A Look Back into the Title Earning Season for Fire Wrestling

LAKELAND, Fla.- Southeastern wrestling backed up their reputation as one of the top wrestling programs in the NAIA last season after earning a third-place national team finish and adding 12 national qualifiers, six All-Americans, a national runner-up and national champion all in one season.
 
As a team, the Fire concluded the season with a 13-4 dual record with half of their losses coming to No. 2 Life University and the other coming against No. 6 ranked Doane University and Division II Lander University, the eventual NCAA Division II runner-up. At home, the Fire went a perfect 10-0.
 
After entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, junior Sal Silva became the program's fourth individual national champion with a thrilling 3-1 win in sudden victory in the finals match. The junior earned his spot in the finals after defeating top-seeded Giovanni Bonilla of Grand View 4-3. Silva trailed 3-2 at the end of the second, registering a takedown right before time expired, finishing the season with 16-5 overall record.
 
Coleman Bryant came into the tournament as a 14^th-ranked underdog and pulled off a Cinderella run that earned him a national tournament runner-up title. In the semifinal match with his second career All-American nod secured, Bryant came out on top of a 2-1 battle with Grand View's Ben Lee after hitting a reversal with 26 seconds remaining to take the win. The senior dropped the finals match to fifth-seeded Asher Eichert of Life by a score of 5-2 to conclude the season with a 19-12 record.
 
Graduate student Isaac Crowell became the Fire's first three-time All-American after claiming a seventh-place national finish in the 125-pound weight class. Crowell posted a 22-8 overall record on the season and became the program's leader in career wins with 89.
 
Douglas Peppers earned All-American status after a sixth-place finish at 174 and concluded the season with a 17-8 overall record with Stephen Kelle (17-5) becoming a two-time All-American with an 8-2 decision in the placement match at 184.
 
The Fire's sixth All-American was Gabe Jacobs who claimed a third-place finish in the 285-pound weight class after going 4-1 in the national tournament and finishing his first season with the Fire with an 18-3 individual record. Jacobs also claimed Appalachian Athletic Conference and NAIA Wrestler of the Week honors in just his second tournament with the Fire after winning the Missouri Valley Invitational, downing three Top 25 ranked opponents.