PARK CITY, Kan. – The 67
th Annual NAIA Men’s Wrestling Championships, hosted by Visit Wichita at Hartman Arena, began day one of competition on Thursday, February 29th.
Click
HERE to see the full schedule and results page. Click
HERE for the full team scores after day one.
Warrior Recap | Mountaineer Recap | Eagle Recap | Oak Recap | Light Recap | Argo Recap | Raider Recap
CCC Team Scores:
After day one Menlo College sits in 3rd place to lead the Cascade Collegiate Conference with 29.5 total team points. University of Providence followed with 25 points to land in 6th. The Oaks and Argos each had 11 wrestlers competing.
12th-Eastern Oregon University (16), 13th-Embry-Riddle University (14.5), 15th-Southern Oregon University (14), 18th-Montana State-Northern University (12), 19th-Corban University (11.5), 27th-Arizonian Cristian University (6.5), 38th-Vanguard University (3), 48th-Simpson University (0.5)
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.
Session I Highlights:
- 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
- The most upsets occurred in 141 as four unseeded wrestlers pulled off the stunner, knocking off the 11, 12, 13, and 14 seeds
- 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.)
- 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 12.5
Session II Highlights:
- In the 125-pound weight class of the Second Round (Championship) saw four upsets
- 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
- Five of six reigning National Champions from a year ago (who qualified in 2024) are still in the running
- The highest scoring match(es) of Sessions I or II was a combined 34 points
- 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.)
- 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
- 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.