One of the toughest qualifiers in the NAIA, the Appalachian Athletic Conference has allotted 38 qualification spots for the national tournament. Among the talent 6 All Americans from last season & 4 others who were R12. Going to be a tough tournament.
This year's championships are hosted by #2 Life, with #3 Southeastern right on their tail in hunt for the team title. #12 Reinhardt, along with many other teams will also be in competition.
 |
| 125 |
An AAC runner-up last season, Angel Banda looks to try and trade in silver for gold this weekend as the experienced one will have his toughest competition coming from rookie teammate Lee Camp. Camp actually finished ahead of Banda at the Oppenheim Invitational & Camp also took 2nd place honors at the Patriot Open. Also in this bracket will be a tough Conner Hueck of St Thomas 6th at the Missouri Valley Invitational, who is looking to improve upon the 4th place finish he had last year.
 |
| 133 |
Tough bracket that returns two All Americans from last season. Thaddeus long is the returning AAC champion & the returning NAIA national finalist. Aaron Lucio is currently quite a few places ahead of Andrew Voiles, but despite, keep in mind Voiles was runner-up here last year & 7th in the NAIA nation. When on the line, some guys turn it on at the right time.
 |
| 141 |
I'm currently only 35 minutes from where Kael Brisker went to High school, but I tell you, looking outside at a pile of snow in 27 degree weather, I sure wish I was 35 minutes from where he's currently going to college instead! I've been following him for quite sometime, & I'm anxious to see how he does in his final post season. He was a runner-up here last year & 4th in the NAIA nation.
Also anxious to see how Thomas Williams ends up doing. The AAC historically has not been good to the Bobcat. He was 7th here two seasons ago & 5th here last year. An NAIA R12'er in '24, Williams recently placed 6th at the prestigious Missouri Valley Invitational.
Drew Jones a tough sophomore out of Mountain View high in Oregon, is the top candidate for that 3rd place slot & final qualification spot in this bracket. I don't think it is a shoe-in though. While Kael Brisker majored Garrett Pace earlier this season, I think Pace gives Jones a better match. I haven't seen many "stealers" as I like to call them, but I know throughout these qualifiers, we'll have plenty of theft. Pace strikes me as one who might steal a spot here.
 |
| 149 |
Sometimes you can just sense chaos and this is one of those times for me. I think 149 lbs in the AAC is going to be absolute pandemonium, and I do not expect seeds to hold. Devin Griffin, a tough wrestler out of Nevada has earned his high ranking & his probable *1 seed, but has he got a road ahead of him if he wants to bring home AAC gold. Chris Kelly was a runner-up here last year & one match shy of being an NAIA All American last year. Add in two Runnin' Eagles, also starved, talons sharpened, ready to rip & shred the competition. Brett Minor himself was one match shy of being an NAIA All American last season, and Pat Gould is a very interesting story. 4th in the NAIA nation in 2023, he started off '23-'24 ranked #1 & then showed us that perhaps he has a career in magic post his collegiate wrestling career, because he D-I-S-A-P-P-E-A-R-E-D! Now he's back, and I have a feeling he's going to show us magic of another kind this weekend & again at the NAIA national tournament. In other words, I say he's better than his #19 ranking. I say he's better than the probable *4 seed he'll receive, and I say he proves it.
Also in this bracket will be a tough Mario De La Torre, a CCCAA runner-up who traveled 2,509 miles across country to compete for the Fire.
157
Only the finalists advance here at 157 lbs. Fabian Padilla a three-time New Mexico high school state finalist, who shined in the NJCAA ranks for Iowa Western is our forerunner for a championship title. Considering that he tech'd Aushaud Evans 17-2 in dual two weeks ago, I'd say he looks pretty good on the over/under. For good measure, he also defeated Evans for 3rd place at the Patriot Open.
 |
| 165 |
Now here's a tough bracket. Semis, Finals, consolation finals, we're going to see some really good wrestling at 165 lbs. R12 in the NAIA nation last season, thus far Matt Jenkins has been 3rd & 2nd in the AAC. He'll have as tough of a road as will anyone if he wants to walk out of here champion this weekend. Among his competition will be Tony Federico, a grad student who between Fresno State & Illinois, spent the bulk of his collegiate career competing in NCAA DI. He was 6th at the Missouri Valley Invitational earlier this year. Steve Villalobos was the AAC champion last year & 4th in the NAIA nation. You know good & well he's gunning for another gold medal this weekend. To top things off in a bracket that will be taking the top six to nationals, we also have Reese Jones, Nathan Napolitano & Angel Hernandez all in competition as well.
 |
| 174 |
Another tough weight class, that is rather interesting for a variety of reasons. Kris Ketchem was a standout NJCAA wrestler for Nassau the past few seasons, capturing 3rd & 2nd place finishes in the community college national championships. He's been every bit as successful thus far in the NAIA, including winning a very competitive Missouri Valley Invitational earlier this season. His top challenger here in the AAC, will be a Graham Calhoun, who had a very unusual season last year. Starting off competing for Wisconsin, he transferred mid-season to Southeastern. 3rd in the AAC, he made it to the finals of the NAIA championships. Also in this bracket, is a tough Alex Couto, who spent a majority of last season as a backup to the talent Life already had at 174, thus proving how deep the Runnin' Eagles are in each weight class. Trace Braun, a returning All American of 7th place from last season, & Jevian Ross, another NJCAA standout who competed for Triton. He was 7th at the Missouri Valley Invitational himself.
 |
| 184 |
1st-2nd-1st within the KCAC, J.D. Perez is now in the AAC looking for gold of another conference. The former Brave, now Runnin' Eagle has also been 5th-6th-3rd in the NAIA nation, and will look to become a four time All American. This could very well end up an all Life final, as our other probable finalist, is fellow Eagle Kendall Norfleet. Brother of Arizona State four-time PAC-12 champion, Kordell Norfleet, Kendall won the Patriot Open earlier this season. Look for Zahquel Davis, a tough freshman for Brewton Parker to take home the bronze.
 |
| 197 |
Another super tough weight class that will allot six wrestlers to the NAIA championships. Leading the pack, Khalil Abdush-Shakur, a skilled wrestler in multiple styles who won the Patriot Open earlier this season. Another possibility created for an all Eagle final, as Tre Morrisette returns having earned AAC runner-up honors last season. No guarantee though, as we have a lot of new and young talent hungry for that spot.
 |
| HWT |
Life (literally this time) can be full of many surprises. Sometimes those surprises can be very good. When 2022 NAIA champ Gage Braun failed to place at the 2023 NAIA championships, I was heartbroken for the Fire. Hate seeing things end in a disappointing fashion like that. When I saw his name pop up in the results earlier in '24-'25, I was shocked. I'm still not sure how in the world he has eligibility left, but he does. This weekend he'll be going for an AAC title, ironically enough, against another wrestler who seemed to vanish, then reappear out of nowhere, Earnest Johnson. 7th in the NAIA a few years ago himself, competing for Keiser, he now competes for Life (the school this time) looking for another All American honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment