on being president in
the moment, and just getting a little bit better every day.
So had a good preseason, got the guys in shape,
and now we're just working on the technical aspect and
getting in the shape to wrestle seven minutes. So it's
a fun time of the year as we're counting down

(14:19):
to our first competition, which would be November first against
Every Riddle right before we wrestle in the in the
Falcon Invite the next day. So kind of talking about
some of our impact returners. At one hundred and thirty
three pounds, we have Tyler Johnson who was the runner
up at one twenty five last.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Year in the KSEYAC.

Speaker 9 (14:40):
Previous year before that he was at thirty three, So
I think he'll be a little bit healthier coming back
at one hundred and thirty three pounds.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
And then junior.

Speaker 9 (14:51):
Ryan McNeil, he's back at one hundred and thirty three
pounds and we're excited to kind of see him take
that next step in his wrestling. Has kind of had
less than expected conference tournament results, so looking for him
to kind of make some jumps throughout the season. And
then at one hundred and forty one pounds, Terrell Carter Williams,

(15:12):
it's kind of a staple in the KCAC and looking
to see him again make some jumps in the conference.
And then Jacob Ramirez, who was a forty one pounder
last year took third in the conference. He'll be up
at one hundred and forty nine pounds, so again a
little bit healthier spot for him as far as weight
weight management and staying healthy throughout the course of the season.

(15:34):
And yeah, looking for him to you know, make a
client for himself in the conference and in the national
rankings as well. And then second semester, we'll get Logan
Johnson back, who was a national qualifier for US in
the twenty two to twenty three season at one hundred
and forty nine pounds, and say same for him. Battled

(15:54):
some injuries and but he's back full go and he's
hungry and itching to compete hundred seventy four pounds. Josh Martinez,
he's been kind of our Swiss army knife for US
wrestling anywhere from sixty five to ninety seven. Wrestled at
one hundred ninety seven pounds in the conference tournament last year,
and now he's kind of getting back down to a

(16:15):
fight and weight that that suits him at one hundred
and seventy four pounds, So excited to see.

Speaker 8 (16:20):
What he can do.

Speaker 9 (16:22):
And then Blake Becker, you know, took fourth in the
conference at one hundred and ninety seven pounds and he's
improved significantly I think over spring and summer and then
this preseason as well. So again a lot of development
for these returners and excited to see where they what
they can do this year. And as far as newcomers,

(16:44):
so at one hundred and twenty five pounds, Henry McGivern,
he was a freshman last year unfortunately didn't even get
to wrestle a match due to some injuries. But he's
back full strength and he's another one we're really excited
about out of Washburne Rural High School in Topeka, Kansas.
So looking forward to him at one hundred and twenty
five pounds. Keenan Tumberello and Joe Jewett at they're kind

(17:08):
of battling for the spot at one hundred and sixty
five pounds, so two freshmen just looking to see, you know,
see them compete. That's that's what we're looking for for
those guys. Kendrick Gordon is a transfer grad athlete from
Williams Baptist and has wrestled at one hundred and eighty
four pounds for most of his career, and he'll be
down at one hundred and seventy seventy four pounds this year.

(17:29):
So you know, he's been a play shy of qualifying
for the national tournament a few times, so looking to,
you know, just help him get better and chase his
dreams down and see what he can do one hundred
and eighty four pounds. We have Jeremiah Volova, who was
a two time JUCO national qualifier wrestled at Lebeck and

(17:50):
took a year off in between, you know, sparked sparked
love for the sport again and we got him here.
So we're really excited about him and physical guy kind
of see what he can do, and just you know,
as for the season, we're you know, just focused on today,
not looking too far ahead in the future, and and
just helping these young men develop as human beings and

(18:10):
chase the dream of being the best wrestler they could be.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
So a lot to look forward to.

Speaker 9 (18:15):
Had our Black and Purple Interest Squad duel last night,
had a great turnout, had some competitive matches and kind
of some decisions to be made as far as lineups,
but a lot of good takeaways and a lot of
work to be done. So I'm excited for these next
coming weeks. With November, we're you know hitting the ground
running here in about ten days and November full of

(18:37):
open tournaments, so it's an exciting time.

Speaker 8 (18:40):
Coach.

Speaker 4 (18:40):
Can you speak a little bit to what it means
to host the conference championships?

