Park City, Kan. – The Fire came out of the gate strong. Southeastern University advanced six wrestlers to the quarterfinals and sit in second in the team standings after the opening day NAIA Wrestling National Championship.
Behind 21 victories in their 28 matches, SEU saw half of its wrestlers – Aaron Lucio (133), Kael Brisker (141), Mario De La Torre (149), Anthony Federico (165), Gentry Smith (197), and Gage Braun (285) – qualify for Friday's quarterfinal round with a combined 11-0 record.
With 11 of its 12 team members still alive, the Fire put 37 team points up and hold second place overall. No. 1 ranked Grand View is 14 points ahead of SEU in first with 51.0 points. Right behind SEU, Life University (34.5) and the University of Providence (33.0) are third and fourth.
The National Championship second day returns with a 11 a.m. EST start time at the Hartman Arena. The quarterfinals and consolation round 3 begin the morning, with the semifinals and further consolation rounds taking place in the evening session.
Every Fire wrestler won at least one match, and five others – Andrew Voiles (133), Chris Kelly (149), Graham Calhoun (174), Trace Braun (174), and Trillyon Fils-Aime (197) – will begin in the consolation round three.
285
SEU's lone top-ranked wrestler, Gage Braun, showed why. In the first round, Braun took down Indiana Tech's Braydon Erb in only 12 seconds into the bout, went out to a 9-3 lead after one period, and registered the fall in 4:02. For the second round, the Fire heavyweight had his way, as well, with No. 16 Darrian Hoobery of Eastern Oregon. Braun quickly led 7-0, added another seven points in the second frame, and finished the tech fall (17-1) at 6:00.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
285 – No. 1 Gage Braun (SEU) vs. No. 8 Koen Mattern (Hastings)
133
Down to the 133 bracket, Lucio outscored his two foes by a 26-9 combined margin. He first led 12-2 behind two takedowns in each of the first two periods and finished with a 13-2 major decision over Arizona Christian's Jason Ramirez. Lucio advanced to the quarterfinals when he scored two takedowns in the final 1:52 of the first period, but it wasn't until he secured the most important takedown with 43 seconds to seal his 13-7 decision win over No. 13 Daryl Mills of Missouri Baptist.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
133 – No. 4 Aaron Lucio (SEU) vs. No. 5 Jackson Cockrell (Grand View)
141
No. 4-ranked Brisker started fast with an 11-point first period against Embry-Riddle's Christian Lopez and rode the effort to a 15-4 major decision. The win setup a battle against former SEU teammate of No. 13 Adrian Ayala of Lindsey Wilson. Each wrestler had an escape, one in the second and the other in the third, for a 1-1 tie. In overtime, Brisker earned the 2-1 tiebreaker with an escape with 30 seconds left and advanced.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
141 – No. 4 Kael Brisker (SEU) vs. No. 5 Cade Manion (Oklahoma City)
165
No 5 Federico, like Lucio, outscored his two opponents by a wide margin of 31-9. Federico started with a 6-1 first-period lead and kept the momentum into the second for a 21-5 tech fall with his third takedown and a near fall mixed in late in the second frame over Simpson's William Schwertscharf. Federico then took down Missouri Valley's Brandon Parks with 53 seconds in the first period and never trailed on his way to a 10-4 decision.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
165 – No. 5 Anthony Federico (SEU) vs. No. 4 Dylan Whitt (Grand View)
197
No. 11-seed Gentry Smith opened with a comfortable opening match of a 13-2 major decision over Providence's Caleb Werner. Smith, though, worked hard for the upset of No. 6 seed Trayvonne Jackson of Grand View in Round 2. Smith escaped 20 seconds into period number two and took him down at 1:01 before he held on for the 4-2 upset.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
197 – No. 11 Gentry Smith (SEU) vs. No. 3 Khalil Abdushshakur (Life)
149
No. 13 seed Mario De La Torre made the most of his lone match. After a first round bye, De La Torre did not give up a point in his 5-0 shutout decision over Simpson's Tyler Diaz. The Fire wrestler registered the lone takedown at 1:57 in the first period.
