NIACC's Mendoza, Minto win district titles
ESTHERVILLE - NIACC's Christian Minto remained perfect in his first season as a collegiate wrestler.
The freshman, who is from Mariner, Fla. and the younger brother of NIACC assistant coach Basil Minto, claimed the 165-pound title Sunday at the NJCAA Central District tournament on the Iowa Lakes campus.
The top-ranked Minto (19-0) topped Iowa Central's second-ranked Ashton Eyler 9-6 to claim the district title and earned the tournament's most outstanding wrestler award. Minto also topped Eyler 7-6 when the two met in a dual meet during the regular season.
Minto, who received a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, moved to the finals with a 8-3 win over Ellsworth's Cameron Nesbitt.
NIACC, which placed third in the team standings with 119 points, also received a district title from 149-pounder Tony Mendoza. The second-ranked sophomore edged Ellsworth's top-ranked Cardionte Wilson 3-2 in the title match.
Mendoza (15-3) had dropped a 5-3 overtime decision to Wilson in the regular season.
NIACC's Brock Luthens (10-5) placed second at 133 pounds. He dropped a 4-2 decision to Iowa Western's Ladamien Sturdivant in the title match.
NIACC's Holton Truax (14-4) was third at 197 pounds. Truax topped Iowa Central's Ja`Quez Bostic 7-3 in the third-place match.
Also for the Trojans, Hunter Luke (141), Kendall Sandifer (157), Cody Klettheimer (174) and Reldon Miller (184) all earned fourth-place finishes.
NIACC qualified nine wrestlers for the NJCAA Division I national meet, which is set for March 6-7 in Council Bluffs. The nine qualifiers for the Trojans are Clarence Lee-Green (125), Luthens, Luke (6-4), Mendoza, Sandifer (10-7), Minto, Klettheimer (5-5), Miller (3-12) and Truax.
Luthens, Luke, Mendoza and Miller will wrestle in their second national tournament. Luthens (133) and Mendoza (149) both earned all-American honors in 2019 with Luthens placing seventh and Mendoza placing fifth.
The nine qualifiers for NIACC is the most since the Trojans also qualified nine wrestlers for the 2016 national meet.
