NIACC's White places 3rd, Church is 4th

COUNCIL BLUFFS - NIACC's Cordell White earned a third-place finish at 149 pounds Saturday afternoon at the NJCAA Division I national wrestling championships at the Mid-America Center.

White (15-4) pinned RCTC's Cohen Wiste in 1 minute, 25 seconds in the 149-pound third-place match. Wiste had pinned White in a third-round match on Friday.

NIACC's Isaac Church (17-4) placed fourth at 141 pounds. River Wardle of Western Wyoming took a 15-6 major decision from Church in the third-place match.

Earlier Saturday, Church was pinned by Pratt's Easton Taylor in the 141-pound semifinals. Church then moved to the third-place match with a 4-2 win over Southeast's Ely Olberding.

After falling to Wiste in his second match at the national tournament on Friday, White won six straight matches, including three falls and a major decision, to earn his third-place finish.

White completed his freshman campaign with 10 falls, one technical fall and one major decision.

White and Church are NIACC's 84th and 85th wrestling all-Americans.

NIACC placed 14 at the national tournament with 66.5 points.

White's NJCAA national tournament (149 pounds)

White pinned Dakota Taavialma (Otero JC), 1:26; Cohen Wiste (RCTC) pinned White, 6:31; White major dec. Jamarius Koshko (Labette), 18-7; White pinned Anthony Bitner (Triton), 1:50; White pinned Caleb Nadig (Northwest), 3:54; White pinned Caeleb Ishmael (Southwestern Michigan), 1:22; White dec. Reggie Raiz (Clackamas), 6-4; White pinned Cohen Wiste (RCTC), 1:25.

Church's NJCAA national tournament (141 pounds)

Church major dec. Will Korth (Snow), 17-5; Church pinned Ryan Paladino (Nassau), 7:27; Church dec. Hunter Bidelman (North Idaho), 4-2; Easton Taylor (Pratt) pinned Church, 3:42; Church dec. Ely Olberding (Southeast), 4-2; River Wardle (Western Wyoming) major dec. Church, 15-6.