Dana wins second GPAC title, crowns five champions
2/22/2008
Dana College Sports Information


The Dana College Wrestling team showed the rest of the Great Plains Athletic Conference who is the dominant team in the conference. The Vikings brought home seven medals from the GPAC tournament, including five champions, on their way to claiming the GPAC crown. The Vikings finished with 93 team points, while second-place Morningside finished with 81.5 points.

Leading the way for the Vikings was senior Burke Barnes (SR, Lake Stevens, Wash.). Barnes dominated his competition with a 3-0 record in the 133-pound weight class claiming the top spot as well as winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the tournament. Barnes defeated Briar Cliff's Micah Sheffield in the first round by technical fall in 4:00 minutes. In the semi-finals, Barnes made quick work of Dakota Wesleyan's Jordan Harer. He pinned the fourth seed in 30 seconds. Barnes capped off his title with a 16-6 major decision over Julian Gunnels of Briar Cliff.

Kevin Gray (SR, Topeka, Kan.), and Jason Bilinski (SR, Pittsgrove, N.J.) were the top seeds at 125 and 157. Both went 3-0 on the day to win their respective weight classes.

Other champions for the Vikings were second-seed Adam Manz (SO, Council Bluffs, Iowa) at 141 pounds and third-seed Bulla Tuzon (SO, Maui, Hawaii) at 165 pounds. Both wrestlers defeated opponents in the finals that had previously beaten them.

Others wrestlers who brought home hardware for the Vikings were Tony Ponce (SR, Derby, Kan.) at 174 and Ross Milam (JR, Omaha, NE) at 197. Ponce took fourth place with a 2-2 record and Milam placed third with a 1-1 record.

Head Coach Beau Vest was pleased with the Vikings' performance. "We stepped up at the right time. Our guys were able to avenge several regular season losses. Adam Manz put it all together for a great tournament and getting Burke Barnes back in the lineup gave the entire team a charge. It was a great weekend for Dana wrestling."

Dana sends 12 to NAIA Championships
3/5/2008
Dana College Sports Information


The Dana College wrestling team will be sending 12 wrestlers to the 51st NAIA Wrestling Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, beginning on March 6. The tournament will be spread out over three days at the Tyson Event Center. There will be 272 wrestlers from 30 different teams participating in the event.

Representing the Vikings are: Kevin Gray (16-11, SR, Topeka, Kan.) at 125 pounds, Burke Barnes (14-3, SR, Lake Stevens, Wash.) at 133 pounds, Matt Jacobson (7-18, JR, Craig, Neb.) at 133 pounds, Adam Manz (17-12, SO, Council Bluffs, Iowa) at 141 pounds, Ty Costa (9-14, FR, Turlock, Calif.) at 141 pounds, Jason Bilinski (30-6, SR, Pittsgrove, N.J.) at 157 pounds, Dan Pray (16-13, SR, St. George, Kan.) at 157 pounds, Ryan Tuzon (27-10, JR, Maui, Hawaii) at 165 pounds, Tony Ponce (20-17, SR, Derby, Kan.) at 174 pounds, Josh Ghobadpoor (8-6, SO, Dahlonega, Ga.) at 174 pounds, Ross Milam (24-19, JR, Omaha, Neb.) at 197 pounds, and Wade Jordan (29-8, SR, Coulee City, Wash.) at heavyweight.

Dana College finished 8-4 in duals this year and 5-1 in Great Plains Athletic Conference duals. The Vikings won the GPAC tournament for the second straight season and crowned five individual champions. Dana College is coached by Beau Vest who is in his first season.

I don't know if anything was ever posted here...Congrats to Beau on a very solid first season. I think they finished fifth in the team standings.

Congratulations to Tony Ponce for placing 6th his senior year! I wrestled with him at Rose Hill and he is a very tough competitor.