Fire Finish Second, Qualify 10 For Nationals at AAC Championship

MARIETTA, Ga. – The Fire took away more than their fair share of hardware Saturday. Southeastern University saw Kael Brisker, Anthony Federico, and Gage Braun capture individual titles, while the Fire earned second in the team standings of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Wrestling Championship, hosted by Life University.

The three SEU champions (Brisker at 141, Federico at 165, and Braun at 285) make up the most AAC individual titles the program has won in their time in the conference. The wins came via a tech fall, two major decisions and three decision wins. The three champs were joined by Aaron Lucio (133), Mario De La Torre (149), and Gentry Smith (197), who wrestled their way to second places, while both Andrew Voiles (133) and Drew Jones (141) garnered third place finishes.
 

As a team, SEU saw 11 of its 12 Championship competitors finish within the Top 6 of each of their weight classes. After holding an edge in the top spot on the first day, the Fire slipped down to second place with 184 team points. SEU wrestlers were a combined 15-8 on Saturday and 38-11 for the tournament, a .776 winning percentage.

NAIA second-ranked Life University pushed to the top for the team title with 210.0 points, while Reinhardt University was third at 155.0 points.

Starting at 133, Brisker completed a perfect 4-0 run with a pair of major decision victories after he had two tech falls on Friday. In the semis, the senior outscored Reinhardt's Garrett Pace, 7-1, in the second period with a pair of takedowns and went on for the 14-6 major. Against No. 8 Thomas Williams from St. Thomas in the title bout, No. 4 Brisker never trailed. Brisker took down Williams 1:32 into the match, before he turned a 3-2 lead into a decisive, 10-2, margin with another takedown and 4-point near fall with only a minute left in the final period on the way to an 11-3 victory.

At 165, No. 6-ranked Federico had to go through a pair of ranked foes for his championship. After a scoreless semifinal opening period, the Fire wrestler escaped in the second in 17 seconds. Tied at 1-1 in the third, Federico secured his final spot with a takedown with 41 seconds left and an eventual 4-2 decision. For the title tilt, Federico registered a takedown 22 seconds into the match and added a second in the middle period for a 6-3 edge over No. 23 Angel Hernandez of Keiser. Federico reversed his foe right away in the third and rode it to the 9-6 decision win for the title.

In the heavyweight division, No. 2 ranked Gage Braun continued to dominate on his way to the title. The grad student put up two in the first and another in the second with a 4-point near fall for a commanding 15-1 lead over St. Thomas' Ralph Riche, before a final takedown in the third for the 18-1 tech fall result in 5:37. Like Federico, Braun never trailed in his championship match against No. 5-ranked Earnest Johnson of Life. Braun took Johnson down in each of the first two periods for a 6-2 lead and outscored his opponent, 7-3, in the final two minutes for the 12-5 decision.

Lucio, De La Torre, and Smith all reached their Championship matches and came up short.

Beginning with Lucio, the Fire sophomore opened the day against fellow sophomore teammate Andrew Voiles. They battled to a scoreless first period before Lucio recorded the lone takedown with 1:12 left in the second of what would be a 3-2 tight decision win for him. Lucio opened the Championship match with a takedown early, but No. 3 ranked Thaddeus Long of Life took over in the second by a 9-0 margin and added a final takedown in the third frame for the 13-4 major decision.

Coming on in the late season, De La Torre started his Saturday with an upset of No. 9 Devin Griffen from Reinhardt in the 149 bracket. With only 39 seconds left in the first, De La Torre took down Griffen and had a second one with 55 seconds in the second for a 5-3 lead. The two battled without another point in the third period for the Fire wrestler to advance. No. 15 Bret Minor of Life grabbed control early of the title match with 13 points in the first period on his way to a 16-1 tech fall in 3:50.

As was the case in 133, No. 12 Smith started his day in the semifinals against his teammate, No. 14 Trillyon Fils-Aime. Tied at 1-1 in the third, Smith won on a decision with a takedown in the final seconds of the 4-1 final. No. 5 Khalil Abdushshakur from Life rode two first-period takedowns to an eventual 10-2 major decision over Smith in the Championship match.

Back to 133, Voiles did not let his 3-2 close loss to Lucio stop him. The second-year SEU wrestler claimed his spot at Nationals with an 11-2 major decision in the consolation semifinal over St. Thomas' Jordan Escarra. No. 17 ranked Voiles left no doubt in the third place bout against St. Andrews' Ayden Rader. Voiles took down Rader three times in the second period and ended the match in 6:16 with a 20-5 tech fall.

Turning back to the 141-bracket, SEU freshman Jones was outscored with the only four points of a 4-0 decision loss to No. 8 Thomas Williams of St. Thomas. Jones rebounded nicely by jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first of a 12-4 major decision in the consolation semifinal over St. Andrews' David Coptsias. Jones rode the momentum into a quick fall over Reinhardt's Garrett Pace in only 1:08 in the third place matchup and secured his national spot.

