Beavers Advance to the NJCAA National Championships

Pratt Wrestling began their postseason by hosting the NJCAA South Central District Wrestling Tournament. This brings the best of the best from the KJCAA and Oklahoma together to vie 80 qualifying spots for a chance to put themselves in position at the 2026 NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament on March 6th and March 7th in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the Mid American Center.

7 Beaver wrestlers earned themselves an Automatic Bid while Zachary Wessley earned a Coach’s Wild Card Vote to make it 8 out of the 10 weight classes total. Zachary Wessley had the most votes of all the coaches in the District after falling short to an Automatic Bid to the National Tournament.

At 125lbs., Zane Donley picked up two bonus point wins before falling in the Final to Colt Collett of Cowley College.

At 133lbs., Matt Long pinned his way to the Final, including the #5 wrestler in the country in Logan Crawford from Northeast Oklahoma A&M, who was a returning NJCAA All-American and had a win over Long earlier in the season. Long eventually fell in a tough match in the Final to #9 Sean-Michael Gonzalez. Both Donley and Long will be seeded in the National Championship.

At 157lbs., Jacob Goodwin won his First Round Match by Technical Fall then by Fall in the Semi-Final. In the Final, Goodwin was able to avenge his only NJCAA loss a few weeks ago with an impressive First Period Technical Fall over Greyson Zellers of Cowley College 18-2.

At 174lbs., Trystian Juarez won his first match by Fall before following in the Quarter-Finals. After two Falls in the Consolation Bracket, Juarez suffered another loss bumping him to the 5th Place bout where Juarez won by Major Decision over Parker Farr of Fort Hays Tech Northwest 12-3, which automatically qualifies him for the 2026 NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament.

At 184lbs., Drew Withington cruised to the Semi-Final with another rematch with S’Ron Hill of Barton County Community College. Withington fell in a close match with Hill 7-4, evening the series to 2-2 and you would be his only loss on the day. Withington picked up two Major Decision Victories on his way to a 3rd Place finish and automatically qualifying himself for the 2026 NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament.

At 197lbs., Preston Hagel dominated the field with an impressive 4 straight First Period Falls for a 1st Place finish.

At 285lbs., Marcel Gonzalez picked a Fall in his first match of the day. In his Semi-Final match, Gonzalez avenged a previous loss to the #10 wrestler in the country, Braydon Hill of Cloud County Community College, to where he won in Overtime. He would then fall in Double Overtime to finish Runner-Up to #5 Jude Beers of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in an exciting end to the 2026 NJCAA South Central District Wrestling Tournament.

In the Team Race, the Beavers took 4th place but still hold a #6 ranking in the country heading into the 2026 NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament. The Beavers also finished with a 6-1 record in the KJCCC Conference and were named KJCCC Wrestling Runner-Ups for the 2026 Season. The Beavers outscored the KJCCC Conference by a score of 297-69, which is the most point differential, most points scored, and least points allowed in the conference.

2026 NJCAA South Central District Wrestling Tournament Team Score/Results:

1. Cowley College – 171
2. Northeast Oklahoma – 166
3. Carl Albert State – 150.5
4. Pratt Community College – 140.5
5. Labette Community College – 90.5
6. Cloud County Community College – 86.5
7. Northern Oklahoma College – 73.5
8. Fort Hays Tech Northwest College – 66.5
9. Barton Community College – 61.5
10. Colby Community College – 54

For full results, go to 2026 NJCAA South Central District.