Quick Editor’s Notes; Grand View pushed five wrestlers into the finals, all in the upper weight classes: No. 5 seed Alex Reynolds (174), No. 1 seed Isaiah Luellen (184), No. 3 seed Owen Braungardt (197), No. 8 seed Garavous Kouekabakilaho (197) and No. 1 Greg Hagan (285). The maximum number of champions for Grand View will be four, as Braungardt and Kouekabakilaho wrestle each other in the finals.

Life has four in the championship finals: No. 4 Thaddeus Long (133), No. 1 Brevin Balmeceda (157), No. 2 Kyle Homet (184) and No. 3 Zane Lanham (285).

There is only one Grand View against Life finals, with Hagan facing Lanham at 285.

This year, wrestlers had no regards to seeding, pushing a number of lower seeds into the finals.

It was a tough tournament for No. 1 seeds, as only four were able to make it to the championship match: Balmeceda, Luellen and Hagan, plus Evan Potter of Southern Oregon (141).

NAIA Press Release

PARK CITY, Kan. – The 2024 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Championship at Harman Arena, hosted by Visit Wichita, continued with Day Two action in the 67th annual event. Grand View (Iowa) and Life (Ga.) have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Friday’s schedule included the Session III wrestling Third Round (Championship Quarterfinals) and Third Round (Consolation) in the morning. After the intermission and Parade of Scholar-Athletes, Session IV welcomed Fourth Round (Championship Semifinals), Fourth Round (Consolation All-America Round), and Fifth Round (Consolation Quarterfinals) in the nightcap.

Session III Highlights:

Third Round (Championship Quarterfinals) Notes

Reigning 125 pound national Champion Brandon Orum of Life (Ga.) and third seeded Hunter Sparks of Eastern Oregon will collide in the semifinals while the top of the bracket will see Cinderella’s No. 13 Nicolas Aguilar of Menlo (Calif.) and No. 16 Allen Calderon of Indiana Tech square off for a berth in the finals
After the top three seeds all advanced to the semifinals, No. 6 Dominic Chaves of Texas Wesleyan used a sudden victory takedown to advance and secured the Rams first-ever All-American in school history
Evan Potter of Southern Oregon, the top seed in 141, needed the riding time point to set up his semifinal matchup against No. 4 Nicholas Yancey of Campbellsville (Ky.); meanwhile on the bottom half of the championship bracket, unseeded Gage Hudson of Cumberlands (Ky.) will battle No. 15 Hartwell Taylor of Saint Mary (Kan.)
Jack Latimer from Cumberland (Tenn.) pulled a narrow upset over the fourth seed to advance to the 149 pound semifinals and set up a match with top overall seed Blake Gonzalez of Grand View (Iowa); on the bottom side, No. 2 Nathan Lendt of Doane (Neb.) and No. 3 Chase Zollman of Missouri Valley will face off this evening
No. 12 Trevor Burdick of Reinhardt (Ga.) upset the No. 4 seed and kept the 157 pound weight class from being all four top seeds advancing to the semifinals
The 165 pound weight class was the first to see all four top seeds move cleanly through the Championship Quarterfinals as the reigning National Champion No. 2 Rysan Leong of Menlo (Calif.) needed a late takedown and No. 1 Steven Villalobos of Life (Ga.) was the recipient of a successful challenge
No. 14 Michael Scarponi of Doane (Neb.) and No. 10 Graham Calhoun of Southeastern (Fla.) both secured a second upset victory to claim their spots in the 174 pound semifinals – both by fall
184 pounds also went No. 1-4 into the semifinals, highlighted by top seeded Isaiah Luellen of Grand View (Iowa) who claimed his fifth NAIA All-American placement
A pair of grand View (Iowa) teammates reached the semfinal round of 197 including Garavous Koukabakikaho who upset the top overall seed in the weight class during the Championship Quarterfinals; 12th seeded Elijah Hynes of Missouri Valley also claimed an upset victory to claim All-American status
The third and final weight class to move all four top seeds through was 185, but it was not easy as No. 2 KC Buday of Providence (Mont.) needed sudden victory to advance
Third Round (Consolation) Notes
The 125 pound weight class has the No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, and No. 11 wrestlers still in the hunt – highlighted by Aden Reeves 27 second fall in the Third Round (Consolation)
On the backside of the 133 bracket, all eight wrestlers are ranked between third and 15th including Sammy Shires of Cumberland (Tenn.) who placed fifth a year ago
With their backs against the wall, No. 11 Jackson Wenberg of Graceland (Iowa) and No. 16 Thomas Williams of St. Thoams (Fla.) won a second elimination match to still be in the All-America hunt at 141
No. 2 seed at 141, Logan Wagner from Morningside (Iowa), won consecutive consolation matches to try to battle back from his second round upset
Unranked Dallas Koelzer, the 157 pounder of Baker (Kan.), pulls off a second consecutive upset – once again by only a single point
In the 157 consolation bracket, all eight remaining wrestlers entered the 2024 championship seed between No. 4 and No. 16
Unseeded wrestlers Zander Ernst of Morningside (Iowa) and Roman Garcia of Central Methodist (Mo.) remain alive in the 165 consolation bracket
The backside of 174 features No. 2 seeded Cole Smith of Cumberland (Tenn.) and No. 3 Abel Nava of Providence (Mont.)
Three unseeded wrestlers are fighting for 184 All-American status – Thomas Ketchen-Carter of Cumberlands (Ky.), Rylin Burns of Montana State-Northern, and Chandler Woenker of Campbellsville (Ky.)
Seven of the eight wrestling left at 197 are seeded, with Andrew Herrera of Southern Oregon being the lone wrestler to enter the championships unseeded
Similarly, Wylie Dunn of Cumberlands (Ky.) is the lone unseeded wrestler remaining in the heavyweight class, as the rest are No. 5 to No. 15
During Session III, Grand View (Iowa) overtook Life (Ga.) on the team leaderboard, even though both schools advanced seven wrestlers each to the semifinals
The Vikings held a 112 to 107 lead over the Running Eagles as the two twos opened up a large gap; Menlo (Calif.) sits in third with 50.5, Southeastern (Fla.) fourth with 43 and Campbellsville in fifth with 42