No. 14 ranked Fils-Aime rebounded from his loss to Smith with a dominant fall over No. 20 ranked Jeff McCauley of Keiser in only 1:16. The SEU junior suffered a tough upset in the third place match, after he had an early 3-0 lead, by a 15-7 major decision for fourth place.

Trace Braun battled back in the 174-pound weight class consolations where he fell in the semifinal by a 16-10 decision to Life's Alexandre Couto. Braun secured fifth place by rushing Brewton-Parker's Sean Hudson in quick fashion of a 53-second fall.

No. 11 ranked Chris Kelly fell in a close 4-2 decision to Life's No. 15 Bret Minor in the final 58 seconds of the semifinals. Kelly had two more tough outcomes against ranked foes in an 8-0 major decision to Life's No. 19 Pat Gould in the consolation semifinal and an 8-1 decision to Reinhardt's No. 9 Devin Griffen at the fifth place meeting.

SEU has 10 wrestlers who have punched their ticket to the NAIA National Championships in Wichita, Kansas. Aaron Lucio, Andrew Voiles, Kael Brisker, Drew Jones, Kael Brisker, Mario De La Torre, Anthony Federico, Trace Braun, Trillyon Fils-Aime, Gentry Smith, and Gage Braun will all compete in the tournament March 6-8. 


Chris Kelly, and Graham Calhoun will have await the wild card selection this week to see if they make it.

133

Aaron Lucio (24-6) placed 2nd and scored 16.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Aaron Lucio (Southeastern University) 24-6 won by fall over Issac Hall (Truett McConnell University) 0-2 (Fall 2:37)

• Quarterfinal - Aaron Lucio (Southeastern University) 24-6 won by tech fall over Grady Bryant (St. Thomas University) 1-2 (TF-1.5 5:00 (20-3))

• Semifinal - Aaron Lucio (Southeastern University) 24-6 won by decision over Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 (Dec 3-2)

• 1st Place Match - Thaddeus Long (Life University) 25-2 won by major decision over Aaron Lucio (Southeastern University) 24-6 (MD 13-4)

133

Andrew Voiles (11-4) placed 3rd and scored 17.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 won by fall over Amon Ellis (St. Andrews University) 3-15 (Fall 1:38)

• Quarterfinal - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 won by tech fall over Trevon Hawkins-Robertson (Keiser University) 0-2 (TF-1.5 3:22 (20-4))

• Semifinal - Aaron Lucio (Southeastern University) 24-6 won by decision over Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 (Dec 3-2)

• Cons. Semi - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 won by major decision over Jordan Escarra (St. Thomas University) 4-2 (MD 11-2)

• 3rd Place Match - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern University) 11-4 won by tech fall over ayden rader (St. Andrews University) 10-5 (TF-1.5 6:16 (20-5))

141

Drew Jones (22-12) placed 3rd and scored 14.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Drew Jones (Southeastern University) 22-12 received a bye () (Bye)

• Quarterfinal - Drew Jones (Southeastern University) 22-12 won by decision over Blake Walker (Brewton-Parker College) 1-2 (Dec 9-5)

• Semifinal - Thomas Williams (St. Thomas University) 3-1 won by decision over Drew Jones (Southeastern University) 22-12 (Dec 4-0)

• Cons. Semi - Drew Jones (Southeastern University) 22-12 won by major decision over David Coptsias (St. Andrews University) 24-14 (MD 12-4)

• 3rd Place Match - Drew Jones (Southeastern University) 22-12 won by fall over Garrett Pace (Reinhardt University) 2-2 (Fall 1:08)

141

Kael Brisker (11-1) placed 1st and scored 20.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Kael Brisker (Southeastern University) 11-1 won by tech fall over Lane Wishart (St. Thomas University) 0-2 (TF-1.5 2:20 (21-6))

• Quarterfinal - Kael Brisker (Southeastern University) 11-1 won by tech fall over Josiah Fernandez (Keiser University) 1-2 (TF-1.5 3:45 (20-4))

• Semifinal - Kael Brisker (Southeastern University) 11-1 won by major decision over Garrett Pace (Reinhardt University) 2-2 (MD 14-6)

• 1st Place Match - Kael Brisker (Southeastern University) 11-1 won by major decision over Thomas Williams (St. Thomas University) 3-1 (MD 11-3)

149

Chris Kelly (14-8) placed 6th and scored 8.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Chris Kelly (Southeastern University) 14-8 won by decision over Joaquin Tanabe (Keiser University) 0-2 (Dec 7-4)

• Quarterfinal - Chris Kelly (Southeastern University) 14-8 won by fall over CJ Shadinger (Reinhardt University) 2-2 (Fall 2:37)

• Semifinal - Bret Minor (Life University) 10-4 won by decision over Chris Kelly (Southeastern University) 14-8 (Dec 4-2)

• Cons. Semi - Pat Gould (Life University) 12-2 won by major decision over Chris Kelly (Southeastern University) 14-8 (MD 8-0)

