If the Heart of America isn't the toughest conference in all of NAIA wrestling, it sure makes one heck of a case. Highly ranked wrestlers in each weight class, the wrestling from the very start of the tournament is going to be good. Quarters, semis, finals, we're going to see some very good wrestling this weekend & furthermore, when it is all said & done, there will be some very good wrestlers looking to rely on wildcards in order to call themselves NAIA national qualifiers. This is going to be good. REAL Good.
#2 Grand View
# 10 Missouri Valley
#15 Central Methodist
Then an assortment of teams that have continuously received votes throughout '25-'26, as they continue to climb the rankings ladder. To think, I'm constantly on Clarke, Culver-Stockton & Mount Mercy to add wrestling programs at their schools!
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| 125 |
As they will at nearly all of the weight classes, Grand View will have the top seed here at 125 lbs. The former North Idaho standout that was 7th & 3rd in the past two NJCAA championships, is looking to earn his first NAIA All-American honor this season. Here to challenge him at the HOA, will be Haden Hernandez. Am I predicting a GVU Viking Vs a M.V. Viking final? You bet I am. Hernandez was an HOA champion last year, one match shy of being an All American. Thus far this year he's taken 2nd at both the Dan Harris Open & the Missouri Valley Invitational.
4th & 5th at last year's HOA, Robert Albert & Sauol Prado look to duke it out for bronze, although I will mention that Prado was the Dan Harris Open champion earlier this season. Albert took 7th at the Missouri Valley Invitational.
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| 133 |
A runner-up in the HOA & a runner-up at the NAIA national tournament last season, Gabe Gonzales is also a RENO tournament of champions. Sometimes you gotta call it like you see it & I don't think anyone comes close to even remotely touching this kid this weekend. We talk a lot in wrestling about being a complete wrestler & Gabe Gonzales is a complete wrestler. On his feet, he can take anyone down. On top, he can turn anyone. On bottom, not a sole that can keep him from getting out. Pro wrestling had its Total Package in Lex Luger. NAIA wrestling has its in Gabe Gonzales.
As to the rest of the weight class? Fun, a lot of fun. Tuvshinjargal Zuunbayan (and no I will not be trying to pronounce that) showed us his immense talent & still by taking a very pressive 3rd at the Missouri Valley Invitational. Not far behind him in 4th place at the Missouri Valley Invitational was Braden Werdehausen, who was also 3rd at the Drury Open. Then we have Geno Cardenas, who holy cow, has shown us at various times this season Coach McElfresh picked up one heck of a recruit! Add in Aiden Serrano, a tough freshman who grew up on the same HWY 92 that I did, we have ourselves one hell of a weight class.
I guess that makes Lane Scorpil the odd man out at the moment. Trust me when I say this. The only reason, and I repeat the ONLY reason he's currently U.R. at the moment is because of injuries. In a sport that last 6 months that demands 100% of you day in and day out for nearly a 6-month season, it is so difficult to remain healthy. I'm not sure where he'll be health wise come this weekend, but I assure you if he's anywhere near 100%, everyone better be watching their backs.
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| 141 |
You want a war? You have one. This weight class is giving me anxiety. We have a five man race for the title here at 141 lbs. Here me out when I say this. Quarters, semis, finals, consolation semis, consolation finals, every one of them will be a battle.
A two-time NJCAA All-American for Clackamas back in 2020 & 2021, the Portillo brothers were really big on Marckis Branford while he competed for Lindsey Wilson. He seemed to disappear for a while, but now he's back & he is probably going to be our *1 seed here at the HOA.
If he isn't, then it's likely to be Reese Courtney. A former Campbell Camel, having an outstanding season thus far in the NAIA, winning the Missouri Valley Invitational.
Guiseppe Guerra has plans on becoming Bo Bettinson's as well as St. Ambrose's first HOA champion & there is good reason to think he can accomplish that goal this weekend. He already owns a 2-1 tiebreaker over Courtney & had a reversal not been overlooked in a dual, he might very well also own a win over Branford. Guerra was 2nd at both the Grand View Open & the Battle in the Bluegrass. 5th at the Missouri Valley Invite.
Let's also keep in mind how tough Daryl Mills can be. A runner-up at last year's SAC championships, I believe he's found the HOA to be tougher waters. It's been an up and down year for the Spartan so far. 3rd at the Falcon Invite, he won the Tom Smith Open & was 5th at the Lucha Open.