Session IV Highlights:

Fourth Round (Championship Semifinals) Notes

125 – The rematch of the 2023 championship bout saw Hunter Sparks of Eastern Oregon get the revenge he has thought about for a calendar year, scoring a takedown of Orum in the final seconds of sudden victory; on the other side of the bracket, Nicolas Aguilar of Menlo (Calif.) came in seeded 13th and will wrestle for the schools 13th individual championship
133 – No. 2 Jovan Garcia outlasts No. 6 Dominic Chavez of Texas Wesleyan with a last minute takedown to secure his spot in tomorrow night’s championship facing No. 4 Thaddeus Long of Life (Ga.) who upset No. 1 Carson Taylor of Grand View (Iowa)
141 – Top seeded Evan Potter caps off his move up a weight class to reach the championship bout where he will compete against No. 15 Hartwell Taylor who earned the second finalist spot in Saint Mary (Kan.) history
149 – Both semifinal bouts were upsets by 4-1 decisions as No. 5 Jack Latimer of Cumberland (Tenn.) used a late takedown to defeat the top overall seed in the weight class while No. 3 Chase Zollman of Missouri Valley knocked off the second seed
157 – Brevin Balmeceda of Life (Ga.) reached the finals for the second straight year, but at a higher weight class than 2023 where he will face off another finalist from a year ago, David Rubio of Corban (Ore.) who wrestled at 165 a year ago
165 – Keller Rock of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) upset the top seed in the 165 pound weight class while Rysan Leong’s bid for consecutive titles was diminished by the upset bid of Indiana Tech’s Jonathan Kervin
174 – No. 10 Graham Calhoun of Southeastern (Fla.) will battle it out with Alex Reynolds of Grand View (Iowa) as both book their title bout places with wins by decision
184 – The top two seeds Isaiah Luellen of Grand View (Iowa) and Kyle Homet of Life (Ga.) become the first top duo to reach the finals; Luellen was the runner up at 174 in 2023 while the Running Eagles graduated the National Champion at that weight
197 - The reigning champion and No. 3 seed Owen Braungardt of Grand View (Iowa) will have a different path ahead of him in the finals, as he will face off against his teammate No. 8 seeded Garavous Kouekabakilaho
285 – No. 1 seed Greg Hagan from Grand View (Iowa) is in the finals for the fourth time, looking for his second title and will square off with Zane Lanham of Life (Ga.) who was the 197 pound runner-up just a season ago