Speaker 9 (18:44):
Yeah, thank you for reminding me. Yeah, that's awesome. You know,
we're we're a relatively new program going into our fourth year,
so it's great for these guys that came here in
year one at the inception of this program to kind
of see it through and get to wrestle in a
conference tournament in their in their senior year. Great location,
smack dab in the middle, you know, Kansas City. We're

(19:06):
really looking forward to hosting it. Had to you know,
finagle a few things and get it on a Friday,
but we're we're stoked to host it. Maybe field House isn't.
It's a great environment and great for the fans. Not
too big, not too small, gets pretty rowdy in there.
So like I said, I'm I'm I'm more thrilled about
it that are our guys who have been here since

(19:26):
literally day one get to kind of culminate their careers
at a conference tournament and hopefully, you know, obviously make
it onto the national tournament. But we're excited and we
obviously have that circle on our calendars as everyone else.
But it's a little bit different when you get to
sleep in your own bed.

Speaker 4 (19:41):
Coach, if you don't have any additional comments, I'd like
to thank you for joining us today and wish you
a safe and successful season.

Speaker 8 (19:48):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (19:50):
Next up, we have Mitch Houghton of Bethany College. He's
in year four of leading the Swedes coach. Thanks for
joining us this morning. As it's year four and you've
been able to really put your mark on the program.
Would you share how things have been shaping up so
far and share your thoughts on the upcoming season.

Speaker 10 (20:10):
Absolutely, thank you for having me.

Speaker 11 (20:12):
Before I get started, I need to thank President Eckman,
Laura Marino, and Luke Stamford for all of their support.

Speaker 10 (20:19):
I'm excited to start year four here at Bethany.

Speaker 11 (20:21):
We have a big incoming clash this year of fourteen
thirteen freshmen and one JUCO transfer.

Speaker 10 (20:28):
Preseason has been going really well.

Speaker 11 (20:30):
We do have a young team, so it's been fun
to work with these guys and get them into the
rhythm of being college athletes. We're ready to start the
season on November second at the Falcon invite returners coming
back that I'm excited for our Keno Thedford at one
ninety seven he was a KSEYAC placer. Christian van de
Veldi at one eighty four he's going into his red

(20:53):
shirt sophomore season, and Jacob Barnes is back at one
seventy four for US.

Speaker 10 (20:58):
He is in his junior season.

Speaker 11 (21:01):
In new additions I'm excited about. We have a junior
college transfer, Marcus Hester from Lavett. He will be at
one ninety seven for US. Reggie Fernandez, a one to
twenty five pounder out of California, Lorezi Mitchell, a one
thirty three pounder out of Louisiana, Elias Segura a one
forty one pounder from Texas, Angel Locus from Georgia. He

(21:22):
will be at one fifty seven. Titus Galloway from Louisiana
at one sixty five, Eric Torres Cortes out of Colorado.
He will go one sixty five for US, Joe Vanni
Reynolds from Michigan. He is going to go win seventy four.
Javonte Thomas, one eighty four pounder from Texas, Dakota Blacklock
at one ninety seven he's from Kentucky, and David Bouerman

(21:46):
from Florida. Destin Deans from Texas and Camden Jensen from
Kansas will a wrestle heavyweight for US this year. Expectations
for the season in the short term are going to
be just getting tons of experience first semester. We're excited
for the open tournaments. We're excited to get the freshmen.

Speaker 10 (22:02):
Out rolling, getting their first college wins, watching them put
it together.

Speaker 11 (22:07):
And then second semester, we're excited to compete, compete for
conference placers and put ourselves in a position to compete
to be a national qualifier.

Speaker 4 (22:17):
Thank you, coach. Got a question here from Jason Bryant
Matt Talk Online. Coach, what's the most challenging part about
building a program and what have you learned about your
athletes and yourself throughout this process.

Speaker 11 (22:32):
Oh, the most challenging part is just building the right
mix of guys onto different personalities, having a mess together,
and really turning them into a family. What's been really
exciting about is is you get a chance to get
these guys when they're eighteen years old and watch them
grow in the program and watch them graduate and go

(22:53):
off into real life.

Speaker 4 (22:55):
Thank you for joining us this morning, and we wish
you and your squad a safe and successful season. This
jumping into the hot seat now is coach Tyler Mice
entering his second season at Friends University. Goach to year
two and you must feel a little more comfortable. Can
you let us know how things are going in your
second season and what your outlook is for THEPCOM this

(23:16):
year's squad.

Speaker 10 (23:17):
Yeah, thanks, May.

