March 2, 2019
NIACC's Mendoza, Santee place fifth at nationals
COUNCIL BLUFFS - NIACC'sTony Mendoza (149) and Zach Santee (285) both placed fifth at the NJCAA Division I national championships Saturday afternoon.
NIACC's Brock Luthens placed seventh at 133 pounds.
Heading into tonight's finals, NIACC is in 13th place with 44.5 points.
Santee (14-13) gained a 9-1 major decision over Iowa Lakes' Andre Bissainthe in the 285-pound fifth-place match. Bissainthe topped Santee 12-7 in a dual meet earlier this season.
Mendoza (23-8) won by medical forfeit over Northwest Kansas' Enkhbold Sukhbaatar in the 149-pound fifth-place match. Sukhbaatar had topped Mendoza 7-3 in a first-round match on Friday.
Luthens (13-9) gained a 5-3 sudden victory over Lackawanna's Nathaniel White in the seventh-place match.
