WICHITA, Kan.—Fire wrestling went two-for-two in its first two NAIA National Championship matches in program history with a pair of unseeded wrestlers winning titles.
Sophomore
Andreus Bond won the 149-pound championship and senior
Kyle Kirkham was the 165-pound champion to help the Fire place seventh in the team standings with 60.5 points.
Just two weeks ago, Bond was pinned in the first period by Denver Stonecheck of Life, who was his opponent in the national championship. The Lakeland native wasted no time, getting a takedown at the 1:41 mark of the first period and rode out Stonecheck for the balance of the period.
To win the title, Bond defeated the No. 2, No. 10, No. 6, and No. 5 wrestlers after going 2-2 at nationals as a true freshman.
Leading 4-2 to start the third, Bond picked up three more takedowns and a riding time point for an 11-4 victory to become the first Fire wrestler at the top of the podium at the national championships.
Kirkham found a flare for the dramatic, winning his semifinal match in sudden victory and claimed the championship by scoring a takedown with just two seconds remaining for a 4-2 win. The Stuart, Fla. native needed to fend off a shot by Vanguard's Frederick Padilla in the moments before, going into the splits to keep the eighth-seeded wrestler from scoring.
Kirkham defeated the No. 10, No. 7, No. 3, and No. 8 wrestlers. The three-time national qualifier had just one win in the tournament in his two previous trips.