Quarterfinal Matchup:
149 – No. 13 Mario De La Torre (SEU) vs. No. 5 Victor Guzman (Cumberland Univ.)
Consolation SEU Wrestlers
133
Unseeded Voiles recorded the biggest win of the first round and set the tone for his day. Voiles trailed 2-0 and switched momentum into a pin at 4:48 of the second period over No. 6 seed Chandlar Akins of University of the Cumberlands. In the second round, No. 11 Izaeah Beavers of Campbellsville defeated Voiles by fall (4:54). The SEU wrestler battled back with a sound tech fall via an 18-2 score over Graceland's Nick Foster to continue into the consolation round 3.
Consolation Round 3 Matchup:
133 – Andrew Voiles (SEU) vs. No. 14 Roman De La Cruz (Saint Mary)
149
Unseeded Chris Kelly fell short against the tough No. 2 Nathan Lendt of Doane in a 15-0 First Round tech fall. Kelly, though, proved to be a tough competitor as he rebounded for a 14-2 major decision over Dickinson State's William Sprenger off the strength of a 10-point first period. The Fire grappler stayed alive with a match-deciding takedown with 12 seconds left for the 4-2 upset of No. 16 Jalen Vladic of Providence.
Consolation Round 3 Matchup:
149 – Chris Kelly (SEU) vs. No. 9 Bret Minor (Life)
174
No 8 Graham Calhoun and No. 15 Trace Braun see their paths on a collision course. Braun took only 4:22 in the second period to pin Saint Mary's Nolan Saale. No. 2 seed Tre Morrisette of Life broke a 1-1 tie in the middle of the third period with a takedown and edged Braun by a 7-6 decision. Braun posted a 17-1 tech fall over St. Thomas' Jevion Ross to continue into Friday.
Calhoun saw his 4-0 lead in the mid-second period be chipped away and then surpassed by a point, 6-5, for the tough decision loss to Texas Wesleyan's Johnathan Ward. No. 8 Calhoun rallied with a dominating 16-1 tech fall over Morningside's Alex Vandyke in the consolations. Calhoun extended his season's wrestling where he turned a 4-1 deficit against No. 10 Dylan Preston (Cumberlands) into a 5-4 decision win with the winning takedown with 28 seconds left in the match.
Consolation Round 3 Matchup:
174 – No. 8 Graham Calhoun (SEU) vs. No. 15 Trace Braun (SEU)
197
No. 15 Fils-Aime completes the five SEU wrestlers in the consolation round 3 of Friday after his 1-1 day. Following a first round bye, Fils-Aime could not have wrestled No. 2 Brad Antesberger of Doane tougher as the higher seeded foe reversed him at 1:25 in the second period for the lone points of the bout and 2-0 final. Fils-Aime, though, stayed alive with an 8-0 major shutout of No. 16 Eric Karas of Eastern Oregon with the key takedown coming with 43 seconds left in the second frame.
Consolation Round 3 Matchup:
197– No. 15 Trillyon Fils-Aime (SEU) vs. No. 7 Elijah Hynes (Missouri Valley)
141
Unseeded Drew Jones started solidly as he took down No. 15 Gage Hudson of Cumberlands with 19 seconds left in overtime for the 4-1 sudden victory win. Jones gave No. 2 Hartwell Taylor (Saint Mary) all he could in a 4-2 decision loss. Cole McKinley of Lourdes finished Jones run in the consolation Second Round in a fall.