Fourth Round (Consolation All-America Round) and Fifth Round (Consolation Quarterfinals) Notes

On the consolation side of the 125 pound bracket, No. 1 Aden Reeves and No. 2 Brandon Orum are still fighting, where they will square off against the No. 6 and No. 16 seeds; No. 4 Brody Gee of Saint Mary (Kan.) and No. 5 Izaeah beavers of Campbellsville (Ky.) will wrestle for seventh
Teammates No. 1 Carson Taylor and No. 5 Jackson Cockrell will face off tomorrow morning with a berth in the third place match on the line while No. 6 Dominic Chavez of Texas Wesleyan and No. 7 CaRon Watson of Briar Cliff (Iowa) match up on the other side of the bracket; No. 3 Sammy Shires of Cumberland (Tenn.) and No. 8 Andrew Voiles of Southeastern (Fla.) is the seventh place match
At 141, unseeded Gage Hudson of Cumberlands (Ky.) joins No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 who will fight for third place; No. 12 Edrich Nortje of Dickinson State (N.D.) and Aric Williams of Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) meet in the seventh place bout
No. 2 Nathan Lendth of Doane (Neb.) and No. 4 Parker Dobrocky of Southeastern (Fla.) will be one side of the 149 pound Consolation Finals while Grand View teammates No. 1 Blake Gonzalez and No. 9 Blake Haney will be in the other; the seventh place bout will be No. 8 Drake Vannoy of Oklahoma City and No. 10 of Cumberlands (Ky.)
Second seed Antwuan Burns of Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 4 Kanaipono Tapia of Menlo (Calif.) is one Consolation Finals while Nate Wheeler of Indiana Tech and Trevor Burdick of Reinhardt (Ga.) is the other; seventh place will be determined by No. 6 Dylan Whitt of Grand View (Iowa) and No. 9 Francis Morrissey of Ottawa (Kan.)
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds of 165 are still alive in the Consolation Finals and will have to defeat No. 6 Shadrick Sloan of Campbellsville and unseeded Roman Garcia of Central Methodist (Mo.) to meet in the third place match; No. 12 Trace Braun and unseeded Zander Ernst of Morningside (Iowa) will be the seventh place match
Seeds 1-3 are in the consolation finals along with No. 14 Michael Scarponi of Doane (Neb.); Menlo’s Maximus Zamora (No. 13) and Southern Oregon’s Alex Hernandez (No. 9) will fight for seventh
At 184, No. 14 Daryus Webb of Avila (Mo.), the first All-American in school history will square off against No. 3 J.D. Perez of Ottawa (Kan.) while unseeded Rylin Burns of Montana State Northern will battle No. 4 William Speight of Lourdes (Ohio) in the consolation finals on Saturday morning; No. 8 Kyle Knudtson of Eastern Oregon and No. 10 Jameel Coles of Grand View (Iowa) will duke it out for seventh
Unseed Andrew Herrera of Southern Oregon has won three straight elimination matches and will meet No. 7 Malachi Karibo of Baker (Kan.) while No. 6 Kasten Grape of Doane (Neb.) and No. 12 Elijah Hynes of Missouri Valley matchup on the other side of the bracket; top seeded Bradley Antesberger of Doane (Neb.) and No. 15 Cameron Cornman of Central Methodist (Mo.) will meet for seventh
Seeds No. 2, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 are in the mix for the Consolation Finals while the seventh place match is No. 6 Antonio Dacosta of Menlo (Calif.) and No. 11 Kenneth Copley of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
At the end of Day Two Grand View has opened up a sizeable lead over second place Life (Ga.) at 180.5 to 136; Menlo (Calif.) edges out Southeastern (Fla.) for third while Doane (Neb.) rounds out the Top 5 with 56.5 points

All matches for Sessions V will be stream live via FloWrestling before coverage will switch to ESPN3 for the championship finals on Saturday Night. Access to the live results and brackets can be found through TrackWrestling.

NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Park City, Kansas, March 1

Finals pairings

125 - 13 Nicolas Aguilar (Menlo) vs. 3 Hunter Sparks (Eastern Oregon)

133 - 4 Thaddeus Long (Life) vs. 2 Jovan Garcia (Menlo)

141 - 1 Evan Potter (Southern Oregon) vs. 15 Hartwell Taylor (Saint Mary)

149 - 5 Jack Latimer (Cumberland) vs, 3 Chase Zollmann (Missouri Valley)

157 - 1 Brevin Balmeceda (Life) vs 3 David Rubio (Corban)

165 - 4 Keller Rock (Embry-Riddle) vs. 3 Jonathan Kervin (Indiana Tech)

174 - 5 Alex Reynolds (Grand View) vs. 10 Graham Calhoun (Southeastern)

184 - 1 Isaiah Luellen (Grand View) vs. 2 Kyle Homet (Life)

197- 8 Garavous Kouekabakilaho (Grand View) vs. 3 Owen Braungardt (Grand View)

285 - 1 Greg Hagan (Grand View ) vs. 3 Zane Lanham (Life)

Semifinal results

125

13 Nicolas Aguilar (Menlo) won by major decision over 16 Allen Calderon (Indiana Tech) Maj 12-0

3 Hunter Sparks (Eastern Oregon) won in tie breaker - 1 over 2 Brandon Orum (Life) TB-1 4-2

133

4 Thaddeus Long (Life) won by major decision over 1 Carson Taylor (Grand View ) Maj 14-3

2 Jovan Garcia (Menlo) won by decision over 6 Dominic Chavez (Texas Wesleyan) Dec 10-9

141

1 Evan Potter (Southern Oregon) won by decision over 4 Nicholas Yancey (Campbellsville) Dec 5-3

15 Hartwell Taylor (Saint Mary) won by decision over Gage Hudson (Cumberlands) Dec 4-2

149

5 Jack Latimer (Cumberland) won by decision over 1 Blake Gonzalez (Grand View ) Dec 4-1

3 Chase Zollmann (Missouri Valley) won by decision over 2 Nathan Lendt (Doane) Dec 4-1

157

1 Brevin Balmeceda (Life) won by decision over 12 Trevor Burdick (Reinhardt) Dec 6-1

3 David Rubio (Corban) won by decision over 2 Antwuan Burns (Campbellsville) Dec 5-1

165

4 Keller Rock (Embry-Riddle) won by fall over 1 Steven Villalobos (Life) Fall 2:14

3 Jonathan Kervin (Indiana Tech) won by decision over 2 Rysan Leong (Menlo) Dec 4-3

174

5 Alex Reynolds (Grand View ) won by decision over 1 Riley Smucker (Life) Dec 5-1

10 Graham Calhoun (Southeastern) won by decision over 14 Michael Scarponi (Doane) Dec 7-5

184

1 Isaiah Luellen (Grand View ) won by decision over 4 William Speight (Lourdes) Dec 7-2

2 Kyle Homet (Life) won by decision over 3 J.D. Perez (Ottawa) Dec 15-11

197

8 Garavous Kouekabakilaho (Grand View ) won by major decision over 12 Elijah Hynes (Missouri Valley) Maj 11-3

3 Owen Braungardt (Grand View ) won by major decision over 7 Malachi Karibo (Baker) Maj 9-0

285

1 Greg Hagan (Grand View ) won by decision over 4 Gabe Jacobs (Southeastern) Dec 9-4

3 Zane Lanham (Life) won by decision over 2 KC Buday (Providence) Dec 11-5

Team Standings After Day Two

1 Grand View, 180.5

2 Life, 136.0

3 Menlo, 79.5

4 Southeastern, 75.5

5 Doane, 56.5

6 Campbellsville, 52.5

7 Missouri Valley, 50.0

8 Cumberland, 49.5

9 Indiana Tech, 45.5

10 Southern Oregon, 43.5

No. 1 Grand View takes 44.5 point lead over No. 2 Life after day two of NAIA Nationals

Loading...