COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA - After the first day of the 2020 NJCAA Wrestling Championships, the Jamestown Community College wrestling will continue into day two as Dan Torres (174) has become the latest Jayhawk to earn All-American status.
Seth MacTavish (157) went 2-2 on the day while Taige Jones (141) and Otto Davidson both had early exits on the day, going 0-2. Unfortunately for these wrestlers, their season has come to an end.
The Jayhawks are currently in 29th place overall with 11.5 points, representing Region III.
Dan Torres (174 weight class) - 3-0 (Semifinals)
For Torres, this has been a season of redemption after having an early exit in the 2019 NJCAA Wrestling Championships.
To start the day, Torres faced Justin Grant of Ellsworth Community College. Torres came away with a 5-0 decision victory, creating offense when needed and went on the defensive when necessary. Moving onto the second round, Torres faced Dax Bennet from Clackamas Community College. This was a tightly contested match as both grapplers were even through two matches. In the third period, Torres made his move to take the lead and get the 10-5 decision win.
In the quarterfinals match, Torres faced another tough opponent in Tyler Baer from Rowan College at Burlington County. Similar to his first two matches, Torres had to grind out the win. This time, it was an 8-5 decision victory.
Torres will face Jayden Smith from Northeast Oklahoma A&M College in the semifinals match.
Seth MacTavish (157 weight class) - 2-2 (Eliminated)
MacTavish started out the day on the right foot, picking up a 6-0 decision victory over Davion Barnes from Itasca Community College. Moving on to the second round, MacTavish was best by Dallas Boone from Neosho County Community College, falling in a 13-0 major decision.
Looking to stay keep his All-American dreams alive, MacTavish would have to pick up three wins on the consolation side of the brackets. In the second round of the consolation brackets, MacTavish faced Braydin Johnson from Minnesota West Community & Technical College. MacTavish controlled the match from the start and cruised to a 13-5 major decision victory.
Continuing in the consolation bracket, MacTavish faced Andrew Gamble from Iowa Central Community College. MacTavish was caught off guard and was pinned by Gamble, needing 57 seconds.
Taige Jones (141 weight class) - 0-2 (Eliminated)
Jones started his day, facing Loye Burkhead from Spartanburg Methodist College. Jones fell behind early and came up short in a comeback as Burkhead went on to win by a 12-3 major decision.
Moving into the consolation side of the bracket, Jones would face Isaiah Smith from Region III foe Mercyhurst North East. With the wrestlers having some familiarity with each other, it was a back and forth battle.
Smith did get the best of Jones and did enough to come away with an 18-11 decision victory.
Otto Davidson (165 weight class) - 0-2 (Eliminated)
Davidson's road was a tough one starting out, facing Caleb Wise of Labette Community College. Wise caught Davidson off guard to get the fall, needing 2:24 to do so.
Falling to the consolation side of the bracket, Davidson faced Izalah Duran from North Idaho College. Davidson fell behind early against Duran and had a hard time to recover, getting defeated via technical fall, 23-8.
Torres will move on to day two of the 2020 NJCAA Wrestling Championships at the Mid-America Center starting at 10:30 a.m. central time on Saturday.