The best NAIA teams in the country will be in action this weekend at the 2025 NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

The two-day tournament is one of the crown jewel events for NAIA programs and it features the top six teams in the latest Flowrestling NAIA team tournament rankings, which are tabulated by the number of points those squads would score if their individuals finish where they’re currently ranked at the NAIA Championships in March. 

At the moment, Grand View and Life University are tied for the #1 spot with 123.5 points each, which could be an indication of how competitive Saturday afternoon’s title dual could be if the Vikings and Running Eagles reach the finals. 

Here are the top eight seeds for the National Duals and how they stack up in the current Flowrestling team tournament rankings in parenthesis. 

1. Grand View (T-1) 

2. Life (T-1)

3. Campbellsville (6)

4. Southeastern (4)

5. Cumberlands (11) 

6. Doane (5) 

7. Embry-Riddle (3) 

8. Southern Oregon (8) 

Top Stars In Attendance

Eight of the top-ranked athletes in the nation will be competing. Life has #1 Thaddeus Long (133) and #1 Jesse Perez (184). Grand View has #1 Alex Reynolds (174) and #1 Garavous Kouekabakilaho (197). Doane has #1 Nathan Lendt (149). From the Cascade Conference, Providence has #1 Aden Graves (157) and Embry-Riddle has #1 Kenneth Copley (285). Indiana Tech’s returning national champion Jonathan Kervin (165) is the other #1 in attendance. 

Weights To Watch

Aside from the top-ranked competitors, many weights will be loaded with depth and entertaining matches in each round. Many teams have more than one wrestler ranked at a weight, allowing coaches to deploy their wrestlers creativity in matchups. Here are some of the most interesting weights to keep an eye on:

141 — Eight wrestlers are ranked, with a lot of new yet familiar faces. Four-time All-American Carson Taylor (Grand View) has been successful thus far in his move up to 141, where he is ranked #4. Third-ranked Pat Gould (Life) is a familiar name with a new singlet this year, and is a perfect 6-0 so far. Second-ranked Evan Potter (Southern Oregon) is the highest-ranked wrestler at this weight. The returning national runner-up is undefeated against NAIA competition this year. 

149 — Eight more wrestlers are ranked here, including each of the top six. This weight will certainly see implications for seeding at nationals with most of the top-ranked competitors in attendance. Cumberlands and Grand View each have options at this weight with Cumberlands having #3 Jace Luchau and #9 Ty Lehman, and Grand View having #5 Elijah Larsen, #8 Cole Ferguson and currently unranked NJCAA champion Darnai Heard. No ranked opponents will meet in the first round, but expect fireworks the rest of the tournament. For example, we could see #1 Lendt (Doane) vs. #3 Luchau (Cumberlands) if both teams win their first-round duals. We also get to see the development of sophomore #2 Nicholas Yancey (Campbellsville), who placed at the national tournament as a true freshman last season at 141.

157 — 11 out of the top 12 will be in attendance, including the top four. This will allow for some great matches starting in the first round. We could see #1 Aden Graves or #8 Hunter Hobbs (Providence) take on #4 Jayden Luttrell (Embry-Riddle) when their teams meet in the first round. Likewise, Round 1 will offer a chance to see #2 David Rubio (Corban) vs. #11 Ben Miller (Doane). Another great potential meeting in round one is #3 Aaron Gandara (Southern Oregon) vs. #9 Elijah Chacon (Indiana Tech). And that’s just the first round!

165 — 10 are ranked, with each of the top five competing. Southeastern brings both #4 Trace Braun and #10 Anthony Federico, while Grand View brings #5 Cam Robinson and #7 Jovon Mitchell. It will be interesting to see if anyone can challenge the top three at this weight. Top-ranked Jonathan Kervin (Indiana Tech) and #3 Brevin Balmeceda (Life) are both national champions and #2 Keller Rock is a national runner-up.

184 — This weight has eight nationally ranked competitors. Doane and Campbellsville are projected to face in the quarterfinals, which could give us #4 Tyson Beauperthuy (Doane) vs. #11 Brice Parks (Campbellsville). The dual winner then will likely see Life in the semifinals, where one of those two will take on #1 Jesse Perez or #8 Kendall Norfleet, Life’s duo at the weight.

285 — 10 of the top 12 will be here, including the top seven athletes. This number does not include past national champion Greg Hagan, who made his official debut at the Reno Tournament of Champions, winning the bracket and majoring current #1 Kenneth Copley. Another former national champion is here for Southeastern in #2 Gage Braun. If seeds hold, we could see Grand View take on Southeastern in the semis with a chance of a rematch from the 2022 NAIA finals, which Braun won 5-4 over Hagan.

Will We Get Another Grand View-Life Title Tilt?

Since 2019, this final match of the NAIA men’s bracket has remained the same: Grand View vs. Life. 

Last year, Life snapped Grand View’s 162-dual win streak against NAIA competition with a 23-17 victory. That dual was clinched after a win by Life at 197. Two different #1’s went down in last year’s dual — one from each team. Should they meet in the finals for the sixth time in a row, expect another instant classic. 

Here is what their hypothetical dual could look:

125: #2 Gabe Gonzales/Aden Reeves (Grand View) vs. Adrian Morales/Keegan Slyter (Life) 

133: #3 Jackson Cockrell/#10 Cameron Clark (Grand View) vs. #1 Thaddeus Long (Life) 

141: #4 Carson Taylor (Grand View) vs. #3 Pat Gould/Jordan Mitchell (Life) 

149: #5 Elijah Larsen/Darnai Heard (Grand View) vs. Bret Minor (Life) 

157: #7 Bryce Boumans (Grand View) vs. #6 Fabian Padilla (Life) 

165: #5 Cam Robinson/Dylan Whitt (Grand View) vs. #3 Brevin Balmeceda/Reese Jones/Jaden New (Life) 

174: #1 Alex Reynolds (Grand View) vs. #8 Alex Couto/#10 Steven Villalobos (Life) 

184: #9 Braden Anderson/Jameel Coles (Grand View) vs. #1 Jesse Perez/#8 Kendall Norfleet (Life) 

197: #1 Garavous Kouekabakilaho (Grand View) vs. #6 Tre Morrisette/Khalil Abdushshakur (Life) 

285: Greg Hagan (Grand View) vs. #3 Earnest Johnson/#5 Demarco Lee (Life) 

Second-Semester Additions

The early-January date on the calender typically sets the National Duals up as a stage for debuts and lineup returns. Last year’s tournament featured the return of Life national champ Brandon Orum, while a number of talented transfers made their debuts at new schools. 

While this weekend’s rosters have yet to be released, we know at least one past national champion who will be returning to his team’s dual lineup at the National Duals. 

Who will debut this weekend? Who will have breakout performances? Which teams will outwrestle their seeds? 

There’s one way to find out: Tune in live on FloWrestling!