• 5th Place Match - Devin Griffen (Reinhardt University) 3-2 won by decision over Chris Kelly (Southeastern University) 14-8 (Dec 8-1)

149

Mario De La Torre (20-9) placed 2nd and scored 17.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Mario De La Torre (Southeastern University) 20-9 won by fall over Blaze Garcia (Keiser University) 1-2 (Fall 3:26)

• Quarterfinal - Mario De La Torre (Southeastern University) 20-9 won by fall over Pat Gould (Life University) 12-2 (Fall 2:13)

• Semifinal - Mario De La Torre (Southeastern University) 20-9 won by decision over Devin Griffen (Reinhardt University) 3-2 (Dec 5-3)

• 1st Place Match - Bret Minor (Life University) 10-4 won by tech fall over Mario De La Torre (Southeastern University) 20-9 (TF-1.5 3:50 (16-1))

165

Anthony Federico (12-1) placed 1st and scored 16.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Federico (Southeastern University) 12-1 received a bye () (Bye)

• Quarterfinal - Anthony Federico (Southeastern University) 12-1 won by tech fall over Shemar Barthelus (St. Thomas University) 1-2 (TF-1.5 2:32 (18-3))

• Semifinal - Anthony Federico (Southeastern University) 12-1 won by decision over Reese Jones (Life University) 18-8 (Dec 4-2)

• 1st Place Match - Anthony Federico (Southeastern University) 12-1 won by decision over Angel Hernandez (Keiser University) 3-1 (Dec 9-6)

174

Trace Braun (16-3) placed 5th and scored 16.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 received a bye () (Bye)

• Champ. Round 2 - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 won by tech fall over Josh Mojica-Smith (Montreat College) 1-2 (TF-1.5 1:50 (15-0))

• Quarterfinal - Tre Morrisette (Life University) 18-3 won by decision over Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 (Dec 15-12)

• Cons. Round 4 - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 won by fall over Ryan Turney (West Virginia University Institute Of Technology) 16-12 (Fall 1:54)

• Cons. Round 5 - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 won by medical forfeit over Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 (M. For.)

• Cons. Semi - Alexander Couto (Life University) 18-7 won by decision over Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 (Dec 16-10)

• 5th Place Match - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 won by fall over Sean Houston (Brewton-Parker College) 2-3 (Fall 0:53)

174

Graham Calhoun (12-3) place is unknown and scored 6.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 received a bye () (Bye)

• Champ. Round 2 - Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 won by fall over Viliam Piekh (Keiser University) 1-2 (Fall 3:33)

• Quarterfinal - Sean Houston (Brewton-Parker College) 2-3 won by decision over Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 (Dec 3-2)

• Cons. Round 4 - Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 won by fall over Jesus Grijalva (Brewton-Parker College) 1-2 (Fall 1:50)

• Cons. Round 5 - Trace Braun (Southeastern University) 16-3 won by medical forfeit over Graham Calhoun (Southeastern University) 12-3 (M. For.)

197

Trillyon Fils-Aime (11-6) placed 4th and scored 15.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 won by fall over Keondre Bonner (Montreat College) 0-2 (Fall 4:41)

• Quarterfinal - Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 won by fall over Elijah Hester (Truett McConnell University) 0-2 (Fall 4:02)

• Semifinal - Gentry Smith (Southeastern University) 15-6 won by decision over Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 (Dec 4-1)

• Cons. Semi - Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 won by fall over Jett MCcauley (Keiser University) 4-2 (Fall 1:16)

• 3rd Place Match - John Lovett (Reinhardt University) 3-1 won by major decision over Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 (MD 15-7)

197

Gentry Smith (15-6) placed 2nd and scored 17.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Gentry Smith (Southeastern University) 15-6 won by fall over Jackson Geslin (Keiser University) 0-2 (Fall 2:01)

• Quarterfinal - Gentry Smith (Southeastern University) 15-6 won by fall over Jackson Evans (West Virginia University Institute Of Technology) 5-6 (Fall 1:05)

• Semifinal - Gentry Smith (Southeastern University) 15-6 won by decision over Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern University) 11-6 (Dec 4-1)

• 1st Place Match - Khalil Abdushshakur (Life University) 8-0 won by major decision over Gentry Smith (Southeastern University) 15-6 (MD 10-2)

285

Gage Braun (10-1) placed 1st and scored 20.5 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 - Gage Braun (Southeastern University) 10-1 won by injury default over Phillip Terrell (Truett McConnell University) 4-1 (Inj. 0:00)

• Quarterfinal - Gage Braun (Southeastern University) 10-1 won by fall over John Arellano (Brewton-Parker College) 0-2 (Fall 1:19)

• Semifinal - Gage Braun (Southeastern University) 10-1 won by tech fall over Ralph Riche (St. Thomas University) 2-2 (TF-1.5 5:37 (18-1))

• 1st Place Match - Gage Braun (Southeastern University) 10-1 won by decision over Earnest Johnson (Life University) 18-4 (Dec 12-5)