Speaker 12 (23:19):
I just want to say thank you to doctor Kerry
and doctor rams Are for putting me in this position
and giving me the opportunity to do this. As far
as the team goes, we have three nationally ranked here
in the preseason, which is I think the most that
we've ever had, so pretty excited about that, and then
looking to add some more. We've got Gunner Henderson, our

(23:39):
forty nine pounder. He was our first national qualifier and
program history last year. He's ranked number eleven. Braden Morgan
he's a transfer from MUCO, two time national champs down there.
He's currently ranked number ten. And then Logan Davidson he's
another transfer from Concordia. He's ranked number twenty two eighty four. So,

(24:02):
but on top of that, just a bunch of competition
really going on within the team. Being able to develop
the guys last year and then new guys coming in,
it's been it's been good to see a little bit
of depth on the team. And then uh, it's been
good having a little friendly competition on where we're gonna
have certain people so we might have a little bit

(24:22):
of swapping around and a little bit of weight changing
throughout the year, just so guys can find their spots.
But other other than those three we have, He's Avian Ortiga.
He's he's returning out one five actually up to weight
classes from last year was one forty one. Founder was
ranked all year and just barely missed the national tournament

(24:44):
last year.

Speaker 10 (24:45):
But on top of.

Speaker 12 (24:46):
That, just just a few others Jason Byers at one four,
he'll be returning for US at at that way, currently
number four in the conference. So and then just a
bunch of fresh I've been coming in and working hard
and really kind of surprising us so far this year.
So be on the lookout for some of these freshmen

(25:07):
to be making some noise by the end of the year.
So also excited about helping host the national tournament again
this year up in Park City Arena. We got to
help a little bit with it last year, but getting
a little bit more involved this year and excited to
have that in our backyard and hopefully we got a
few more than one that tournament this year.

Speaker 4 (25:26):
So absolutely. I got a question for you here from
Jason Bryant when looking for a leader in the wrestling room.
Do you look at guys who have been there before,
like returning qualifier Gunner Henderson, or do you look maybe
at a backup or a kid working for a spot
that takes a vocal role. How do you spot someone
to help you lead in the room.

Speaker 12 (25:48):
Yeah, I mean Gunner's been a great a great leader
for sure. He's actually one of our captains this year.
But really I try to get everyone to lead, hould
each other accountable, and one day we want all these
guys to be able to graduate and be leaders in
the community and be contributions of society. So we try
to put leadership qualities in all of them and really

(26:10):
stand behind them to lead the university and lead the
community in the future.

Speaker 4 (26:15):
So, oh, thank you so much. We appreciate you spending
some time with us this morning. Good luck to you
and your squad this year. Thank you speaking with us
now as Oklahoma Wesley and the head coach, Tom Carr. Coach,
you're in the year five and receiving votes in the
preseason pool. Can you speak to us about your preparation

(26:36):
for this year and share your thoughts about the upcoming season.

Speaker 7 (26:41):
Thank you name. It's a pleasure to be here with you,
and like everybody else, I want to thank my ad
Then Kyle White, Vice President of Student Affairs, Kirk Kelly,
I thought, doctor Jim Dunn, President, I want to thank Am. I.
You know, what you guys do for this conference helps
us do these things, helps us get the student athlete.

(27:01):
It's a great experience. And then locally, I would like
to think Business Bottlesville, the Buttlesville Sports Commission for all
they've done for us, as well as Manly Animal Clinic.
They're here for all your animals. Off the map. To
get to your question, Nate, expectations, I'm pretty simple when
it comes to expectations. I would expect the same thing

(27:25):
whether we were lower in the conference rankings and we
were sitting Moore Saint Mary's and I want the guys
to work hard, be good citizens, and give their honest
best effort. And if you do that, you know things
we will generally go your way. So working on being
consistent with our effort and with our attitudes and with
our hard work, those are our expectations every day. So

(27:49):
whether we're wrestling the tournament or we're just having practice
or study, all we want the best that we can
get I.

Speaker 4 (27:56):
Got a question here from mister Jason Bryant. Who in
your room has what it takes to become the school
second All American and the first in your tenure.

Speaker 7 (28:06):
Well, thanks for pointing out we haven't had one in
my tenure, Jason. You know, I mean, there's a couple
of guys and we're not really naming names because they
don't want to. People can look up who they are,
but any one of them could be. Then there could

(28:27):
be more than one, and it may just fall to
where the matches are in the bracket as to who
will become the first one in my time. So I
can't really answer that until we see later on. I'm
hoping that the guys are shooting a little bit a
little bit higher than that, you know, trying to make

(28:49):
wanting to make the finals, working to make the finals.
And if they give their best effort and they end
up the national qualifier and that's it, they should hold
their heads high. And if they win the tournament, they
should hold their heads high. And you know, as long
as they wrestled to give their best effort and like
Spitcher says, to bring glory to God, they should be

(29:13):
proud of themselves. You know some impact guys for US.
You know, Colby and Seenas is back for his fifth
year after being off with an injury last year. And
he's at thirty three and you know, he's been a
mainstay at that weight, which is consistently been one of
the tougher ones in our conference. So I'm looking forward

(29:35):
to seeing him compete to win the conference, uh, to
make the run a Nationals. He's got a string of
upsets at the national tournament and been pretty fun to.

Speaker 10 (29:46):
Be part of.

Speaker 7 (29:48):
Dante Lopez is back at one hundred and forty one pounds,
covered from a pretty tough injury last year that was
on and off and really had some impact on him.
And he's been consistent of just making strides in the room.
And really happy to have him back and healthy and
full go. You know, if somebody wanted to watch somebody,

(30:10):
he's fun to watch. He scores a lot of points.
He can h you know, I've seen him kat threw
the good guys in the first period, So yeah, that's
an entertaining lesser. Carter Manley's back for US at one
hundred and eighty four pounds. He rustled, He went up
for one ninety seven last year, but we moved him
back to eighty four this summer. He's the native of

(30:31):
battles Go, Oklahoma, and he is currently ranked third and
finished third at one ninety seven last year, so looking
forward to seeing him build up and hopefully improve on that.
Braxton Bacon is back for US. He's from Owasso, Oklahoma.

(30:51):
Had a real good regular season in conference and then
ended up, you know, getting hurt of the conference tournament
in slide in the sixth. But moving forward to what
Blaxton is gonna put together on the map this year.
And then Jake Stanton is back at one twenty five.
He's a senior for US this year. You know, he's

(31:14):
kind of always been in the mix at one five
and would like to see him put in the effort
and separate himself in that way, which you know this
year has become much tougher than in the years pounce,
so he's got some work to do if he wants
to stay in the top two and three in the conference.
And then Daniel Blend's back from US, back for US
from Gilroy, California, but he will not see the map

(31:36):
until second semester. And then you guys coming in Cale
Glover's a junior college national qualifier. He's originally from sky
To Oklahoma, placed at the state tournament for them, went
to Carl Albert State College for two years and qualified
for the junior college tournament. And he's been great to
have in the room so far. And then also from

(32:00):
suided to Punter Hall who was a junior college All
American for Carl Albert State champion of the Bulldogs. And
it's neat you know. Right now we have three Skyatute guys,
which is luckily for a place that's fifteen miles away,
we have more than Chuck has at Saint Mary's from
there now because with him came Nag Easty who as

(32:23):
a state finalist for the Bulldogs two years ago, and
then other impact newcomers. Noah Smith finished fit in the
Junior college tournament last year All Americans. So we are
excited about him and he's been great to have. Just
a solid, solid workoutic and solid up with everybody.

Speaker 4 (32:44):
Coach. We've got a question here from Aaron Slazy Jerome
Cannon transitions from athlete of yours to coach. How are
you seeing him in this in his development? From competitor
on Matt to coach.

Speaker 7 (32:57):
You know, he's great. It's been you know, I've Jerome
when he was a freshman at Central Christian College and
then I left during COVID become to Okahoma Wesleyan, and
it's been great to have Jerome the transferred. Started his
master's degree last year and he works hard, you know,
and he's learning that. You know, as an assistant, you

(33:21):
do what the head coach says and what you think
kind of comes second. But he's he's doing great. It's
really we're blessed to have Jerome. He's a smart kid.
I shouldn't say kid any more, but works hard and
he's got a bright future. He's going to graduate, deal
with the NBA and go out and impact the world
and do really well for people, help people.

Speaker 4 (33:44):
We appreciate you joining us and sharing some insights into
the upcoming season. Good luck this.

Speaker 7 (33:49):
Year, appreciate it.

Speaker 4 (33:52):
At this time, we would like to thank I am
a Financial Group for sponsoring this year's casey AC Virtual
Media Days. And we'll pause to hear from our sponsors.

Speaker 5 (34:01):
Never slowing, never stopping, pushing forward every hour, every day,
every quarter, every year. You don't do it for yourself,
you do it for your company, your employees, your community,
for all of us. That is why I am A
is proud to help ensure the companies that form the
backbone of America.

Speaker 10 (34:23):
Together.

Speaker 5 (34:24):
We are better together, we make a difference.

Speaker 10 (34:34):
With us.

