NJCAA Wrestling: Karstetter brothers make waves at No. 2 NEO

Brothers Jack and Cody Karstetter have been ripping up the NJCAA circuit since arriving at the No. 2 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) this past fall. The Charles Page High School graduates are among the winningest members of their team and Cody is currently ranked third in the country at 141 pounds.

From the CPHS Class of 2017, Jack Karstetter (18-1) is a true freshman with three tournament titles and a 5-1 dual record. Competing at 133 pounds, he has won the Oklahoma City University Open, the Drury University Open, and the Reece Wright-Conklin Jet Invitational.

The Sandite started his college career with fifteen straight wins before falling 5-4 to Erique Early in a dual against Indiana Tech University. Indiana Tech is an NAIA school, meaning Karstetter is still undefeated in the NJCAA division, and he holds a 14-4 major decision over No. 5 ranked Taylor Jeffries of Northwest College.

Cody, a Class of 2015 Sandite, took a less direct route to NEO and is currently a redshirt sophomore. As a true freshman he wrestled two tournaments unattached at the University of North Carolina and went 6-3. He then transferred to the University of Oklahoma and went 1-2 in his first tournament after suffering a season-ending injury.

The NJCAA has been a fresh start for the promising Sandite, and he has had an impressive year with a 26-5 record, bringing his collegiate career to 33-10. He has yet to win a tournament, but he placed third in the Swede Open and Oklahoma City University Open, fourth in the Lindenwood Open, and most recently he came in runner-up at the Drury Open. At the Swede Open he pinned No. 5 ranked Keaton Sander.

At the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Multi-Divisional National Duals, the Golden Norsemen steamrolled their way to the finals before being defeated 27-14 by No. 1 Clackamas Community College, out of Oregon City, Oregon.

In the first round they won their third shutout of the season, 54-0 against Colby Community College. Cody majored Chris Deters 13-5. In the quarterfinals they defeated No. 11 Southwestern Oregon 42-3 and Cody pinned Seth Lowen in 5:23. He pinned Jake Thompson in 55 seconds for a 36-9 semifinal win over No. 6 Western Wyoming, and he won a 5-3 decision over No. 4 Ralph Tovar in the finals. He was one of only three teammates to win their matches in that dual.

The Norsemen will compete at the University of Nebraska Kearney Duals this weekend. The NJCAA West-Central Qualifier will be held February 10th in Goodland, Kansas.

Caleb Basma and Cody Randall place third at Golden Norsemen Open

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two members of the Charles Page High School Class of 2015 have continued their impressive athletic careers at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. The Golden Norsemen (14-1) are currently ranked first in the nation in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Cody Randall (13-11) and Caleb Basma (18-13) were lightweight members of the Sandite varsity squad. Both were State Qualifiers their senior years, and Randall placed third at State and made the All-State Dual Team.

NEO entered the season ranked tenth, and made a big statement in the opening week of dual season. First they shut out Neosho 46-0, then they hammered No. 3 Labette 45-3. The Sandites didn't wrestle those first two duals, but they've worked their way into the lineup since then.

The Norsemen took on No. 20 ranked Barton on November 15th and rolled to a commanding 41-6 victory as both Sandites picked up wins. Randall scored a 10-2 major decision over Greg Bentley in the opening match, then Basma had the biggest win of the night in a 5-4 upset decision over No. 4 Caysen Smith. 

From there the Norsemen steamrolled Wentworth 60-0 and picked up the number one ranking in the NJCAA the following week. On January 5th Basma scored a 7-6 decision over James Taylor as the Norsemen defeated No. 17 NW Kansas Tech 38-3 at Dual Nationals. The Norsemen made it to the finals before falling 23-9 to Clackamas Community College.

On January 13th NEO traveled to Kearney, Nebraska for the UNK Midwest Duals and swept the tournament with five wins by a combined 215-30. The Norsemen hammered No. 7 Otero 42-9, aided by Randall with a 2-1 decision over Adrian Cordova. Basma topped Stuart Brandt 9-5 in a 34-12 victory over Jamestown, then beat Jesus Morales 8-4 in a 48-0 shutout of No. 15 NW Kansas Tech. 

Basma currently leads the entire team in reversals this season with 9, and Randall is fifth with 5. 

Basma placed in his first college tournament back in November at the Joe Parisi Open with a split record. He topped Berkeley Todd (Ellsworth CC) 5-2, pinned Clay Vincent (University of Oklahoma) in 1:17, and scored an 8-5 decision over JD Higdon (Hannibal-Lagrange) before suffering three-straight losses and taking sixth place.

