Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team won 32 matches and had eight placers at the Dakota Wesleyan Open Saturday in Mitchell, S.D.

With the varsity competing in duals against Hastings and Nebraska on Thursday night in Lincoln, the 10 Lopers at DWU were a mix of true freshmen and reserves.

Winning their respective weight class was Gretna redshirt freshman Tyler Cunningham (157 lbs.) and Blair true freshman Jackson Nielsen (125 lbs.) with Pennsylvania sophomore Brayden Wills (149 lbs.) and Seward true freshman Joseph Reimers (184 lbs.) runners up.

Next Kansas true freshman Wyatt Hayes (174 lbs.) and Kearney true freshman Nick James (141 lbs.) finished in third with Kansas senior Tevin Briscoe (149 lbs.) and Wahoo true freshman Jack Sutton (285 lbs.) both coming in sixth.

Cunningham had an 18-0 tech fall to win in the second round and the outscored the competition 24-13 the rest of the way to win. Nielsen is now 8-1 after having four more wins. He needed extra time to get past Mario Ybarra of Concordia, 7-3 (TB-1), and then bested Briar Cliff's CaRon Wilson in the 125 pound finals, 14-12.

Wills rolled into the 149 pound finals on the strength of two majors (31-8) and a fall in 1:53. However his day ended 30 seconds in the first place bout and he injury defaulted out of the tourney. Next Reimers pushed his season win total to eight after recording a major and back-to-back falls. He fell to Cole Hennen of Southwest Minnesota in the 184 pound title match. Finally Hayes won five times at 174 pounds, Sutton had three falls at heavyweight and Briscoe had two bonus point wins.

UNK heads to Lindsborg, Kan., next weekend for the Bethany College Swede Open.