By Corey Meints
Ellsworth Community College had four wrestlers competing at the NJCAA National Championships in Council Bluffs.
All four were done before the first session concluded. Returning qualifiers Nicholas Fischer (157) and Josh Berlin (174) both went 0-2 while freshmen Jiraiya Fonseca (197) and Tafari Parker (285) finished 1-2 on Friday.
Fonseca's win came in the consolation round of 32 with a pin over Lackawanna's Adan Salazar in 6:04. He had a bye in the first round before getting knocked to the back side of the bracket where he fell out in the round after his pin.
That left freshman Tafari Parker (285) as the last Panther standing as the first session wound down. He went 1-2 and was also eliminated. His win, a 19-3 technical fall in 5:42 over Cowley's Keenan Smith, came between a consolation Bye and a loss by fall to end his tournament.
While the good news is the Panthers returns half of their National qualifiers next season, the not-so-good news is that it's only two. There were just five wrestlers on the roster at the end of the season. With Fonseca and Parker getting their taste.
"They got that fire now," ECC head coach Diorian Coleman said. "They saw everything and that's good for them to take that in. It was my first time, too. The most important thing now is recruiting and getting the right guys in."
For more on ECC Athletics, visit https://www.timescitizen.com/sports/ecc/
NJCAA National Championship
March 6-7 at Council Bluffs
Team Results (Top-5): 1. Indian Hills 201.5; 2. Western Wyoming 188; 3. Iowa Central 145.5; 4. Southeast Nebraska 131.5; 5. Clackamas 128.
ECC Results
157: Nicholas Fischer (DNP)- Bye; pin by Colby Ducatt (Northwest) :43; dec. by Ian O'Connor (Bryant & Stratton) 12-5.
174: Josh Berlin (DNP)- dec. by Dylan Scott (SE Nebraska) 13-10 SV1; Bye; TF by Nate Jean (Murray State) 16-1 5:57.
197: Jiraiya Fonseca (DNP)- Bye; pin by Trevyn Gates (Western Wyoming) 1:39; pin Adan Salzar (Lackawanna) 6:04; dec. by Aukbir Ramazan (Fort Hays Tech) 6-1
285: Tafari Parker (DNP)- Bye; TF by Cito Tuttle (Rochester) 17-0 3:57; Bye; TF Keenan Smith (Cowley) 19-3 5:42; pin by Brandon Schoenecke (Carl Albert St.) 1:52.