New faces to lead the way for Tiger wrestling program

Returning only three wrestlers from last year's team, the Cowley College wrestling squad will have a new look entering the 2024-25 season.

Cowley placed third in the Jayhawk Conference and 21^st nationally during the 2023-24 season.

Sophomores Jacen Jackson, Ryker Agee, and Beau Murphy are returning for the Tigers. All three had successful freshmen seasons, with Jackson going 3-2 at the national tournament in the 157-pound weight class and Murphy (125 pounds) and Agee (141 pounds) winning a pair of matches at nationals.

"Those three are great leaders and have been a staple in our program," Cowley head coach Justice Circle said. "All three will be in the lineup and will help carry the torch for our young guys."

Dylan Reed, a redshirt athlete for the Tigers a season ago, also returns to the team, as does fellow redshirt athletes Preston Lee and Cesar Morales.

Cowley has a plethora of freshmen they hope can grow up quickly and make immediate impacts for the squad.

"We have added a really tough freshman class," Circle said. "They are a really good group of guys, and we are excited for things to come."

Evan Rodriguez (141 pounds) from Broken Arrow, OK, Jimmy Swenson (125 pounds) and Cameron Kiser (133 pounds) from Ponca City, OK; Jacob Acedo (285 pounds) from Tucson, AZ, and Shawn Bamba (149 pounds) from Glendale, AZ, are expected to be impact freshmen.

"We need to stay together and stick to what we know," Circle said. "We need to make sure the freshmen are adapting. We need to keep grinding and keep the young guys on track."

Other freshmen from Oklahoma are Chad Adams, Braxton Hummel, Jaiden Johnson, Brannigan Reyes, Brock Roberts, Tyler Strickland, Toby West, and Rayden Agee, the brother of Ryker.

Diego Gauna of Derby, Payton Mills of Kansas City, Kros Madry of Winfield, and Keenan Smith of Haswell, CO, round out the Tiger wrestlers.

Cowley will compete on the road throughout November and December before hosting three home duals in January.

"Our strength of schedule is good," Circle said. "We start out with some opens and then really hit the ground running in the second semester. We compete in one of the toughest conferences in the country and expect five teams in the conference to be ranked among the top 10 teams. We are happy to have a few more home duals than we have had in the past. These home matches will be a good test to see where we are at as a team."

Entering his second full season as head coach of the Tigers, Circle added Austin Legg as an assistant coach midway through the 2023-24 season.

"Austin has been a great addition to our program," Circle said.

Cowley will open the season on Saturday, November 2, when they participate in the Friends University Invite in Wichita, KS. Circle expects his young squad to get better every match.

"I think we will have a tough group," Circle said. "We want to build the foundation and a culture here at Cowley. We will try to be a top-five team and see what noise we can make."