NAIA wrestling’s two most powerful programs went back and forth last season, trading titles at two crown jewel events. 

Life University became the first NAIA school in 13 years to win a dual against Grand View when the Running Eagles defeated the Vikings in the finals of the NWCA National Duals. 

Nearly two months later, Grand View ran away with the title at the NAIA Championships, finishing 55.5 points ahead of second-place Life. It was the 12th title in 13 years for the Vikings. 

Teams To Watch

Grand View and Life are at the front of the NAIA pack once again. The top-ranked Vikings have two top-ranked returning national champions in their lineup — Alex Reynolds at 174 and Garavous Kouekabakilaho. A big weight change has materialized in their lineup, with four-time All-American Carson Taylor moving up to 141, where he’s ranked fourth following a runner-up performance at the Grand View Open. Grand View has also added Iowa State transfer Cam Robinson to its lineup at 165. His resume includes multiple wins over NAIA All-Americans. 

Life’s lineup is also headlined by two top-ranked wrestlers — national finalist Thaddeus Long at 133 and three-time All-American Jesse Perez at 184. The Running Eagles also have two-time national champ Brevin Balmeceda, who’s up to 165, where he’s ranked third behind returning national champ Jon Kervin of Indiana Tech and Keller Rock of Embry-Riddle. 

Life also picked up impact transfers in All-American Pat Gould (141) and Earnest Johnson (285). Both are ranked third at their respective weight classes. Johnson is a couple notches ahead of teammate Demarco Lee, who moved up from 197.  

Who’s Next 

After the two perennial NAIA powers, Embry-Riddle checks in at #3 in the national rankings. Eight Eagles are currently in the rankings, led by #1 heavyweight Kenneth Copley. Indiana Tech and Southeastern round out the top five. Top-ranked Kervin is one of six Indiana Tech wrestlers in the rankings while Southeastern has nine ranked wrestlers. 

Returning Champs And Potential Five-time All-Americans

There’s no shortage of stars in the NAIA ranks this season. Grand View’s lineup currently has two returning champs in Reynolds and Kouekabkilaho, and heavyweight Greg Hagan, a four-time national finalist and 2023 NAIA champ is still on the roster. 

The 165-pound class features two past champs in Kervin and Balmeceda. 

Saint Mary’s Hartwell Taylor, the biggest breakout national champ last year when he won the title as the #15 seed at 141, also returns. 

This will be the last year we get the chance to see five-time collegiate All-Americans, a staple of longevity and sustained success. These are guys who were freshmen during the 2020-2021 season and received the additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Grand View’s Carson Taylor has done everything but finish the top spot at the podium, placing fourth, third, second, and third, all without a redshirt. Hagan is not currently ranked in Grand View’s starting 12 but has a great chance of earning All-American status a fifth time. 

Doane’s Nathan Lendt is also attempting to place in his fifth national tournament. He placed eighth and fifth at the NJCAA Championships for Ellsworth Community College before transferring to Doane, where he has placed fifth and sixth in the NAIA. Lendt is currently ranked #1 at 149.

Notable November Results 

There’s been a little turnover at the top of the rankings since the start of the season. Providence’s Aden Graves surged to the #1 spot at 157 after a strong showing at the Grand View Open, where he placed fourth and notched a win over Northern Iowa’s Cael Rahnavardi. who beat returning national finalist and previous #1 David Rubio of Corban that same day. Graves was an overtime takedown away from placing at nationals last year but has shown potential.  

St. Thomas University has had two breakout stars already this season. One is Austin (Rocky) Raby. He was a NJCAA national champion for Clackamas last year. He won the Life Lucha Open with an 11-4 win over returning NCAA D2 national champion David Hunsberger of Lander in the semis. Raby is at 165, while Kris Ketchum is at 174 for St. Thomas, making a dangerous back-to-back punch in the lineup. Ketchum has won titles at the Falcon Invite and Lucha Open, two of the toughest NAIA competitions of the year. These guys are both promising All-American candidates this year. Will one of them be St. Thomas University’s first wrestling national champion?

One of the biggest surprises this year has been the emergence of Gabe Gonzales of Grand View at 125. He went 22-8 as a redshirt last season with a win over current #1, two-time All-American Trevor Marsman of Cornerstone. This year, Gonzales has two tech falls over returning national qualifiers. At the Grand View Open, he notched wins over big D1 competition, beating Northern Iowa’s Trever Anderson in tiebreakers and Iowa’s Joey Cruz 5-1. He lost a tight 7-6 match in the finals to Iowa State’s Adrian Meza. His results vaulted him up to third in the national rankings. 

Burton Brandt of Midland is also making a case for breakout candidate of the year at 197. He is 5-1 on the year with a runner-up finish at the Falcon Invite. In the semifinals, he beat returning fourth-place All-American Kasten Grape of Doane 13-9. He will make a dangerous duo for the small college in Fremont, Neb., with heavyweight Zephaniah Sivels. 

Sivels is 7-3 this year, and last year he beat multiple-time All-American Joshua Isaac of Missouri Valley. 

Friends University’s Braden Morgan is also worth a mention here. The two-time Kansas state champ returns close to home. He hasn’t wrestled a match this season yet, but his experience from his time at DII Central Oklahoma has already earned him the #8 spot in the rankings at 285. Morgan started for the multiple-time national champion Bronchos in 2021 but spent the past few years behind multiple-time national champion Shawn Streck. He has beaten multiple NAIA qualifiers in his career and also notched a win over the 2023 NJCAA national champion Kale Schrader. 

On Deck

A look at some of the events featuring top NAIA competition on the calendar in December:

Dec. 7 — Conner Oppenheim Open

Dec. 7 — Indiana Little State

Dec. 8 — Bob Smith Open

Dec. 14 — Eagle Duals 

Dec. 14 — Rocky Top Duals 

Dec. 18 — Fire Duals 

Dec. 22 — Reno Tournament of Champions