The name says it all. Southeastern wrestling is on Fire. 10 of 11 NAIA qualifiers return, one of which was a national champion and five others who were All Americans. Being an amateur historian of the sport, when I studied southern programs of the past, I came across a debate that coaches were having some thirty to forty years ago. Some argued that the way you built a program was through local talent, while others argued the better path was to recruit talent from the Midwest and Northeast. By looking at Southeastern's lineup & the success of their program it looks to me that the answer might be doing a little of both. They have wrestlers from Pennsylvania, Iowa and Ohio on their roster. At the same hand though they have some top notch talent home grown right there in Florida.
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| 125 lbs Isaac Crowell |
Two time NAIA All American Isaac Crowell who was 7th in 2021 and 5th last season will be looking for his third All American honor as he enters his senior season. No bigger than the Mid South Conference-South (MSCS) is with only five programs, it reflects the BIG 12 as much in competition as it does in size. With Brandon Orum of Life also making a return winning a conference title is anything but a given, but certainly possible for the Pennsylvania native. He took Orum into sudden victory in the conference finals last season.
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| 141 lbs Kael Brisker |
I'd imagine Iowa native Kael Brisker is enjoying his January and February winter months a heck of a lot more than I do. The sophomore took a 3rd place showing in the conference last season and darn near made All American status in his first appearance at the NAIA tournament.
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| 149 lbs Andreus Bond |
2021 NAIA national champion Andreus Bond settled for 4th place All American honors last season as a junior. If he wants to once again contend for the national title he's got to figure out both Indiana Tech's Nate Gates and Life's Brevin Balmaceda. Gates defeated him twice last season, one in a dual 4-2 & again in the NAIA quarterfinals 7-2. Balmaceda a transfer from Oklahoma State bested Bond in the MSCS semi-finals 1-0 & then got him again in the NAIA consolation finals this time 2-0. If Bond can figure out how to get past these two adversaries he could be looking at a second NAIA title.
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| 149 lbs Salvador Silva |
You know how tough a conference is when a guy as good as Salvador Silva places 4th. Not only did he take 5th place All American honors at the NAIA championships but he also wrestled well enough at the RENO tournament of champions to capture 5th place there as well.
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| 157 lbs Trace Braun |
Trace Braun qualified for his first NAIA appearance as a freshman last season taking a 3rd place showing at the MSCS tournament. Watching older brother Gage win the NAIA title last season gives him high aspirations to look forward to.
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| 165 lbs Wyatt Kirkham |
Senior Wyatt Kirkham made a second trip to the NAIA national tournament after qualifying in 2020. Wrestling NAIA 3rd place finisher Sid Ohl of Life to a 2-0 decision in the MSCS tournament, he will look for both a conference title as well as an All American honor in his final season.
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| 165 lbs David Rubio |
David Rubio, who because Corban's high placing All American when he took 5th place honors at the NAIA's last season has thus decided to spend the rest of his career at Southeastern. He will be a valuable asset to the Fire lineup.
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| 174 lbs Stephen Kelle |
Senior Stephen Kelle made the most of his his debut in both the MSCS as well as the NAIA tournaments. A MSCS champion, he captured 8th place at the national tournament. He'll look for another conference title and a second All American honor this season.
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| 197 lbs Trillyon Fils-Aime |
Taking runner-up honors at MSCS last season, Trillyon Fils-Aime qualified for the NAIA tournament. He'll look for another finals appearance in the conference as well as a second NAIA qualification.
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| HWT Gage Braun |
The move up to HWT from 197 lbs didn't seem to phase Gage Braun one bit as he dominated his way to a MSCS title & then tech'd or pinned his way to the NAIA finals before winning a nail biting 5-4 decision over Grand View's Greg Hagan in the finals. It's not a given by any means but the Ohio native is most certainly the odds on favorite to win the NAIA title this season as well.
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