Gnida still unbeaten, heading to nationals

CEDAR RAPIDS – Zeb Gnida is not sneaking up on anyone this year.

After a breakthrough season that ended with a third-place finish at the NCAA Division-III wrestling championships, the Loras College fifth-year senior and former Solon prep has wrestled with a target on his back throughout his final collegiate go-round.

Despite the heightened attention from opponents, Gnida has vanquished all comers.

“Put in a ton of work to get there and it paid off,” Gnida said after advancing to the NCAA championships for the season year in a row with a 12-6 decision over the University of Dubuque’s Zane Pannell in the 174-pound semifinal of an NCAA Division-III men’s wrestling regional Saturday at Alliant Energy PowerHouse. “If anything, (2024) really showed me I was doing the right things and that hard work really does pay off. It motivated me to keep that level of hard work going and see how far I can take this thing. Obviously, my goal is to win a national title. Nothing short of that. Haven’t lost yet. Don’t plan on losing now.”

Gnida (17-0) – ranked third at 174 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association – closed the day with a regional title via a 4-1 sudden-victory decision against Coe’s fourth-ranked L.J. Richardson, which assured him of a high seed at the NCAA Championships on March 14-15 in Providence, R.I.

“Means everything,” Gnida said. “I live for this. Outside of school, this is my whole life. I’m just happy I get to do it one more time with the homies, with the boys. Super proud of this team, I wouldn’t be here without them, so it really means everything.”

Gnida was a three-time state qualifier at Solon (2018-20). He placed fourth at 120 pounds as a sophomore and sixth as a junior at 132 before moving up to 152 for his senior year and failing to place in the top eight at state.

The setback stuck with him.

“I think about that a lot,” Gnida said. “Obviously, it took me a while to get over it, but that was a big motivator to my goals in college and just truly proving what I was capable of in this phase of my life. It weighed on me for a while, but if anything, I wouldn’t change anything now that I have accomplished what I have here.”

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Gnida saw limited action in his first two years at Loras. As a junior, Gnida started to turn the corner with a record of 14-5 at 174, which set the stage for last season’s 21-3 mark and All-American finish.

“He has worked his butt off,” said Loras Coach Jeren Glosser, a former University of Iowa wrestler. “He puts a lot of time in the wrestling room and does the right things on the mat and off the mat. He does all the right things.”

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Loras (162.5 points) finished second in the team standings behind Wartburg (169). Coe was third (141).

The top three individuals in each weight class qualified for the NCAA Championships.

Former Linn-Mar preps Brayden Parke (125 pounds) and Bryce Parke (133) won their respective weight classes, while former West Delaware prep Jared Voss (Coe) finished second at 184.

Third-place finishers included Brian Petry of Cornell College (165) and Williamsburg graduate Jalen Schropp (Loras) at 141.

NCAA Div. III Region VI

Team scores (qualifiers) – 1. Wartburg 169 (6); 2. Loras 162.5 (7); 3. Coe 141 (4); 4. Luther 118 (4); 5. Central 117.5 (2); 6. Dubuque 115 (3); 7. Cornell 92.5 (1); 8. The Ozarks 69 (1); 9. Hutingdon 47; 10. Westminster 31 (1); 11. Nebraska Wesleyan 26; 12. (tie) Eureka 23 and Schreiner 23 (1); 14. Simpson 15.5; 15. Illinois Wesleyan 9; 16. Buena Vista 2.5.

Top 3 qualify for nationals

125 – First: Brayden Parke (Coe) def. Brett Birchman (Wartburg) medical forfeit. Third: Connor Fiser (Loras) dec. Dominick Marre (Central) 11-8 SV-1.

133 – First: Bryce Parke (Coe) pinned Connor Kidd (Luther) 1:08. Third: Aiden Evans (Loras) dec. Devin Murphy (Dubuque) 12-6.

141 – First: Pierre Baldwin (Central) maj. dec. Tommy Thongseng (Wartburg) 14-2. Third: Jalen Schropp (Loras) dec. Kael Kurtz (Coe) 1-0.

149 – First: Kyler Romero (Wartburg) dec. Chase Fiser (Loras) 2-1. Third: Brett Back (Dubuque) pinned Dresden Grimm (Coe) 2:20.

157 – First: Eric Kinkaid (Loras) dec. Demetri Teddlie (Ozarks) 11-4. Third: Clayton McDonough (Luther) dec. Andrew Parrish (Cornell) 9-3.

165 – First: Dustin Bohren (Loras) dec. Carson Martinson (Central) 6-3. Third: Brian Petry (Cornell) dec. Aiden Brosinski (Wartburg) 6-3 SV-1.

174 – First: Zeb Gnida (Loras) dec. LJ Richardson (Coe) 4-1 SV-1. Third: Zane Pannell (Dubuque) dec. David Burgess (Huntingdon) 6-1.

184 – First: Kasey Ross (Wartburg) dec. Jared Voss (Coe) 4-0. Third: Austen Wetzel (Westminster) dec. Samuel West (Central) 7-2.

197 – First: Massoma Endene (Wartburg) pinned Pilo Perez (Dubuque) 6:07. Third: Ben Strehlow (Luther) dec. Nicholas Brashear (Huntingdon) 3-2 TB-1.

285 – First: Walter West (Luther) dec. Austin Cooley (Schreiner) 9-6. Third: Mitch Williamson (Wartburg) dec. Jonah Clark (Loras) 4-0.

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