2025 NAIA National Championships Results for Southeastern
NAIA 133
4 Aaron Lucio's place is unknown and has scored 3.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 4 Aaron Lucio (Southeastern) won by major decision over Jason Ramirez (Arizona Christian) (Maj 13-2)
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Champ. Round 2 - 4 Aaron Lucio (Southeastern) won by decision over 13 Daryl Mills (Missouri Baptist) (Dec 13-7)
NAIA 133
Andrew Voiles's place is unknown and has scored 5.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern) won by fall over 6 Chandlar Akins (Cumberlands) (Fall 4:48)
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Champ. Round 2 - 11 Izaeah Beavers (Campbellsville) won by fall over Andrew Voiles (Southeastern) (Fall 4:54)
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Cons. Round 2 - Andrew Voiles (Southeastern) won by tech fall over Nick Foster (Graceland) (TF 18-2)
NAIA 141
4 Kael Brisker's place is unknown and has scored 3.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 4 Kael Brisker (Southeastern) won by major decision over Christian Lopez (Embry-Riddle) (Maj 15-4)
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Champ. Round 2 - 4 Kael Brisker (Southeastern) won in tie breaker - 1 over 13 Adrian Ayala (Lindsey Wilson) (TB-1 2-1)
NAIA 141
Drew Jones's place is unknown and has scored 1.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - Drew Jones (Southeastern) won in sudden victory - 1 over 15 Gage Hudson (Cumberlands) (SV-1 4-1)
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Champ. Round 2 - 2 Hartwell Taylor (Saint Mary) won by decision over Drew Jones (Southeastern) (Dec 4-2)
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Cons. Round 2 - Cole McKinley (Lourdes) won by fall over Drew Jones (Southeastern) (Fall 3:58)
NAIA 149
13 Mario De La Torre's place is unknown and has scored 2.0 team points.
NAIA 149
Chris Kelly's place is unknown and has scored 2.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 2 Nathan Lendt (Doane) won by tech fall over Chris Kelly (Southeastern) (TF 15-0)
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Cons. Round 1 - Chris Kelly (Southeastern) won by major decision over William Sprenger (Dickinson State) (Maj 14-2)
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Cons. Round 2 - Chris Kelly (Southeastern) won by decision over 16 Jalen Vladic (Providence) (Dec 4-2)
NAIA 165
5 Anthony Federico's place is unknown and has scored 3.5 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 5 Anthony Federico (Southeastern) won by tech fall over William Schwertscharf (Simpson) (TF 21-5)
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Champ. Round 2 - 5 Anthony Federico (Southeastern) won by decision over Brenden Parks (Missouri Valley) (Dec 10-4)
NAIA 174
15 Trace Braun's place is unknown and has scored 5.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 15 Trace Braun (Southeastern) won by fall over Nolan Saale (Saint Mary) (Fall 4:22)
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Champ. Round 2 - 2 Tre Morrisette (Life) won by decision over 15 Trace Braun (Southeastern) (Dec 7-6)
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Cons. Round 2 - 15 Trace Braun (Southeastern) won by tech fall over Jevion Ross (St. Thomas) (TF 17-1)
NAIA 174
8 Graham Calhoun's place is unknown and has scored 2.5 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - Johnathan Ward (Texas Wesleyan) won by decision over 8 Graham Calhoun (Southeastern) (Dec 6-5)
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Cons. Round 1 - 8 Graham Calhoun (Southeastern) won by tech fall over Alex Vandyke (Morningside) (TF 16-1)
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Cons. Round 2 - 8 Graham Calhoun (Southeastern) won by decision over 10 Dylan Preston (Cumberlands) (Dec 5-4)
NAIA 197
15 Trillyon Fils-Aime's place is unknown and has scored 1.5 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 15 Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern) received a bye () (Bye)
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Champ. Round 2 - 2 Brad Antesberger (Doane) won by decision over 15 Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern) (Dec 2-0)
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Cons. Round 2 - 15 Trillyon Fils-Aime (Southeastern) won by major decision over 16 Eric Karas (Eastern Oregon) (Maj 8-0)
NAIA 197
11 Gentry Smith's place is unknown and has scored 3.0 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 11 Gentry Smith (Southeastern) won by major decision over Caleb Werner (Providence) (Maj 13-2)
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Champ. Round 2 - 11 Gentry Smith (Southeastern) won by decision over 6 Trayvonne Jackson (Grand View) (Dec 4-2)
NAIA 285
1 Gage Braun's place is unknown and has scored 5.5 team points.
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Champ. Round 1 - 1 Gage Braun (Southeastern) won by fall over Braydon Erb (Indiana Tech) (Fall 4:02)
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Champ. Round 2 - 1 Gage Braun (Southeastern) won by tech fall over 16 Darrian Hoobery (Eastern Oregon) (TF 17-1)