Speaker 4 (34:34):
Now is Dalton white l who is recently who was
recently named the Ottawa University head coach. Coach, You've been
serving as a women's head coach and now have added
the title of men's head coach. Can you let us
know how you have been managing this new role leading
into the season and give us a preview of your
men's squad.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, of course, thanks, thanks for the introduction.

Speaker 13 (35:00):
As you know here to Ottawa, we have a new AD,
new assistant ad Janey Smith and Ty Sharply love getting
to know them. They were the ones who you know
hired me on as the men's position, so I really
appreciate know their faith and believing in me.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
I'd like to give a shout out to Katie Tooley
and Michael.

Speaker 13 (35:15):
Douglas are s I d s here to audiw what
they do an awesome job, some of the best. Michael Douglas,
I'm always bugging him about graphics and getting help from
him and then Kathy Hindelelighter and our president Bamby regards,
so I mean they all kind of believe in me,
give me good support. And on top of that, I
got a killer coaching staff underneath me. You know, all
three of my assistant coaches are Ottawa you alumnis. All

(35:38):
great individuals, great wrestlers, so they've really made it super
easy for me to transition and help manage my workloads.
So it's been it's been nice. Then obviously I know
almost all the coaches that are already in the conference,
so they've all been super helps have helping me kind
of get adjusted on the men's side of things. So
I appreciate all that. But really, I mean, nothing's really

(36:00):
changed the mind except for I get to wrestled more
throughout the day and I get to talk to more people,
and you know, somebody told me it's a blessing to
meet new people, you know, So kind of just different
perspective on things, different way to kind of approach things.
But definitely busy working all the time. If I'm not
my office, I'm in the maprooms and individuals or something.
So definitely how to prioritize my sleep schedule. Tom Carr

(36:23):
knows that he tries to call me at ten pm
all the time. I don't know why he's doing that,
but Tom, I go to bed at nine in case
you're wondering. But other than that, you know, got some
really good returners, And I think what's kind of unique
about our program is y you know, they seed it
us last in conference, and that's all right. You know,
we don't have a lot of guys who have gotten

(36:43):
the chance to, you know, prove themselves. But they're taking
every advantage of the opportunity they have. We're we're in here,
we're busting our butts. They have the right mindset. Some
guys who've never got a chance to shine, I think
are gonna get a chance to shine.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
You know.

Speaker 13 (36:56):
Kind of the leader of it all is Bobby Robinson,
who's been here for a few years for US. Two
time qualifier, one time conference champ. He'll be coming in
second semester for US. We've got a good transfer from
swak his name's Marl Mitchell. He can scramble, we can roll.
I mean, I think he can be just about anybody
in the country whenever he wants to. And then we
got some guys like you know, Spencer Rochelle, Andy Winn,

(37:18):
some guys who've been around and haven't had that chance
and have kind of, you know, really stepped up and
been really good leaders for us. So and then you know,
we got some guys who are coming off injury coming
back like Ben Pope, our twenty five pounder who's been around.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
I mean he's almost been.

Speaker 13 (37:32):
Just an extra coach in the room, you know, and
with his greco and freestyle background and just way he
does things, it's been nice to just kind of use
him and just giving the guys more opportunities to like,
you know, take chances, ask questions, develop incoming. Wise, we
had a smaller re freshman class. They didn't really good
chance to recruit. But we do have some really good kids.

(37:53):
I mean, one kid I've coached for a while now
and I've got to work with them. He's from all
of the West name's Parker Gooch. Really good competitive wrest
They're gonna make some really good jumps, I think for
us here. But I think really what we're doing a
good job up here is just caring more about who
we are off the mat and building that character and
building the culture. You know, our guys, you know. I

(38:15):
mean we've won Conference the last six years in a row.
On the inside, yeah, it doesn't look the same as
the same people, but every single one of you guys
are gonna have to come take that from us.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
I know we've got a big target on our back.

Speaker 13 (38:25):
I know we may not be as good on paper
as we have been in the past, but we're tough
for me and we're gonna be in your face.

Speaker 2 (38:30):
We're gonna keep coming and you know, we're excited for
the year.

Speaker 8 (38:33):
So I love it.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
I can't really, you know, no complaints of mind.

Speaker 4 (38:40):
That's awesome.

Speaker 10 (38:42):
Coach.

Speaker 4 (38:43):
Got a question here from Jason Bryant. What's been the
most beneficial thing about the reorganization of the coaching staffs
there at Ottawa And what's it been like to see
the growth of the case AC as a national factor
in the NAI.

