Grand View (Iowa), under the direction of legendary coach Nick Mitchell is looking for their 12th NAIA title in 13 seasons, with the NAIA Men’s National Championships set to be held at the Park City Arena in Park City, Kansas, March 6-8. A team victory by Grand View would give the Vikings a three-peat!
Grand View comes into the national championships with the No. 1 ranking, including a dominant victory at the 2025 NWCA National Duals at University of Northern Iowa in January and a strong season. At National Duals, the Vikings had an exceptional performance, finishing the tournament with a 37-3 record across all matches, including an impressive 28 bonus-point wins. In the National Duals semifinals, Grand View shut out Southeastern, 42-0, then beat No. 2 ranked Life, 32-3, only dropping one match.
In the final NAIA men’s team rankings prior to the post-season, Grand View was at No. 1, with No. 2 Life a distant second. Rounding out the top five were No. 3 Southeastern (Fla.), No. 4 Cumberlands (Ky.) and No. 5 Embry-Riddle (Ariz).
As a result of Grand View’s performance all season, the Vikings have four grapplers seeded No. 1 at the nationals: Aden Reeves (125), Carson Taylor (141), Alex Reynolds (174) and Garavous Kouekabakilaho (197). Grand View qualified a full 12-athlete team for the NAIA Nationals, with others with high seeds including No. 3 Gabe Gonzales (125), No. 3 Cam Johnson (165), No. 4 Dylan Whitt (165) and No. 5 Jackson Cockrell (133).
In the 2024 NAIA tournament, the Vikings secured their 12th National Title, dominating the competition with 209.5 total team points, 12 All-Americans, and an overall record of 58-16. Reynolds and Kouekabakilaho were national champions last year.
Four schools will enter the national tournament with a full roster of 12 wrestlers: Grand View, Cumberlands (Ky.), Southeastern (Fla.), and Life (Ga.). Close behind, Providence (Mont.), Indiana Tech, and Doane (Neb.) will each bring 11 wrestlers, while Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) and Southern Oregon will compete with 10 athletes.
No. 2 Life University (Ga.) is led by No. 1 seed JD Perez at 184 pounds. Three Running Eagles received No. 2 seeds, Thaddeus Long (133), Tre Morrisette (174), and Earnest Johnson (285). Khalil Agcushshakur is No. 3 seed at 285, while Kendall Norfleet is No. 4 seed at 174.
Other No. 1 seeds in the tournament are Dominic Chavez of Texas Wesleyan at 133, Nicholas Yancey of Campbellsville at 149, Donald Griffin of Central Methodist at 157, Jonathan Kervin of Indiana Tech at 165 and Gage Braun of Southeastern at 285.
In addition to Reynolds and Kouekabakilaho, Hartwell Taylor of Saint Mary (the No. 2 seed at 141) is a returning national champion. 2024 NAIA runners-up in the field this year are Thaddeus Long of Grand View (No. 2 seed at 133), Evan Potter of Southern Oregon (No. 3 seed at 141), David Rubio of Corban (No. 3 seed at 157), Keller Rock of Embry-Riddle (No. 2 seed at 165), Graham Calhoun of Southeastern (No. 8 seed at 174).
Across the ten weight classes, a total of 280 wrestlers have earned the opportunity to compete for a national title and the chance to be crowned a champion in their respective divisions.
Sessions 1-5 will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.
The Championship Finals are live on the NAIA Network and on NAIA Channel on UEN. Click to watch finals.
NAIA MEN’S NATIONALS
At Park City, Kansas
Event Schedule
Thursday, March 6
11:00 a.m. – Session I – 1st Round, 1st Round (Consolation)
5:45 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies
6:00 p.m. – Session II – 2nd Round (Championship), 2nd Round (Consolation)
Friday, March 7
11:00 a.m. – Session III – Championship Quarterfinals, 3rd Round (Consolation)
5:15 p.m. – Parade of Scholar Athletes
6:00 p.m. – Session IV – Championship Semifinals, 4th Round Consolation (All-American round), Consolation Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 8
11:00 a.m. – Session V – Consolation Semifinals, 3rd, 5th, 7th Place Placement Matches
6:30 p.m. – Parade of All-Americans
7:00 p.m. – Championship Finals
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