Wichita, Kan. – Bismarck State men's wrestling faced an uphill battle coming into the NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships, as they would have to go through top competition to advance to day two. The three national qualifiers, Owen Lindstrom, Kameron Stiffler and Willard Sprenger, were unable to notch the pair of wins needed on the day, and their season ends at the national tournament.

Lindstrom battled in the 125-pound division, taking on No. 2-seeded Brody Gee of Saint Mary (Kan.). Gee was victorious by fall at the 53-second mark, sending Lindstrom to his second match against 15-seed Patrick Jones of Keiser (Fla.). Owen's season comes to an end at the hands of Jones via pinfall at the 4:30 mark.

Kameron Stiffler found out yesterday that he would be competing in the 141-pound division, having been selected as an alternate and set for a first-round matchup against No. 11-seeded Yoshiya Funakowski of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.). Stiffler was defeated by tech fall at 6:43. His next match would come against Lourdes (Ohio) wrestler, Cole McKinley, which resulted in a fall win for McKinley at 0:40.

Willard Sprenger faced the toughest test in the 157-pound bracket as he drew No. 1-ranked John Wiley of Oklahoma City in his first matchup. Sprenger held strong, but was defeated by fall at the 3:35 mark. His next bout brought out the excitement as he grabbed the first and only Mystic victory by defeating Elijah Griffin of Cumberland (Tenn.) by a 17-4 major decision. Needing just one more victory on the night to guarantee another day of wrestling, Sprenger matched up against 15-seed Christian Arberry of Marian (Ind.). The most tightly-contested bout of the night, Sprenger fell by just four in a 7-3 decision.

Despite the outcome, the season proved to be successful for the Mystics as they sent three wrestlers to the national tournament in just their first year competing in the NAIA. Head Coach Jeff Schumacher and company will look to carry this momentum into next season as they build from the foundation they laid this year.