2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling Championship Day One Recap
DES MOINES, Iowa – [Brackets | Team Scores | Photo Recap] To say that defending NAIA National Champion Grand View (Iowa) had a big day is an understatement. The Vikings paced the field with an astounding 137 points to take a commanding lead after day one of the 2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.
While the Vikings had a big outing, the day was littered with upsets as some top ranked wrestlers fell and some new names rose to prominence on the national stage. All totaled, 49 institutions were represented in the field in day one action.
Top 10 Team Scores After Day One | March 1, 2019
1. Grand View (Iowa) 137.0
2. Life (Ga.) 56.5
3. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 56.0
4. Indiana Tech 53.5
5. Reinhardt (Ga.) 51.0
6. Cumberlands (Ky.) 42.0
7. Oklahoma City 39.0
8. Providence (Mont.) 35.0
9. Baker (Kan.) 34.5
10. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 33.0
2019 NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship – Day One Notes
- Grand View leads the standings with 137.0 points. The Vikings are searching for their eighth-straight team title.
- Life (Ga.) is currently second with 56.5 points, with Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) right behind with 56.0 points.
- The Vikings have dropped just two matches (37-2) for a winning percentage of .948.
- Four schools have All-Americans for the first time in school history – Lourdes (Ohio), Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), Oklahoma Wesleyan and Life Pacific (Calif.).
- Midway, Oklahoma Wesleyan and Life Pacific had wrestlers win a match at the national championship for the first time ever.
- Jacob Seto of Campbellsville (Ky.) knocked off No. 4 seed Julian Gayton in the wrestle back round of the 133-weight class. Gayton was a national semifinalist in the 125 weight class a year ago for Midland (Neb.).
- Devin Reynolds and Trevor Murano, both of Grand View lead the tournament with three pins each.
- All 12 wrestlers for Grand View has earned All-America status, with 10 of those wrestlers competing in the semifinal round.
- Murano owns the top two fastest wins by fall at 12-seconds and 31-seconds.
- Seventeen different wrestlers won by tech fall. Missouri Valley’s Dalton Tipton won by tech fall in 2:26, the fastest of the tournament.
- Grand View’s Devin Reynolds and Justin Portillo have contributed 15 and 13.5 team points respectively.
- John Hensley (Providence) scored 24 points in his tech fall win over Riley Williams of Wayland Baptist (Texas)
- D’earion Stokes of Briar Cliff (Iowa) has recorded the most total match points with 49.
- Only two weight classes have all top-four seeds in the semifinals – 184 and 197
- Two weight class had teammates meet in the quarterfinals – 157 (Renaldo Rodriguez-Spenc and Steven Lawrence, Grand View) and 285 (Korey Walker and Bryson McGowan, Oklahoma City).
- Six-of-the-previous-seven returning champs are still in the hunt.