Speaker 13 (39:00):
So it's been nice to see the ksea c just
I mean, you see how competitive all these teams are,
and I mean, really, Conference is up for grabs for
anyone this year, right. It's gonna be who performs, who executes,
and who comes out on top. So it's really nice
to have those, uh, being able to have those conversations
and know that we're you know, we're making levels.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
So it's nice to have a very competitive conference.

Speaker 13 (39:20):
It's nice to have people around you who, like, like
I said, these coaches, they've all been very welcome and
helped me out. And I know it's gonna be competitive
as hell, but also I know that it's all in
good fun, you know, and that we we're just here
to make each other better.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
So I think that's really nice.

Speaker 13 (39:33):
And then the restructuring of our program is I think
it's worked really well just because we we got all
on the same page really early. We talked about things.
We're super good at helping each other out. We never
take anything personally, you know. We treat our athletes or
we treat each other just like with your athletes constructive criticism.
We give each other feedback. We're always asking each other
questions and trying to see how we can make each

(39:55):
other better.

Speaker 10 (39:58):
You know.

Speaker 13 (39:58):
Funny fact that Tyler Meaes and I Act used to
be wrestling teammates back at Newman. I pend them probably
like I think like thirty six times. I think he
took me down once, but dude taught me how to scramble.

Speaker 2 (40:10):
Is fun. A great guy.

Speaker 13 (40:11):
So you know, I'm really just excited to compete with
these guys, have fun, and let's see what we can
do with the KCAC.

Speaker 4 (40:16):
So that's fantastic. Coach, Thank you for being with us
this morning, and good luck to you and your squads
this season.

Speaker 10 (40:26):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
Just a note here, the University of Jamestown will be
joining the KSEAC this year as an affiliate member while
they transitioned to the NCAA Gresh Jones. Jones is in
his first season leading the program and unfortunately is unable
to join us today. Up now's coach Chuck Kurney from
the University of Saint Mary, who's now in year nine

(40:50):
of leading the Spires. Coach, your squad is entering the
season right number eleven in the nation. Can you talk
to us about how you are managing the high expectations
for this year's odd and provide us your thoughts on
your seaton.

Speaker 8 (41:03):
Well, you know, managing high expectations. All this stuff is
based on what happened last year. I mean there hasn't
been a matter rustled yet this season. We uh we
we put together a nice season last year. We had
some guys make some huge gains. We had our first
national champ We we had two All Americans. We did
a lot of really neat stuff. But that's last year.

(41:26):
And I know that the coaches in this conference. I
look at all these faces, and I know these guys,
these guys aren't sitting back, you know, just waiting for
Saint Mary to be good. They're they're putting together teams
and recruiting and coaching and developing talent, and and uh,
it's it's, uh, you know, we're gonna have to fight
for every every single inch, you know, the nationally same same.

(41:49):
I mean that you know, there's nobody more competitive than
a wrestling coach. And uh, I mean we witnessed it
already when we got you know, two hundred and thirty
five pound coaches calling one hundred and twenty five pounders.
I mean, it's it's obviously it's a tough conference. Sorry Dalton,
I know you're trying to cut weight, but anyway, but no,

(42:09):
it's it's and so that you know, all this stuff
is nice, but at the end of the day, we've
got a season we're working on and we have to
we have to make sure that we're continue to step forward,
you know, with that I've got to recognize our coaching team,
you know, the the the head coach takes the credit
and takes the blame, but the guys doing the work.

(42:30):
Riley Armeo, Gabe blow to you guys that wrestled for us.
Here at Saint Mary ram Bromert, our athletic trainer, who's
more than the trainer, probably the best in the business.
You know. She she keeps us organized and she's you know,
coordinating all kinds of stuff for us. Rob Miller athletic director,
Doctor Messinger, our provost who is our actually wrestling uh

(42:53):
team academic coach. I have to have a meeting with
her today about some academic but anyway, and and finally
our president, Sis Van Steele.

Speaker 4 (43:04):
You know.

Speaker 8 (43:04):
So we've got a team of people that are helping
us make these things happen. And and you know, no
no one person can do it themselves. Our key returners
Hartwell Taylor returning, Champ Brody Gee returning, All American, Fredy Brahause,
the Top twelve, Josie Jernigan, you know, forty nine Slash
fifty seven, Gabe Chesbro one a for Riker Blackburn one

(43:28):
ninety seven Roman Daily Cruz one thirty three. Those guys
are kind of the key guys that are all nationally ranked,
and again those rankings are our last year's news, and
so they're working hard to improve on their spot.

Speaker 4 (43:40):
You know.

