Kinsella places 4th at nationals

WICHITA, Kan. — Creston graduate Jackson Kinsella earned All-American status in helping the University of Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team capture the third-place trophy at the NCAA Division II wrestling championships Saturday.

Kinsella, a redshirt sophomore, placed fourth at 197 pounds in concluding a 23-8 season for the Lopers. He was seeded eighth going into the national tournament and ranked 10th in NCAA Division II at 197.

“I feel great about the weekend,” Kinsella said. “The goal is always to get on the top of the podium. But, getting knocked off in the quarterfinals, it was time to pull it together and do what’s needed to get the next best thing. We had eight guys at the tournament, and five who placed. One reason I came here was to get team trophies. We won the national championship my freshman year. Now, with three All-Americans and five (national) qualifiers coming back, we’re already talking about next year!”

Central Oklahoma secured its second straight national title and ninth in program history with 110 points, 23.5 ahead of runner-up Lander. Nebraska-Kearney finished third with 77.5 points. It’s the 22nd top-eight finish for the Lopers at the national tournament.

Fifth-year senior Nick James was runner-up at 141 pounds to lead Nebraska-Kearney. Other All-Americans were fifth-year senior Billy Higgins (third at 184 pounds), redshirt sophomore Crew Howard of Clarinda (third at 285 pounds), redshirt freshman Zach Ourada (fifth at 125 pounds) and Kinsella (fourth at 197 pounds). There have been 175 All-Americans in the Lopers’ program history.

Howard and Kinsella are roommates and good friends, dating back to their days as Hawkeye Ten Conference rivals. The fifth-seeded Howard got past second-seed Isaiah Vance of Pitt-Johnstown, 7-3, and then blanked La’Ron Parks of Notre Dame (Ohio), 4-0, for third. Howard won his last four matches by a combined 31-8 score as well as recording a 4:03 fall in the first round.

4-2 at nationals

Kinsella went 4-2 in a rugged 197-pound field at the national tournament.

“If you look at my face and forehead, it looks like I was in a war,” Kinsella said Monday afternoon. “It was a tough weight division. There were seven returning All-Americans.”

Among them was defending national champion Dalton Abney of Central Oklahoma, who ended up in second place this year after stopping Kinsella in the quarterfinals, 8-0. Kinsella sailed past Wayne McIntyre of Kutztown (Pa.) in the first round, 12-4.

After Abney knocked Kinsella out of the championship side of the bracket, the former three-time state placewinner from Creston won three straight matches before being edged by Logan Kvien of McKendree (Ill.), 2-0, in the third-place match.

Kinsella began his successful run through the consolation bracket with an 8-4 win over John Parker-Wilson of Newberry (S.C.). He then topped fifth-seed Dakoda Rodgers of Pitt-Johnstown, 5-1, with a second-period takedown and a rideout in the final period to gain the riding time point.

In the consolation semifinals, Kinsella faced St. Cloud’s third-seeded Dominic Murphy. They had one previous encounter, won by Murphy in overtime last season. This time Kinsella won in overtime, riding Murphy for the duration of the 30-second tiebreaker period and adding a takedown in the second tiebreaker period after starting in the neutral position.

Kvien, who placed sixth last year, got an escape and earned a riding-time point to earn a 2-0 decision over Kinsella in the third-place match.

Both Kinsella and Howard will start training soon for the 23-and-under world team trials in June. Kinsella will soon decide whether to enter in the 92 kilogram (202 pounds) or 97 kilogram (215 pounds) division in freestyle wrestling, and possibly also in the Greco-Roman style (holds below the waist area are forbidden).

“I walk around at 220 to 225 pounds in the offseason, so I’m still deciding where I’ll wrestle at,” Kinsella said. “Crew and I both like to wrestle in the offseason, and we’d like the opportunity to wrestle after college. The trials will have a 64-man bracket, and if you make it to the finals you have to beat your opponent in two out of three matches. There are a lot of Division I guys and guys just out of college at the trials. A few of the top D-2 guys are there, some of the All-Americans. It’s a good experience.”

Kinsella won 171 matches at Creston (95 falls), placing eighth, second and third in the state tournament.