—Photo by Nick Buth/Morningside Fort Dodge graduate Jonah Egli competes for Morningside. Egli will compete at the national meet in Wichita, Kan. this weekend.

WICHITA, Kan. — Jonah Egli is heading into the NAIA National Wrestling Tournament with high hopes.

Egli, a former Fort Dodge Senior High standout, was one of five Morningside College wrestlers to advance through regionals. The national meet begins here Friday from the Hartman Arena and concludes Saturday night.

For Egli, the goal is to be standing on the top of the podium at 174 pounds when all is said and done.

“I am very excited to compete at nationals,” he said. “My main goal is to walk away with a national title. That has been my main focus this whole season.

“As for the team, I think they are prepared and ready to go. I would love to see all five of us walk away as All-Americans. It would be a big deal for Morningside wrestling.”

Egli, a junior, went 18-3 this past season for Morningside. He will be joined by teammates Dusten Reed, John Diener, Jacob Wiley and Phil Rasmussen. Egli and Wiley each scored titles in their home gym two weeks ago to punch tickets to nationals.

In the finals, Egli bested Briar Cliff’s Chris Paulson, 9-6, thanks to a late takedown. While it was a momentum-boost to the crowd, the ex-Dodger placewinner would have liked to to have been decided much earlier.

“The finals match at regionals was a little closer than I would have liked it to be,” Egli said. “But I think it was a good opportunity to find things to fine-tune heading into nationals.

“Ultimately, I am happy with how I wrestled throughout the tournament. It was a great confidence booster for me to come out on top.”

During the regular season, Egli claimed a title at the Central College Invitational and reached the semifinals of the Dave Edmonds Open. He also wrestled for Iowa Central before joining the Mustangs and head coach Jake Stevenson.

“Making the transition into NAIA from JUCO has challenged me to really take the time to sharpen up my technique,” Egli said. “My coaches, Jake Stevenson and Rulin Pederson, have helped me so much to slow things down and focus on just that. I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff.

“I’m pretty happy with the season so far. I feel confident going into nationals.”

Egli’s older brother, Duke, wrestled for Iowa State University, and his younger brother, Levi, recently finished third at state for the Dodgers.