Trojans' Celestin moves to quarterfinals

NIACC's Emmanuel Celestin gets his hand raised Friday afternoon after advancing to the 165-pound quarterfinals at the NJCAA national wrestling tournament in Council Bluffs.
NIACC's Emmanuel Celestin gets his hand raised Friday afternoon after advancing to the 165-pound quarterfinals at the NJCAA national wrestling tournament in Council Bluffs.
March 7, 2025

COUNCIL BLUFFS - NIACC sophomore Emmanuel Celestin picked up a pair of wins Friday to advance to the quarterfinals at 165 pounds at the NJCAA national wrestling championships at the Mid-America Center.

Celestin, who is from Cooper City, Fla., topped Carl Albert State's Cayden Felts 4-1 in the second round. Celestin (16-8) then moved to the quarterfinals with a 7-2 win over Nassau's Joseph Mattei.

Celestin, who is ranked eighth, will now face Northeastern Oklahoma's seventh-ranked Jackson Wilkins in Friday night's quarterfinals.

NIACC's Jessey Colas stayed alive in the consolation bracket at 184 pounds. Colas faces Snow's seventh-ranked Chandler Thompson in the consolation round Friday night.

Colas (23-5) opened the national tournament with a pair of technical falls. He topped Sussex County's Shawn Pawlowski 16-1 in his first round match and then dominated Zeke Thompson of Muskegon in the second round.

Colas, who is ranked fifth then fell to Western Wyoming's second-ranked Banks Love 13-3 in the third round. Colas then bounced back with a 11-3 win over Cowley's Brannigan Reyes to remain alive for all-American honors.

Notes: Celestin has a career record of 35-19 with 9 falls, 9 tech. falls and 10 major decisions ... Colas has a career recorod of 38-8 with 5 falls, 12 technical falls and 7 major decisions.