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University of Central Missouri Open Tournament
Leading the way for the Panthers wrestlers this past Sunday at the U. of Central Missouri Open tournament was freshman Le’Roy Barnes of Belton, MO. Le’Roy turned in a strong day going 5-1 and finishing second at 133. Sophomore Jeff Vesta had another productive tournament finishing 4th at 125. Comments from Coach Petterson: “We got some big wins out of Barnes and Vesta and saw some good progression out of a few other guys. After last week with the Pratt dual and Baker Open I tried to make it clear to them that we must put that behind us because the level of our competition is now elevated even more. Right now some of our guys are in the transition of being a teenager or a young man. We don’t pad our schedule with JV’s or weak sisters. Overall it’s time to grow up and we will. How soon is the question. We now have seen the #5 ranked team in the country along with Big 12 Oklahoma State and Missouri. This week we will see more NCAA D.1’s and the #1 ranked Iowa Central along with #6 Lincoln College at the Lindenwood Open. They aren’t the only tough teams there. We will regroup this week and go put it on the line again before Thanksgiving break.” Tournament and overall records: 125-Jeff Vesta 4-2/10-2, 133-Le’Roy Barnes 5-1/10-4, 141-Javon Haines 2-2/6-6, 149-Trent Robb 1-2/3-6, 165-Cody Hill 2-2/10-3, 174-Edwin Gutierrez 0-2/5-5 and Desmond Block 0-2/2-4, 184-Chad Wampler 0-2/1-6, 197-Cole Carr 0-2/4-6, and 285-Adam Wakefield 1-2/1-6
Panther Wrestling Place Six @ Baker Open
At the first tournament of the season on Sunday, the NCCC wrestling team came away with six place finishers where there were 13 teams and no team scores kept. Leading the way was RSSo Jeff Vesta at 125 with his second consecutive championship at this event. Finishing third were Fr. Cody Hill at 165 and So. Edwin Gutierrez at 174. Le’Roy Barnes, a freshman, placed fourth at 133 while freshmen Jonathan Barnat at 157 and Cole Carr at 197 came in at sixth place. Comments from Coach Wayne Petterson: “Overall we had a pretty good day. One of the area’s I evaluate our team on at a tournament is our total wins and losses and we finished 32-19 on the day. This tells me we competed hard and towards the level we have seen out of our guys in the practice room. Vesta was sharp with all pins today. Hill, Gutierrez, and Barnes showed their capabilities. And, Barnat, Carr, and Haines were in there. We still have several areas to clean up, but I see a good team direction and attitude.” Next action for the #20 ranked Panthers will be here at 7:30pm vs. Labette, ranked 7th. Individual records on the day and finish:
125 Jeff Vesta 4-0 Champion
133 Le’Roy Barnes 4-2 Fourth place
141 Javon Haines 4-2 DNP
149 Trent Robb 2-2 DNP
157 Jonathan Barnat 3-1 Sixth place
165 Cody Hill 6-1 Third place
174 Edwin Gutierrez 5-1 Third place
184 Chad Wampler 1-2 DNP, Desmond Block 2-2 DNP, Paxton Budd 0-1 DNP 197 Cole Carr 3-3 Sixth place
285 Adam Wakefield 0-2 DNP
Wrestlers Volunteer for Artist Alley
Saturday, September 24th 2011, the Panther wrestlers volunteered their time at the Artist Alley by picking up trash. It was estimated to be the biggest crowd in the history of the Artist Alley. They emptied trash through out the day to help in the success of the event.
Vesta Selected to Compete in FILA Junior World Team Trials
This week Neosho CCC Panther Jeff Vesta was selected to compete in the FILA Junior World Team Trials to be held in Franklin, IN. The top 6 place finishers at the FILA Junior National Open Championships qualify for this event along with 2 wild card selections. Jeff has been selected as a wild card and allows him to compete for a World Team position at 55Kg (121 lbs). Also, the potential to qualify for the all expense paid World Team training camp this summer exists for those selected at each weight. The FILA World Team Trials will take place on May 20 and pits most of the top NCAA freshmen and sophomores per weight class for this prestigious team. The FILA Junior World Championships will be held in Bucharest, Romania later this summer.
Signed Athletes
On opening day of commitments for the NJCAA, seven young committed to the Neosho CCC wrestling team for 2011-12. These are all highly competitive guys who absolutely fill needs for our team and will help us improve on this past season’s 19th place finish at the NJCAA Championships. The five young men are Jeff Vesta of Manhattan, KS, Edwin Gutierrez of Dallas, TX, Cody Hill of Blanchard, OK, Billy Evert of Blue Springs, MO, Cole Carr of Sperry, OK, Troy Clark of Chanute, and Zach Vesta of Manhattan, KS. Look for more news soon on recruiting and click on signed for more details of these young men.