Speaker 8 (43:40):
One of the things as a program we learned a
year ago our national tamp was the fifteenth seeded guy,
you know, so those rankings aren't super solid, and so
that's the mindset. We didn't believe him last year when
he was fifteen. We're not going to believe him now
when he's won our Our our returning guys that were

(44:01):
conference placers last year, Tanner, Van Scoy, Brayden Headington, Austin
Omager we joined a second semester. Those guys are a
big part of the success we had. Zane Lewis, Cayden
s Baker, Jackson Jones, Leyton Hoover, Ben Vote and Connor
Owen are all guys that are in our room fighting
for spots, fighting for starting jobs. That are you know,

(44:26):
the core of the team. Our top newcomers Jacob Navarro
transfer from Southwestern Oregon, h Michael Ager from Southwest Oregon,
as well uh Louke Hancock, a freshman from Saint Thomas,
Devin lolaar out of Duncan, Oklahoma, c J Anderson, Carson Evarez,

(44:48):
and and then finally Gavin Garcia out of Texas. You know,
so we got a good group of newcomers that we're
we're pretty pleased with. They're working hard, assimilating into our
system with wrestling and helping us be better. Our objective
is to continue to improve, you know, from day one,

(45:12):
it's the same same. You know, we have to we
have to get better technique, we have to get better athletic,
we have to get stronger, we have to be better
in the classroom, and then ultimately better people. And so
that's kind of the focus we're keeping. We love you know,
I want our guys to to compete. We want to
wrestle lots of matches. We want to do lots of
live wrestling. We want to to go out there and

(45:33):
improve it. And at the end of the day, I
feel pretty good about this group and we're super excited.

Speaker 4 (45:38):
I've got a question for you here from Jason Bryant
to coach Kurney. Multiple All Americans for the first time
in school history, first national champion in school history. I
did last year really help elevate your program? And how
fulfilling is it as a coach to have someone on
the top of the podium once again at the national championships.

Speaker 8 (46:01):
Well, it's i mean one of the one of the
kind of the fun things for me at the University
of Saint Mary is anything we do, it's the schools first.
When we started the program in twenty seventeen, our first
year competition with twenty seventeen twenty eighteen. So I've had
the first losing record, I've had the first winning record,
I've had the first national time. So we've we've had
a lot of first year at Saint Mary. One of

(46:23):
the things that's that's fun is is not you know,
it's not even me, it's it's for the you know,
for the excitement that that it generates within our program.
We had wrestlers come home and talk about they want
what Heartwell had and it's the answer, Well, you got
to do it. Heartwell. Did you know he earned that

(46:43):
title and you guys got to put the work in
to do so. But it's proved that its possible. So
we have a bunch of guys that are striving to
do that. I'm I'm pleased with you know, how excited
the entire program was and and and the excitement was
without envy. Nobody was jealous of it. They just they
wanted to get what he got as a coach. The

(47:05):
longer in the business, the the more you appreciate the
good and the bad that comes with coaching. You know,
we had a we had a heartache and a young
man who was a blood bound guy that should never
have lost the match and he did. And that that
heartache is as real as the exhilaration that went with
Artwell Taylor winning it, and I value both.

Speaker 4 (47:26):
I have another question here from Aaron Slazy. USM has
eight of ten ranked number one in the KCAC polls.
In the KAC the top finish for a team in
the last ten years, this thirteenth, both twenty fourth, and
the twenty four and twenty three season. Is your team
poised to break into the top ten or higher? And

(47:47):
individual wise, what do you expect in terms of all
American numbers at a minimum?

Speaker 8 (47:54):
Thanks Aaron. I don't know, I don't expect anything. It's
it's uh, you know, we had a good tournament last year.
Yet I you know, from a placing standpoint, but when
I looked at you know, looked at outcomes we had.
We had you know, one i seven pounder was a
damn good wrestler. One oh and two. We had a
one fifty seven pounder, It was a damn good wrestler.
One oh and two. We had won a four pounds,

(48:14):
damn good wrestler one oh and two. You know, so
that national tournament didn't feel very good to us from
a team perspective. Individually it fell awesome, and program wise
it fell awesome because of what Heartwell and Brody were
able to do. But but as a team, as a coach,
I mean it was you know, we left a lot
of points on the board. So do I think we
can be a top ten team? Yeah, But there's a
whole bunch of programs that can be a top ten team.

(48:37):
We can only focus on getting better. Would would a
top ten team surprise me?

Speaker 7 (48:43):
No?

