The 2023 edition of the NAIA National Championships kicks off Friday in Wichita, Kansas. Most of the two-day event, with the exception of the ESPN-exclusive finals, will be streamed right here live on Flowrestling. Known as the fastest-growing collegiate men’s division, 59 of the 68 NAIA programs will be represented at the NAIA Championships. Here is a link to the brackets and live results and updates will be on Trackwrestling. Let’s look at the field. 

Top Storylines 

Top-ranked Grand View is aiming for its 11th NAIA title in 12 years. Five Vikings are seeded #1 and three others are #2 seeds. Second-ranked Life has a pair of #1 seeds and four #2 seeds. 

On the individual front, Doane 141-pounder Baterdene Boldmaa is looking to become the ninth four-time NAIA champion. Boldmaa enters the tournament with a 97-match win streak. Cael Sanderson owns college wrestling's longest winning streak at 159, while Daniel Igali's 116-match winning streak is the longest in NAIA. 

Full 12-Man Squads

The NAIA allows teams to enter up to 12 wrestlers for the postseason, and three teams — #1 Grand View, #3 Southeastern and #5 Indiana Tech — qualified all 12 for the national tournament. Southeastern was the only team to do it without the benefit of an at-large bid, automatically qualifying all 12 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. 

Southeastern coach Travis Patrick said his team has used the days leading up to the national tournament to keep the bodies healthy and lock in mentally. 

“Everyone in this group has national tournament experience so they understand how to approach this week,” he said. 

Check out Flowrestling’s NAIA rankings for a good idea of what the team race will look like.

The Lone Rangers

On the flip side, 12 programs are sending one wrestler to Wichita. Many of them have a good shot at All-American status, such as representatives from Brewton-Parker, Montreat, and West Virginia Tech. One of the best shots is Brewton-Parker’s returning All-American, Dennis McNeal, a 125-pounder who placed seventh last year.  

McNea said he’s adjusted his mentality to wrestle more carefree recently. McNeal doesn’t care who he has to go through, he doesn’t care if he gets scored on first. He is just going out there to score points from whistle to whistle. 

Then there’s 157-pound #8 seed Taquel Young of Montreat. After making the blood round last year and a win over this year’s #6 seed, Young looks poised to make the podium in 2023. But he’s not stressing about that. 

“The outcome is already decided,” he said. “I’m just going to do everything I can to make sure it’s the one I want.” 

Also, keep an eye on 184-pound Isaiha Casto of West Virginia Tech. The two-time national qualifier is 15-1 on the season with his lone loss coming in the conference semifinals. 

“Being the young leader in the room that most look to for advice helps me instill discipline and drive into my teammates,” he said. “This, in turn, has improved their abilities and my own simultaneously.”

New Teams with Historic First Qualifiers

Wichita will welcome another wave of programs that are making their first appearance at the NAIA Championships. Rio Grande, a second-year program in southern Ohio, earned three qualifiers at the Mid-South Conference: Weston Moyer (157), Justin Bartee (165), and Bruce Wagers (285). Each had to avenge in-season losses to punch their tickets. Most impressive was unranked Wagers, who used first-period pins over two ranked foes to make the Mid-South finals. 

Rio Grande coach Jason Schweer has taught his team a simple three-word mantra to live by this season: “Go find out.”  This has been the Red Storm’s key frame of mind: put in the work, live the right lifestyle, step on the line with gratitude, and go find out how good they can be, regardless of the outcome. 

Similarly, second-year program Avila in Kansas City sent three qualifiers to nationals through the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference — Logan Johnson (149) and conference champions Karter Brink (157), and Daryus Webb (184) to the big show. Webb has 13 pins on the season and earned the #12 seed. 

Iowa Wesleyan earned its program’s first national qualifier in Lane Scorpil (125). He pinned a ranked foe in the quarters then won a 6-5 thriller over another ranked foe to clinch his spot in the Heart of America finals and at NAIA nationals.

First Round Fire 

Don’t miss Friday’s opening round. Tune into Flowrestling to catch some opening round fire. 

125 — Brody Gee, Saint Mary vs. (14) Riley Siason, Menlo

133 — Harley Williamson, York vs. (8) Joe Lupton, Graceland

141 — Donte Lopez, Oklahoma Wesleyan vs. (15) Adrian Ayala, Lindsey Wilson

149 — Gage Hudson, Cumberlands vs. (1) Ryan Moore, Thomas More

157 — Elijah Chacon, Indiana Tech vs. (12) Bailey Moore, Marian

165 — Issiah Burks, Concordia vs. (2) Marty Margolis, Grand View

174 — Noah Clary, Lourdes vs. (16) Brice Parks, Campbellsville

184 — Isaiha Casto, WVU Tech vs. (11) Michael Densmore, Embry-Riddle

197 — Levid Rodriguez, Campbellsville vs. (2) Bradley Antesberger, Doane

285 — Carlos Figueroa, Lindsey Wilson vs. (8) Hunter Dejong, Morningside