Grand View moved closer to locking up yet another national title with a strong Friday night session at the NAIA Championships. 

With 12 All-Americans and five finalists, the Vikings seized control of the team race during Friday’s night session, ending the day with 180.5 points — 44.5 more than second-place Life. Menlo finished the tournament’s second day in third place with 79.5 points, while Southeastern is fourth with 75.5. 

Life stopped Grand View’s pursuit of a 10th straight title in 2021 and ended the Vikings’ 13-year run without an NAIA dual loss when the Running Eagles toppled Nick Mitchell’s program in the NWCA National Duals finals. 

It seemed as if the two programs would stage another championship battle this weekend Life held a 2.5-point lead at the conclusion of the tournament’s opening day. 

But Grand View crept in front after the quarterfinal round and then pulled away Friday night when the Vikings won two of the three head-to-head bouts with Life, including Alex Reynolds’ 5-1 win at 174 against #1 seed Riley Smucker. 

Reynolds started a string of five consecutive semifinal wins for the Vikings. They’ll also have #1 seeds Isaiah Luellen (184) and Greg Hagan (285) wrestling for titles Saturday night, along with an all-Grand View final at 197, where returning national champ Owen Braungardt takes on teammate Garavous Kouekabakilaho.