Last weekend Basma came in Runner-Up at the Roger Denker Open in Warrensburg, Missouri at the University of Central Missouri. He defeated the home team's John Feeney 7-4, pinned Tyler Brown (Baker University) in 3:20, then beat Weston Cronan (Ouachita Baptist) 8-4 before falling 4-1 to Brandon Matlock of Grand View Iowa. 

Randall placed in his first college tournament this weekend at NEO's Golden Norsemen Open. Both Randall and Basma took third in their team's home tournament. 

Basma lost his opening match 19-4 to Oklahoma State freshman Gary Wayne Harding, but won out from there with four close decisions. He topped Dakota Bromley (Ouachita Baptist) 3-1 and Michael Sanchez (UCO) 8-4. Two matches went into overtime and Basma defeated Aaron Hane (UCO) 3-2 in a tie-breaker and took down Wyatt Alvis (Fort Hayes) 3-1 in sudden-victory to make his way to the consolation finals. In the placement match he prevailed 6-4 over Noah McQuigg of UCO.

Randall pinned his way to success, finishing four matches in only 6:24. He topped Christian Haynes (Bacone) in 0:20 and Tre Ponce (Labette) in 0:42 before falling 8-5 to Tim Null (UCO). In the consolations he pinned Westone Cronan (Ouachita) in 0:27 and Reid Pfiefer (Bacone) in 4:55.

The Golden Norsemen Open was the regular season finale for NEO, and the Norsemen will return to action February 11th at the NJCAA West-Central District Qualifier in Pratt, Kansas. If Basma or Randall qualify there, they will advance to the National Championships at Council Bluffs, Iowa on February 24th. 

CPHS grads Caleb Basma and Cody Randall pick up wins for No. 10 NEO

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Two members of the Charles Page High School Class of 2015 are making names for themselves at No. 10 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. The defending NJCAA National Champions are undefeated at 3-0 for the season and both Sandites have picked up wins in their first year on the dual team.

The Norsemen shut out Neosho Community College 46-0, then dominated Labette Community College 45-3. Caleb Basma (5-5 season, 11-15 career) and Cody Randall (4-4, 10-16) got their start for the season at the Maryville-Kaufman-Brand Open.

Basma competed at 133 pounds in the Amateur division and won his first match of the season by 8-4 decision over Baker University junior Tyler Brown (0-2). In round two he gave up a 3:00 pin to Maryville freshman Taylor Jokerst (8-0), who went on to win the bracket. In the consolations he was eliminated in a close 3-1 sudden victory decision to teammate Calib Freeman (5-1).

Randall competed at 125 pounds in the Amateur division and also went 1-3 in the Kaufman Open. He lost his first match in a close 3-2 decision to McKendree University sophomore Jarrett Reisenbichler (2-3, 8-13), but rebounded with a 10-0 major decision over Drury University freshman Bryant Clay (2-4) before being eliminated 6-4 by Missouri Valley freshman Johnny Arreola (6-4).

The two Sandites made their first dual appearances against Barton Community College (1-2) and helped their team to a 41-6 victory. Randall defeated freshman Greg Bentley (0-1) by 11-2 major decision. Basma defeated sophomore Caysen Smith (1-2) by 6-4 decision. 

Last week, at the Joe Parisi Open, Randall split 2-2 while Basma went 3-3 for sixth place.

Randall won a pair of major decisions to start, winning 10-2 over McKendree University freshman Jet Tryon (2-2) and 13-3 over Limestone College freshman Majid Corbit (4-5). He met his match in University of Oklahoma freshman Zach Atencio (3-3) in a 9-2 decision, then was eliminated after a 6-5 loss to Williams Baptist College freshman Robert Fairchild (7-4).

Basma started off with a 5-2 decision over Ellsworth Community College's Berkely Todd, then pinned University of Oklahoma freshman Clay Vincent (0-4) in 1:17. Next to fall was Hannival-LaGrange freshman JD Higdon after an 8-5 decision. Basma's streak came to a close as he once again fell to Taylor Jokerst, this time in a close 3-1 decision. From there he lost 6-2 to Ellsworth sophomore Blake Walker (5-1, 28-17) and 6-5 to Central Oklahoma freshman Rio Zamora (6-2).

The Golden Norsemen will return to action next Tuesday when they take on Wentworth Military Academy (0-4) at home.