Arojae Hart in a bit of a similar situation to Mills. He has his ups and his down. 6th at last year's HOA, he certainly had a huge up in making the Missouri Valley Invitational finals earlier this season.
Perhaps I should have said a 6 man race to the title? Jazen Brown, super tough in his own right. 6th at Missouri Valley.
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| 149 |
I cannot get over the immense amount of talent the HOA has in it this season. Just loaded, absolutely loaded.
Another Grand View Viking HOA champion? Without a doubt. Elijah Larson, an HOA champion last year & an NAIA national champion last year, no one is gonna challenge him. His only losses this year have been to NCAA DI opponents.
Finals opponent? Looks to be Nik Slatoff, 3rd at last year's HOA, champion of both the Dan Harris as well as the Oppenheim open this year.
The war for bronze will be where things really get interesting. I thought Brody Brisker would make like brother Kael and finish out his collegiate career at Southeastern. Wanting to wrestle closer to home, he's now doing an outstanding job for the Statesmen. Won the Missouri Valley Invitational. His parents will have about 45 minutes longer of a drive than I will to Oskaloosa on Friday.
Brayden Eikerman, another of Coach McElfresh's super tough freshmen and we also have Georgino Moraga of St. Ambrose. NAIA rankings go to the top 25 & I can't help but think Moraga has to be 26th, 27th, somewhere extremely close. This is the kind of guy that wrestles all 7 minutes and is continuously on the attack. That could serve him very well here at the HOA. It certainly did at the Missouri Valley Invitational. Many wrestling conservatively, it was his aggressive and relentless style that earned him a top 8 finish.
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| 157 |
4th in the NJCAA for Fort Hays Northwest Tech, Bryce Boumans is yet another transfer from the community college ranks that Grand View is having a lot of success with. Thus far among his accomplishments, Boumans was the RENO runner-up. Looking forward to a likely semi-final between Brandon Bollinger & Invi Bella. Bollinger has had success at many levels of collegiate wrestling. A CCCAA champion for Victor Valley, he was also an NJCAA All-American for North Idaho College. Might as well have some success at the NAIA level right?
The awkwardness of NAIA wrestling is the whole "can send 12 wrestlers" to the national championships deal. Makes it even more awkward with a team like Grand View, that often has 20+ All American candidates on their team. Who are they going to enter this weekend? Who are they not? They can only send 12. Is Danari Heard going to be one of them? Well, 3rd at RENO, a match shy of being an All-American last year. You'd certainly think so, but then again, like I said those kind of credentials describe 95% of the Viking wrestling team.
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| 165 |
Another absolutely loaded weight class. I'm 100% positive the HOA will need a Wildcard here at this weight.
An HOA champion last year, an NAIA champion last year & a two-time RENO champion, Cam Robinson is going to add yet another gold medal to the 1,000,000 and counting already collected by the Grand View wrestling team. I'm telling you there is more gold in the trophy case in Des Moines, than there is throughout the entire state of California.
The rest of this weight class is going to be fun to see how it works out. Rankings & seedings don't always reflect outcomes & that may very well be the case here.
Dayton Hill has more than earned his status, a Missouri Valley Invitational runner-up. Kevin Olavarria, a Puerto Rican standout, champion of the Service Salute earlier this year. Then we have Xander Sederburg, another of those sneaky good Owls from Williams Woods. 8th at the Missouri Valley Invitational.
Francis Morrissey & Dylan Whitt are where things really get interesting. Morrissey in my opinion is way better than 19th in the nation. 7th & 6th NAIA All-American finishes, if he's healthy this tournament, I have a hard time seeing him finish as low as 5th (which is where I think he'll be seeded).
Gotta say the same for Dylan Whitt. If seeding reflects rankings, that means *6. 1st & 2nd at the HOA thus far, I highly doubt it. Yet Whitt had a surreal and vastly disappointing Missouri Valley Invitational this year. 1st-3rd-2nd heading into the tournament, he failed to even make the top 12. Whatever the slump and whatever the reason for it, he seems to be out of it now. Let's not forget, he was 4th in the NAIA nation a year ago.
Last but not least, Eric Hodge, who was 3rd at the Service Salute.
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| 174 |
Only the finalists will be NAIA qualifiers & I'm very confident that the finalists here will be Kris Ketchum & Roman Garcia. The reason I include the other three, is to illustrate how competitive and tough NAIA wrestling has become. These weight classes are deep, and it can be incredibly difficult to qualify for the NAIA championships, even if you are a very good wrestler.