Speaker 8 (48:43):
Would a top fifteen finished surprised me?

Speaker 7 (48:46):
No?

Speaker 8 (48:47):
Because we're gonna put in the work this year and
we're going to get what we probably earned at that
national tournament. Individually, we've got a bunch of guys that
I think that are in the in the in the
in the UH in a position to to compete. I
mean I think that if you're a top well, Arwell
was fifteenth lash, fifteenth seed and won it. So if
you're a guy that's in the top ten, you got

(49:08):
to think you have an opportunity to compete for a
national championship. We've got some guys that currently and I
say currently because that doesn't mean anything, but currently are
in that position as far as the conference goes. Don't
think for a second we're going to have eight champions.
I don't believe that. I don't think we're going to
have eight champions. And I've told our team that, you know,

(49:29):
we don't wrestle on paper. And like I said before,
there's some coaches here that are damn good coaches. They're
going to have their guys ready and we have to
be ready for that fight. So thanks Swayze. Hope you're
feeling better thinking about you.

Speaker 4 (49:43):
Go to really appreciate your insights and want to wish
you a successful campaign this year.

Speaker 2 (49:48):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (49:50):
Rounding out this morning is coach Tyler Bell of York University. Coach,
You've been at York for three years, but this will
be your first leading the program and are receiving votes
in the preseason pool. Can you let us know how
you have been putting your fingerprints on the program now
that you're in charge, and share a little about the
upcoming season.

Speaker 8 (50:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (50:09):
First of all, I'd like to thank you know, interim
president by Jared Stark and our A D. Garrett Sports
as well putting my imprint on you know, I up
the intensity in the room. I feel like I feel
like our culture has changed tremendously. I think we're we're
heading in the right direction and we're gonna have a
great mindset going forward and looking to compete with all

(50:29):
these these great teams that are in the conference. It's
gonna be an uphill climb for us. We haven't been
relevant for quite a few years, but looking looking to battle,
that's for sure.

Speaker 4 (50:42):
I got a question for you from Jason Bryant. Two
qualifiers last year. What can the Panthers do to put
more through the tough case AC conference and have even
more representation at the national championships?

Speaker 14 (50:57):
Yeah, we had two, Uh, there are two. Two qualifiers
are actually coming back this year, so that's going to
help us a lot. And they're they're great leaders and
uh and uh showing them guys the way we're we're
pretty young squad. We had a pretty good reclusion class
and everything like that. It's more about the mindset and
being prepared and ready to battle when we get to

(51:17):
conference and pinking out the right time, just like everybody
else is trying to do. We've had a lot of
injuries the last couple of years as well since I've
been here. You know, we have John Vincent that's coming back.
He was a national qualifier for US. He's a three
time national qualifier. We have Tanner Hawkins, he's dropping from
heavyweight to ninety seven. Pinned his way through conference last
year at heavyweight. You know, Braden Smith was injury prone

(51:42):
last year's and All America are not All American national
qualifier for US two years ago.

Speaker 7 (51:49):
And we had some key pickups, you know.

Speaker 14 (51:50):
We have We signed our first D one kid at
forty one from Campbell, Elijah Kawa. We picked up Tyreek Atkins,
which is at one forty nine for Cloud that was
a national JUCO national qualifier at sixty five, so he's
down two weight classes to be looking to make an impact.
Got a good freshman out of Oklahoma heavyweight, a couple

(52:14):
of Montana kids that are four times and three time placers,
so we're we're heading in the right direction.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
I feel like.

Speaker 4 (52:23):
Another question here from Aaron Swayze brand new wrestling room
at York with more space. How has this become a
game changer for you in the Panther program.

Speaker 14 (52:34):
Well, obviously Aaron, you know, lives in York and everything
like that, so he's got to see the new room
and everything. So it is a big game changer for us.
We're not stacked on top of each other dealing with
people running over each other and getting hurt all the time.
As all the other coaches know, they've they've been in
our old old wrestling room and it was a dungeon,

(52:54):
and you know, I mean it served his purpose. But
definitely good to grow and get in that new room.
We're so thankful for mister Fitch for donating that to us.

Speaker 4 (53:08):
Oh great coach. I really appreciate your time to date
with us and I wish you the best this season.
Thank you. Please make sure to mark your calendars for
the following two events. The KCAC Championships will take place
on February twenty first in Kansas City, Missouri, while the
National Championships will once again be hosted at the Park

(53:28):
City Arena March six through eight. Thanks to everyone for
joining us today and we hope to see you all
throughout the season. Have a great day.

Speaker 1 (53:39):
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