Postseason wrestling has begun across the state of Missouri at the high school level with Girls Districts and the NCAA Division 3 teams competing in their respective conference tournaments. The Westminster Blue Jays traveled down to Arkansas to the University of the Ozarks for the 2025 SLIAC Conference Championship.
The Blue Jays brought 11 wrestlers to the meet as the conference allowed them to double-up in brackets/weight classes if they had some non-starters available. The Blue Jays doubled up at 157 lbs. and were able to send all 10 starters (healthy and ready to wrestle).
Due to the efforts during the regular season dual meetings with the rest of the conference, the Blue Jays were able to secure several favorable seedings throughout the weight classes. In fact several of them earned first-round byes for those efforts. However, five of the Blue Jays did have first-round/quarterfinal matchups and overall it the round ended very well for them. They would go 3-2 in individual matches, but all three of their wins came via pin in the first period. This meant that 9 of their 12 wrestlers earned spots in the semi-finals.
During the semi-final matchups, the Blue Jays experienced a similar level of success. Five of their wrestlers (Aidyn Merchant, Austen Wetzel, Cole Harell, Brendon Marquess and Michael Roberts) took care of their opponents in convincing fashion to punch their tickets into the conference finals. Of those five wins, all of them were bonus point wins (3 pins, 1 tech-fall, and 1 major decision).
The remaining wrestlers had to battle back on the consolation side of the bracket and were able to secure a few victories that helped propel the Blue Jays into second place in the team standings. The Blue Jays had 2 3rd-place (Gawronksi at 125 lbs., Warfel at 133 lbs.) and 1 fourth -place finisher (JT Roberts at 149 lbs.) to bring their total on the conference podium to eight.
Overall, the Westminster Blue Jays performed very well and above expectations. Half of their lineup was able to compete for their respective individual conference championship, with two of them coming out on top as conference champions (Cole Harrell at 197 lbs. And Austen Wetzel at 184 lbs.) All five finalists for the Blue Jays are underclassmen and will have another opportunity next year to repeat and/or improve upon this year’s finish.
As a team, the Westminster Blue Jays finished in second place with 90 points, behind Univ of the Ozarks. The Univ. of the Ozarks had 50% more wrestlers competing than Westminster (18 vs. 12). This is a much higher finish than what was projected at the beginning of the season when Westminster was expected to finish near the bottom of the standings according to pre-season polls.
Up Next:
The Westminster Blue Jays have about two weeks to prepare for their NCAA Regional meet on 2/28-3/1/25 held at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse Arena in Cedar Falls, IA. Their regional tournament features both ranked teams (in the top 25) and more than a handful of national and regionally ranked wrestlers. This regional is among the two toughest regional tournaments in NCAA Division 3. The goal for the Westminster wrestlers is to finish in the top three in order to guarantee their spot at the NCAA Championships held in Providence, RI on March 14-15 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Last year Westminster had 1 all-american and finished 15th in the country in the team standings.
Below are the individual match results for the Westminster Blue Jays at the SLIAC Conference Tournament.
125 lbs.
Isaac Gawronski’s place is 3rd and has scored 8.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Isaac Gawronski (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Reign Creech (University of the Ozarks) won by decision over Isaac Gawronski (Westminster University) (Dec 7-4)
- Cons. Semi – Isaac Gawronski (Westminster University) won by fall over Diego McCormick (Fontbonne University) (Fall 2:09)
- 3rd Place Match – Isaac Gawronski (Westminster University) won by tech fall over Ty Ferguson (Lyon College) (TF 19-3)
133 lbs.
Henry Warfel’s place is 3rd and has scored 8.5 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Henry Warfel (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Clyde Adams (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Henry Warfel (Westminster University) (Fall 5:28)
- Cons. Semi – Henry Warfel (Westminster University) won by fall over Daniel Bauer (Fontbonne University) (Fall 2:46)
- 3rd Place Match – Henry Warfel (Westminster University) won by fall over Isaac Smith (Eureka) (Fall 3:54)
141 lbs.
Wyatt Cooley’s place is unknown and has scored 0.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Wyatt Cooley (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Zander Payne (University of the Ozarks) won by tech fall over Wyatt Cooley (Westminster University) (TF 19-4)
- Cons. Semi – Luke Adams (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Wyatt Cooley (Westminster University) (Fall 3:52)
149 lbs.
Jonathan Roberts’s place is 4th and has scored 4.5 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Jonathan Roberts (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Hayden Rofkahr (University of the Ozarks) won by decision over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster University) (Dec 13-9)
- Cons. Semi – Jonathan Roberts (Westminster University) won by fall over Jeramiah Crisp (Blackburn) (Fall 2:27)
- 3rd Place Match – Clay Queen Jr (Lyon College) won by major decision over Jonathan Roberts (Westminster University) (Maj 20-11)
157 lbs.
Austen James’s place is unknown and has scored 0.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Demetri Teddlie (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Austen James (Westminster University) (Fall 2:29)
- Cons. Round 1 – Austen James (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Semi – Trystan Blenis (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Austen James (Westminster University) (Fall 4:34)
157 lbs.
Michael Roberts’s place is 2nd and has scored 13.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Michael Roberts (Westminster University) won by fall over Joel Alvarado (Schreiner University) (Fall 0:32)
- Semifinal – Michael Roberts (Westminster University) won by fall over Trystan Blenis (University of the Ozarks) (Fall 4:56)
- 1st Place Match – Demetri Teddlie (University of the Ozarks) won by tech fall over Michael Roberts (Westminster University) (TF 17-2)
165 lbs.
Brendon Marquess’s place is 2nd and has scored 12.5 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Brendon Marquess (Westminster University) won by fall over Bradyn Rawlins (Fontbonne University) (Fall 1:08)
- Semifinal – Brendon Marquess (Westminster University) won by tech fall over Alex Muhammad (Eureka) (TF 19-3)
- 1st Place Match – Airamis Mendoza (University of the Ozarks) won by major decision over Brendon Marquess (Westminster University) (Maj 13-1)
174 lbs.
Aidyn Merchant’s place is 2nd and has scored 11.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Aidyn Merchant (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Aidyn Merchant (Westminster University) won by fall over Tyren Moore (Eureka) (Fall 4:03)
- 1st Place Match – Gabriel Sheikh (University of the Ozarks) won by fall over Aidyn Merchant (Westminster University) (Fall 2:45)
184 lbs.
Austen Wetzel’s place is 1st and has scored 16.5 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Austen Wetzel (Westminster University) won by fall over Henry Kubelka (Schreiner University) (Fall 1:14)
- Semifinal – Austen Wetzel (Westminster University) won by major decision over Robert Morris (University of the Ozarks) (Maj 15-4)
- 1st Place Match – Austen Wetzel (Westminster University) won by tech fall over Thomas Culp (Eureka) (TF 20-4)
197 lbs.
Cole Harrell’s place is 1st and has scored 16.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Cole Harrell (Westminster University) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal – Cole Harrell (Westminster University) won by fall over Jonathan Martinez (Schreiner University) (Fall 0:47)
- 1st Place Match – Cole Harrell (Westminster University) won by fall over Eli Lupton (Lyon College) (Fall 0:45)
285 lbs
Michael Carpenter’s place is unknown and has scored 0.0 team points.
- Quarterfinal – Luis Rodriguez (Schreiner University) won by fall over Michael Carpenter (Westminster University) (Fall 1:50)
- Cons. Round 1 – Remington Hiser (Blackburn) won by fall over Michael Carpenter (Westminster University) (Fall 1:18)
