PARK CITY, Kan. -- The 67th Annual NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships, hosted by Visit Wichita at Hartman Arena, began Day 1 of competition on Thursday, Feb. 29. With morning and evening sessions, each with two rounds, Life (Ga.) and Grand View (Iowa) have once again emerged as the teams at the top of the standings. The Running Eagles lead 52 to 49.5.
The 2024 Championship features a move to a three-day event, aimed to create a better experience for the student-athletes on the mat, the coaching staff's, and fans alike. Session I on Thursday morning saw the First Round (Championship) and First Round (Consolation) wrestled before the intermission. Thursday evening, in Session II, the 2nd Round (Championship) and 2nd Round (Consolation) competed after the Opening Ceremonies.
Click here to see the brackets and team scores.
Session I Highlights:
Nathan Rizek, the 125 pounder from Doane (Neb.), recorded the first victory and first fall of the tournament
Drake Vannoy of Oklahoma City, the eight seed in 149, recorded the fastest fall of 1:13 in the First Round (Championship)
Through 120 bouts in the First Round (Championship), there were 13 total upsets
Weight classes 149, 157, 174, and 197 saw all seeded wrestlers move past the First Round
133 and 285 saw one upset each as Isaiah Miller of Jamestown (N.D.) earned a 10-4 decision over the 15th seed in 133; Wilkinson Saul posted a 15-0 tech fall over the 13 seed in 285
The most upsets occurred in 141 as four unseeded wrestlers pulled off the stunner, knocking off the 11, 12, 13, and 14 seeds
Chandler Woenker of Campbellsville (Ky.) pulled off the highest upset as he defeated the six seed in 184 by decision 4-1
Randy Frailey, earned an 18-2 tech fall, in the First Round (Consolation) to claim the first victory for Siena Heights (Mich.) since 1988
On the backside, 10 major decisions were recorded by Clarence Lee Green of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Donavan Parn of Missouri Valley, Gunnar Henderson of Friends (Kan.), Dylan Stragley of Southern Oregon, Sean Houston of Brewton-Parker (Ga.), Anthony Pyron of Cumberland (Tenn.), Luke Jenness of Northwestern (Iowa), Isaiah Hernandez of Vanguard (Calif.), Gentry Smith of Southeastern (Fla.), and Sven Lukner of Corban (Ore.)
In First Round (Consolation), three falls in less than two minutes were recorded by Ben Mitchell of Ottawa (Kan.), Weston Melvin of Cumberlands (Ky.), and Austin Almaguer of Saint Mary (Kan.)
Roman De La Cruz of Saint Mary (Kan.) recorded a 19-2 tech fall for the largest scoring gap, Tyson Stover of Corban (Ore.) recorded the closest decision at 12-11, and Dylan Preston of Cumberlands (Ky.) posted a 2-1 win in tie-breaker #1
With 160 bouts in the books, Life (Ga.) held a 28.5 to 25 lead over Grand View (Iowa); Menlo (Calif.) was in third with 16, Cumberland (Tenn.) in fourth with a score of 13.5, and Providence (Mont.) rounded out the Top 5 with a point total of 12.5Session II Highlights:
In the 125-pound weight class of the Second Round (Championship) saw four upsets highlighted by Allen Calderon the 16 seed from Indiana Tech, who knocked off top ranked Aden Reeves of Grand View by a 12-6 count
Reigning National Champion at 125, Brandon Orum of Life (Ga.) posted his second straight decisive victory recoding a fall in 1:46 after he posted a 15-0 tech fall in the morning session
The top four seeds in 133 took care of business with three of the four recording tech fall wins; No. 12 ranked Freddy Barajas of Saint Mary (Kan.) outlasted the five seed to claim a 4-3 victory for the Spires
Aric Williams, an unseeded 141 pounder from Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), pulled off his second straight upset of championships, besting the No. 14 and No. 3 seeds
At 149 pounds, seven of the eight highest seeds were victorious, with the lone upset being No. 10 Bryce Nickel of Cumberands (Ky.) earning a 4-3 decision
Brevin Balmeceda, the top ranked wrestler at 157 pounds from Life (Ga.) recorded a fall in 27 seconds, the quickest of any match on Day One
A pair of unseeded wrestlers continue forward on the championship side of the 165 pound bracket as Roman Garcia of Central Methodist (Mo.) and Zander Ernst of Morningside (Iowa) pull of upsets over No. 6 and No. 7
At 174, No. 10 Graham Calhoun of Southeastern (Fla.), No. 13 Maxiumus Zamora of Menlo (Calif.) and No. 14 Michael Scarponi of Doane (Neb.) pulled off upsets – all three by decision
A pair of unseeded 184 pounders kept the weight class from advancing the top eight wrestlers, with Chandler Woenker of Campbellsville (Ky.) and Thomas Ketchen-Carter of Cumberlands (Ky.) both pulling their second upset of the day
197 pounds saw No. 12 Elijah Hynes of Missouri Valley and No. 15 Cameron Cornman of Central Methodist (Mo.) best the second and fifth seeds respectively, both by decisions
Five of six reigning National Champions from a year ago (who qualified in 2024) are still in the running, including Brevin Balmeceda of Life (Ga.) who moved up from 149 to 157 this season
The highest scoring match(es) of Sessions I or II was a combined 34 points, which occurred both at 149 in Drake Vannoy of Oklahoma City tallied the 18-16 win and at 184 where unseeded Thomas Ketchen-Carter of Cumberlands (Ky.) won 19-15
In the Second Round (Consolation), Conner Hueck of St. Thomas (Fla.) won his second straight elimination match earning a fall in 6:17 at 125 pounds
133 pounded Randy Frailey of Siena Heights (Mich.) also won two straight in the Consolation Bracket, claiming a 13-5 major decision over 9th seeded Simon Graeber of Southern Oregon
Three wrestlers in the 141 Consolation Bracket have won two straight elimination bouts: No. 13 ranked Donavan Parn of Missouri Valley, No. 14 Taylor Vasquez of Morningside (Iowa), and unseeded Bo Davis of Corban (Ore.)
At 149, Aundre Beaty of Marian (Ind.) and Dallas Koelzer of Baker (Kan.) are both unseeded wrestlers who earned Session II decisions to keep their All-American placement dreams alive
Dyland Straley, Southern Oregon's 157 pounder, won two in a row thanks to a 14-11 decision over No. 10 Bridger Hall of Providence (Mont.)
A pair of 165 wrestlers claimed back-to-back Consolation Bracket wins – No. 16 Elliott Rodgers of Marian (Ind.) earned 1:16 fall and unseeded Carlo Castagnaro of Arizona Christian claiming a 12-1 major decision
Ninth seeded Luke Jenness of Northwestern (Iowa) and 10th seeded Jameel Coles of Grand View (Iowa) matched up in a consolation bout; the Viking 184 pounder was victorious 19-7 in a major decision
Three seeded wrestlers on the backside of 197 earned wins by fall to continue their comeback attempt: No. 2 Demarco Lee of Life (Ga.), No. 5 Sawyer Hobbs of Providence (Mont.) and No. 11 Curtis Thomas of Reinhardt (Ga.)
All matches at the national championships for Sessions I through V will be streamed live via FloWrestling. Access to the live results and brackets can be found through TrackWrestling. The championship bouts on Saturday, during Session IV, will air on ESPN3 (www.watchespn.com).For additional information on the 2024 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships, click HERE.
