NAIA National Championships Begin Friday

Who: #1 Grand View University, #18 Northwestern, #23 Morningside, Briar Cliff, William Penn, Waldorf

What: NAIA Wrestling National Championship

Where: Kansas Expocentre – Topeka, Kansas

When: March 3-4

Team race: Grand View is expected to come out on top in pursuit of a sixth consecutive national title. The Vikings have qualified 12 athletes for the tournament. In 2016, Grand View set a team point record with 210 points.

*InterMat rankings have been used for the following individual weight classes*

125 lbs:

John Altieri (William Penn) vs. Adelfo Valdez (Wayland Baptist)

#16 Austin Boles (Northwestern) vs. #9 Mason Naifeh (Oklahoma City)

Andrew McFarland (Briar Cliff)-Bye

#6 Keegan Hessler (Morningside)-Bye

133 lbs: #1 Jacob Colon (Grand View) vs. Ty Kolterman (Bethany)

#6 Michael Andreano (Briar Cliff) vs. #14 Vicente Hernandez (Simpson)

#3 Sammy Rosario (Cumberland) vs. #12 Cartland Allen (Graceland)

Colon is the returning National Champion at this weight. With a first-round win, Colon will face #16 Tanner Irwin of Williams Baptist.

141 lbs:

Taylor Lehman (Waldorf)-Bye

#16 Nathan Ryan (Briar Cliff) vs. James Landroll (Oklahoma City)

Connor Hughes (Davenport) vs. #9 Dante Preciado (Northwestern)

#2 Josh Wenger (Grand View)-Bye

149 lbs:

Steven Garcia (Morningside) vs. John Risewick (Bethany)

#4 Walker Marshall (Grand View) vs. Eric Ambriz (Oklahoma City)

Jerod Booth (Embry-Riddle) vs. Dakota Drenth (Morningside)

157 lbs:

#7 Skylar Weber (Briar Cliff)-Bye

#9 Tyler Lashbrook (Morningside)-Bye

Following Weber’s first round bye, he will face #6 Sean Elkin (Dickinson State).

165 lbs: #1 Grant Henderson (Grand View) vs. Brok Williams (Oklahoma City)

Ryan Niven (Grand View) vs. #14 Tim Dinsdale (Southeastern)

#7 Anthony Orozco (Bene
dictine) vs. Derick Bailey (Morningside)

With a win, Bailey (Morningside) could face returning national champion, #2 Blake Cooper (Warner Pacific).

174 lbs:

#1 Lawton Benna (Grand View) vs. #15 Colton Gonzalez (Lindsey Wilson)

#4 Andras Lukacs-Farkas (Northwestern)-Bye

#10 Rhodes Bell (Lindsey Wilson) vs. Nathan Garcia (Briar Cliff)

#3 Dylan Blackford (Grand View)-Bye

184 lbs:

#3 Michael Pixley (Grand View)-Bye

#15 Logan Moore (Morningside)-Bye

Michael Pixley (Grand View) is the returning National Champion at this weight. Following a first-round bye, Pixley will face #12 Lane Oversen (Dickinson State).

197 lbs:

Jovanni Virgen (Bacone) vs. #2 Johnathen Dennis (Grand View)

#9 Evan Hansen (Grand Views)-Bye

#6 Luis Rivera-Santiago (Northwestern)-Bye

HWT: #1 Dean Broghammer (Grand View)-Bye

#1 Dean Broghammer (Grand View)-Bye

#11 Brian Ervin (Briar Cliff)-Bye

Randy Null (Northwestern) vs. #9 Korey Walker (Oklahoma City)

#2 Jacob Laden (Grand View)-Bye

Dean Broghammer is the returning champion in this weight. Broghammer pinned his way through the tournament in 2016.