Vesta Places 4th at Nationals
Red-shirt freshman Jeff Vesta of Manhattan, KS turned in a very solid weekend at the NJCAA National Championships in Spokane, WA finishing in 4th place at 125 lbs. In the two day event Jeff recorded a 5-2 record running off 5 straight victories after an opening round loss to Romero of Highline (WA) 4-1. During those 5 straight victories Vesta knocked off 2 returning All Americans, finished off 3 consecutive conference foes who were ranked in the final national poll of Pratt 12-0/Colby 8-4/Labette 7-1, and finished off host school North Idaho’s returning All American in the consolation semi finals with a thrilling come from behind pin. He then met Romero of Highline again in the consolation championships where he again mounted a comeback to fall short 10-6. Jeff Vesta finished his first college season with a record of 32-11. The other 3 national qualifiers Zach Vann at 133 went 0-2, DJ Hartrum at 141 went 2-2, and Edwin Gutierrez at 174 went 1-2. Neosho CCC finished 19th overall in the nation with 25 points beating region/conference foes Colby, Western Wyoming, Pratt, and Northwest Tech.
Qualifier Results
Neosho CCC wrestling team traveled to Powell, WY for the NJCAA West/Central District qualifier and returned home with a tie for 6th as a team and 4 national tournament qualifier’s. Those qualifying for the Panthers are Jeff Vesta at 125, Zach Vann at 133, DJ Hartrum at 141, and Edwin Gutierrez at 174. The NJCAA National Championships will be held on Friday and Saturday, February 25-26 in Spokane, WA.
NJCAA national rankings for February show Neosho CCC at 15th overall in the country
Individually for the Panthers Jeff Vesta at 125 is ranked 7th and DJ Hartrum at 141 is at 6th.
Team Rankings:
1. North Idaho
2. Clackamas (OR)
3. Rend Lake (IL)
4. Harper (IL)
5. Nassau (NY)
6. Ellsworth (IA)
7. Labette (KS)
8. Muskegon (MI)
9. Highline (WA)
10. Iowa Central
11. NW Wyoming
12. Lincoln (IL)
13. Iowa Lakes
14. Alfred State (MA)
15. Neosho (KS)
16. Darton (GA)
17. Ridgewater (MN)
18. Rochester (MN)
19. Middlesex (NJ) and SW Oregon
Vesta first ever Kansas Cup Champ for NCCC
Red shirt freshman Jeff Vesta became the first ever Kansas Cup Champion for NCCC today at 125 pinning returning All American Jesse Barber of Pratt in the first period of the championship final match. Vesta posted three straight falls on the day boosting his record to 26-7. Going into the tournament 125 was expected to be a hotly contested weight with four wrestlers all having 1-1 records against each other making it probably the most balanced and toughest weight of the tournament. Vesta stepped up and answered all questions that surfaced before the tournament with his 3 sticks. Neosho CCC finished 5th in the eight team field of ALL Kansas college wrestling teams. Also placing for the Panthers were DJ Hartrum 3rd at 141. He lost his opening match to Fort Hays State’s returning NCAA D.2 All American and then stepped forward and beat two conference rivals for his consolation championship. At 133, Zach Vann placed 4th and is improving. Placing 6th on the day were Cody Sodowsky at 149, Trent Hoover at 157, and Jon Arnold at 197. Next action is Saturday, February 12 at the NJCAA West/Central District Championships in Powell, Wyoming.
Panther Wrestling
The Panthers just wrapped up their dual segment of the regular season losing to conference foe Colby 34-12. Recording wins for NCCC were Zach Vann at 133, Dustin Scott at 149, and Trent Hoover at 157. This season’s team dual record finishes at 3-7.
Jeff Vesta earned his second tournament championship winning the Denker Open at Warrensburg, MO. In winning the 125 pound title, Jeff was also voted the tournament Outstanding Wrestler by the coaches. This is the second time this season receiving this honor after doing the same at the Jet Invitational hosted by Newman U. in Wichita first semester.
NCCC records win over Bacone College 24-21. Winning matches against NAIA foe Bacone were Jeff Vesta at 125, Zach Vann at 133, DJ Hartrum at 141, Josh Wolfe at 149, Edwin Gutierrez at 174, and Jon Arnold at 197.
Hosting the Panther duals, NCCC posted a 1-2 record. In the first match NCCC lost to highly regarded Lincoln College (IL) 39-3. In the second match the Panthers were defeated 27-22 by NIACC (IA). The final dual of the day NCCC won over Pratt CC 27-18.
As of January 12, Jeff Vesta is ranked 10th nationally at 125. He has split with both a win and a loss to two other ranked wrestlers.
The Panthers wrestlers started two new community service projects this year. First they volunteered for set up and clean up for the 1st ever Chanute Octoberfest. Great weather made this event go over very nicely for its first showing. For the first time in Chanute, the wrestlers in conjunction with the Big Brothers/Little Sisters organization, helped get this activity off the ground in our city. Wrestlers volunteered to serve as Big Brothers to local youth throughout the school year.
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