Photo: Camryn Wilson
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA - After the first day of action at the 2021 NJCAA Wrestling National Championships, the Jamestown Community College wrestling team is currently in 16th-place out of 38 schools competing with 30 team points.
Trenton Donahue (141 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
Freshman Trenton Donahue (DuBois, PA/DuBois Area HS) looked to carry his momentum into the national championships and did just that in the first round. Donahue faced Robert Givens of Ellsworth Community College and cruised to a victory, getting the fall in 1:51. In the second round, Donahue battled against Brayden Strachan of Cowley County Community College and came away with the 6-0 decision win.
Donahue moved onto the quarterfinals, facing Marckis Branford of Clackamas Community College. Donahue fell behind early and could not recover, falling to Branford by a 13-0 major decision.
In his wrestle-back round, Donahue faced Victor Guzman of Indian Hills Community College in order to keep his all-america hope alive. Donahue and Guzman wrestled even through the first period of the match but Guzman caught Donahue early in the second period, getting the fall in 3:37.
Ross Abram (174 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
Freshman Ross Abram (Eden, NY/Eden Central) started out strong on the day, getting a fall in 5:00 against Brandon Rohr of Cloud County Community College. In the second round of the championship bracket, Abram controlled his match against Jahmon Spiller of Ancilla College, getting the 18-3 tech. fall.
Looking to keep his momentum, Abram faced Jacobi Deal of Northwest Kansas Technical College in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. The dual battled throughout the match but Deal came away with the 6-4 decision victory.
Trying to stay alive on the podium, Abram faced Massoma Endene of Iowa Lakes Community College in the consolation round. Abram fell behind early in the match as Endene came away with the 8-3 decision win.
Taige Jones (133 weight class) - 3-2 (Eliminated)
In the first-round of the championship bracket, sophomore Taige Jones (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove HS) faced Jake Campbell of Henry Ford College. In the match, Campbell took control of the match early and escaped with a 7-2 decision victory.
In the consolation bracket, Jones faced Jeremiah Boykins of Iowa Lakes Community College. In the match, Jones went on the offensive early and often, coming away with the 13-5 major decision victory. In his next match, Jones faced Jaylon Claudio of Triton College and kept the momentum going, getting the fall in 3:23.
In his last match of the night, Jones faced Dillon Stewart of Iowa Western Community College with the chance to move on to the final eight. Jones met his match, falling to Stewart via fall in 1:03.
Marcus Evans (125 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
In the first round of the championship bracket, freshman Marcus Evans (Randolph, NY/Randolph HS) faced Mac Martinez of Otero Junior College. Evans and Martinez battled for the duration of the match but Martinez came out on top, getting the 7-5 decision victory.
Moving on to the first-round of the consolation bracket, Evans faced Cody Wood of St. Clair County Community College and made light work of him with the fall in 1:17. Moving on to the next round, Evans faced Austin Kincaid of Cowley College. Evans continued his momentum, getting the fall against Kincaid in 4:04.
In his last round of the day, Evans faced Aidan Harris of Iowa Central Community College. The duos battled back and forth for the majority of the match but Harris caught Evans, getting the fall in 6:29.
Otto Davidson (157 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
Sophomore Otto Davidson (Congers, NY/Clarkstown North) came out firing in his first round against Gabriel Lee of Henry Ford College, getting a 12-0 major decision victory. In the second round, Davidson battled against Brandon Bollinger of North Idaho College but suffered a 11-3 major decision defeat.
Looking to stay alive, Davidson defeated Juan Diaz of Iowa Lakes Community College via fall in 3:36. In his last round of action, Davidson faced Jake Patterson of Cowley College, falling via a 14-1 major decision to end his night.
Alex Christy (285 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
Freshman Alex Christy (Fredonia, NY/Fredonia HS) had a strong start to his day, getting the fall in 3:25 against Emmanuell Briggs of Neosho County Community College. Moving onto the next round of the championship bracket, Christy fell to Curtis Ruff of Triton College via a 1:20 fall.
Looking to compete for a podium spot, Christy came away with a 13-4 major decision victory against Region 3 foe Maurice Jackson of Niagara County Community College. Christy's night ended in the second round of the consolation bracket, falling to Dan Baker of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M via fall in 43 seconds.
Dominik Rodriguez (149 weight class) - 0-2 (Eliminated)
In the first round of the championship bracket, freshman Dominik Rodriguez (Gowanda, NY/Gowanda Central) faced Morgan Potts of Neosho County Community College. In the first period, Potts got control of Rodriguez, getting the fall in 1:34.
In the first round of the consolation bracket, Rodriguez faced Joe Carpenter of Mott Community College. Rodriguez battled in the first period but got caught, getting pinned in 2:46.
Andrew Bungar (165 weight class) - 0-2 (Eliminated)
In the first round of the championship bracket, freshman Andrew Bungar (Hermitage, PA/Hickory HS) faced Juan Urbina of Pratt Community College. The two wrestlers battled during regulation and forced an overtime period. Urbina caught Bungar, getting the fall at the 7:14 mark.
In the consolation round of the bracket, Bungar faced Chad Bell of Rowan College. Bungar had another gritty match as both wrestlers took each other to their limits. Bell would make one more move than Bungar, catching him to get the fall at the 6:52 mark.
With no one advancing to day two of the tournament, the Jayhawks season has come to a close. The Jayhawks should not hang their heads as they have overcome such adversity with COVID-19 looming over thier heads throughout the year.