Many are asking themselves if there is anyone this season that can upend Tate Picklo of Oklahoma City & keep him from winning an NAIA national title. IF there is a someone, that someone is Kris Ketchum. A two-time NJCAA All-American & 2nd in the NAIA nation last season for St. Thomas, he is looking to end his time in collegiate wrestling a national champion. With that said, the first thing he must do is worry about winning an HOA title. He defeated Roman Garcia earlier this season, but if you've paid attention to Roman Garcia you know he's always at his best come tournament time. The Eagle was 2nd at last year's HOA & thus far he's been 5th & 7th in the NAIA nation.
As to the other talent in this bracket? Micah Roper was 7th at the Missouri Valley Invitational. Elijah Brocksmith won the Drury Open & took 2nd at the Service Salute. Joel Campbell 4th in the AMC last season, won the Tom Smith Open.
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| 184 |
The HOA is only taking the top 2 here at 184 lbs & I'm very puzzled by that. With four ranked wrestlers in the weight class, I would have figured they would have been allotted at least four, but I guess not. Much like 174 lbs, this means some really good talent is going to have to either rely on a wildcard or face the fact that they're staying home this year.
I do predict a final between Tom Even & Austen Wetzel, I predict it to be one of the best finals of the evening. I can see Even being yet another Viking crowned HOA champion & I can see Wetzel making an historical moment by becoming Williams Woods first ever HOA champion. Even was the Missouri Valley Invitational runner-up this season, while Wetzel finished in 3rd place. Wetzel also for record, was an NCAA Division III wrestler last year, finishing one match shy of being an All-American.
Let's not count out Jackson King, who has thus far had 3rd & 2nd place finishes in the HOA. Then we also have Jack Simons & Eli Messik, 8th & R12 at the Missouri Valley Invitational respectively. Messick was also 3rd at the Dan Harris open. Lastly, it should be noted how good of a match Nik Makwala gave Tom Even in a recent dual. Even eventually locked up a headlock and won by fall, but it was very late into the match. Before that, Makwala was wrestling him very well & came close to scoring on several occasions. 2026 may not be the year for the Fighting Bee, but it is clear to tell with two more seasons of eligibility, this Fighting Bee has a bright future.
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| 197 |
Gold and silver I'm pretty sure are already spoken for here at 197 lbs. We have GK, a returning HOA as well as NAIA champion, who also won RENO earlier this year. He's very likely our gold. Then we have Mr. Personality himself, Elijah Hynes 3rd-4th-3rd in the HOA, who has more than proven various times throughout the season that he is going to make his first conference final. On top of that, come nationals he'll also be looking to become a rare four-time All-American, with finishes of 8th-5th-7th thus far.
Duking it out for 3rd will be K.J. Fry, Cam Cornman & Donivan Giangregorio. Earlier this season Cornman took 4th at the Missouri Valley Invitational, while Giangregorio, a former Oregon State Beaver took 6th.
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| HWT |
I can see HWT becoming absolute chaos. Five allocations here for the NAIA national tournament, but three others more than capable of making some noise. 2nd in the NAIA nation, with back-to-back 3rd place showings at the HOA, our favorite here is Austin Foye. Shane Cook of Grand View, having an outstanding season. Unbelievably quick, agile and flexible for someone of his size. Built like an elephant but moves like a cheetah. Randy Gonzalez a former CCCAA standout for Cerritos, having a standout year for the Vikings of Missouri Valley. A Missouri Valley Invitational champion earlier this year. Then we have Garine Gibson, a Louisiana native, 4th at the Missouri Valley Invitational this year.
As mentioned previously, you never know who Grand View will send to the qualifiers and who they won't. If they send Dmarian Lopez, ignore the fact that he's not currently ranked. He's HOA champion material. Trust me on this. 3rd & 1st in the NJCAA the past two years, GVU in my opinion has picked up another All-American, if not national champion caliber wrestler. He was 3rd at the Missouri Valley Invitational.
Amad Soufi & Oran Varela are two more super tough HWTs that could place within the top five and make a trip to the NAIA national tournament. Soufi is surprisingly good in the top position & has surprised more than one foe with his ability to turn. He gave Foye a great 5-3 match earlier this season.
As to Tyler Casey, he's a reminder of how much hatred I have for injuries. I've seen so many wrestlers over the years not have the successes they otherwise would have because of injuries. He's battled an elbow injury nearly all season & it has severely hindered his performance. Nonetheless, he shocked the NAIA wrestling world last year by making the HOA finals. Perhaps he has a bit more of that magic stored away for this weekend.
