Iowa Lakes crowns one national champion, three total All-Americans

Iowa Lakes crowned one national champion, came away with two more All-Americans and finished in ninth place overall and seventh place in Division I at the NJCAA National Tournament this past weekend in Des Moines.

Victor DeJesus (149) became the Iowa Lakes program's first national champion, defeating defending champion Ganbayar Sanjaa of Colby Community College.

In one of the most entertaining matches of the night, DeJesus fell behind 4-0 early in the match but came back to tie the score 6-6 at the end of regulation. After a scoreless overtime period, DeJesus won in the first tiebreaker period 8-6. DeJesus rode Sanjaa for the entire first 30-second period then capitalized on his chance from the bottom. A locked hands call on Sanjaa for one point and an escape gave him the win and a national title. Sanjaa had pinned all four of his previous opponents, while DeJesus was also dominant on his way to the finals with a pin and technical fall among his four wins before the finals.

"Victor had really been coming on the last part of the season and he continued it at the right time in Des Moines," said Eustice. "He is extremely talented and really just needed this season to mature and get accustomed to a college seven-minute match. He out-conditioned everyone he wrestled including the defending champion, but wrestled very very smart in the finals. A national title is a huge step for his career and for the Iowa Lakes program. He showed a lot of toughness and focus this weekend and that's what really gave him an edge on everyone else."

Sophomores Tim Thurston and Jahsua Marsh ended their Iowa Lakes careers by both becoming two-time All-Americans.

Thurston (133) lost a tough semifinal match to Eric Ellington of Rend Lake. He was leading 10-7 with 10 seconds left before Ellington escaped and scored a takedown to send the match into overtime. Ellington scored on a double leg takedown to finish off a 11-9 win.

Thurston fought back and convincingly won his last two matches over tough opponents to take third place. He won a pair of 13-7 and 13-6 decisions to close out the year.

"Tim showed an immense amount of determination by coming back and taking third place," Eustice said. "He had a crazy match in the semis that would be hard to come back from, especially when Tim has the ability to win a national title. He was pretty down. It was a hard lesson at the wrong time but Tim is going to have many more big matches in his future and him fighting back for third shows me how tough he has become. It was great coaching Tim this year, a great kid who has come a long way. He has the ability to do great things in the sport wherever he ends up after Iowa Lakes."

Marsh (197) also battled some adversity on his way to an eighth-place finish. Near the end of his quarterfinal match tied at 1-1, Marsh injured his knee and lost the match in overtime. Josh then defeated a returning All-American in the consolations to secure his second All-American honor. The knee injury was probably too much to handle as Marsh then lost 3-2 to a Rochester opponent Marsh defeated a week before in the region tournament. Not wanting to risk further injury, a medical forfeit pushed Marsh to eighth place.

"Josh had a great second year here and showed that he is capable of beating anyone in the country," Eustice said. "Injuries happen in wrestling and affected us here at the national tournament. To Josh's credit, he really battled to win in the consolations and become an All-American. It gets overused, but he showed a lot of heart by coming back after a devastating loss in the quarters. Like Thurston, Josh got this program off to a great start the last two years and he has a big, big future ahead of him in wrestling."

Two other Lakers fell one win short of getting on the podium. Sophomore Mike Berardesco (125) posted a 2-2 record. Freshman Kaylen Hamlett (184) went 3-2 with two pins in the tournament. Tim Francisco also went 2-2 at 141 pounds. Austin Lindsay (157) and Tyler Thoeny (285) both finished 1-2 overall.

Iowa Lakes ended up ninth in the team race with 58.5 points. Harper College of Illinois ended Iowa Central's four-year championship run atop the sport. The Hawks had 137 points and were well in front of the Triton's 116 in the final standings.

"We were very close to really jumping up in the team race but failed to win the close matches," said Eustice. "We had six freshman national qualifiers which is a great sign for next year, but we have to be more ready to compete when the stakes are high. Victor's title brightened the tournament for us. We have to have all 10 guys striving for that next year."