Okada Placed 8th at Missouri Valley College Invite
MARSHALL, MO – The Waldorf men's wrestling team competed at the Missouri Valley College Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Tyler Okada, ranked #25 in the nation, went 6-3 over the two-day tournament and finished in 8th place. Okada's 8th place finish is the first time Waldorf has placed at the MVC invite since 2018.
"We have a very young team, but it was good for them to see what the best in the NAIA looks like," stated Head Coach Ryan Dickinson. "For them to see one of their teammates be one of those high-level wrestlers really instills the culture and talent that we create at Waldorf."
149 Bracket: Okada (JR/Anaheim, CA) started off strong by winning his first two duals. The first he defeated Kaleb Clark of Midland by fall, 2:38. In the second dual, Okada won over Caleb Nielsen of Dickinson State by an 8-2 decision. Okada then fell to Jace Luchau of Cumberlands (KY) by fall, 2:39.
In the first round of the consolation bracket, Okada won due to a medical forfeit. He then went on to compete against Aundre Beatty of Marian University (IN) by a major decision of 12-2. In the semi-finals, Okada lost to Bryce Nickel of Cumberlands (KY) in a close dual, falling 6-3. For seventh place, Okada battled against Drake Vannoy of Oklahoma City by technical fall.
"Tyler, he embodies that culture, the buy in and the dedication of the program. He was one match away from placing two years ago, missed that last year's tournament," Dickinson added. "He wrestled hard, tough and smart. I'm extremely proud of his performance. It's only going to get better moving forward."
Okada placed over nationally ranked numbers 11, 12, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24.
Next up, the men's wrestling will host the third annual Battle at Boman on Wednesday, January 24th against St. Ambrose. Doors will open at 5 pm and the dual will start at 6:30pm.