MARSHALL, Mo. -- No. 3 Southeastern put together a strong championship-day performance at the Missouri Valley Invitational, crowning two champions and closing the weekend as the only team in the field with multiple first-place finishers. SEU totaled 122 points to place fourth in a tightly packed team race at Burns Athletic Center.
Day Two belonged to the Fire at the top of the podium.
Ty Rodriguez (174) delivered a poised run to the title, earning a down-to-the-wire decision victory in the semifinals, edging Marian's Anthony Rinehart 5–4 in a tense final. Rodriguez controlled ties and capitalized on key scrambles to seal SEU's first championship of the day.
Not long after, No. 7
Kasten Grape (197) put an exclamation point on his weekend. Grape defeated No. 15 Donivan Giangregorio of Dickinson State in 2:12 during the semifinals, then overwhelmed Marcus James of Georgetown with a 25–7 technical fall (6:15) in the final. The dominant showing capped a statement tournament for the nationally ranked Fire heavyweight.
SEU also collected valuable placement points across the lineup.
Jake Bucci (125) battled through a demanding bracket to finish fourth, highlighted by an 11–3 major decision over Braydon Pacheco (Friends). No. 11
Raymond Cavey (149) placed seventh, posting two hard-fought decisions to close the tournament.
Bryce Wheatley (285) added an eighth-place finish with an 8–1 decision over Concordia Nebraska's Jeremiah Vasquez.
Several Fire wrestlers were tested in tight matches against ranked and postseason-caliber opponents, gaining experience that will pay dividends down the stretch.
Joey Hutchins (141),
Ryan Bennett (157), and No. 10
Husam Mustafa (174) all faced stiff competition on Sunday as the brackets narrowed.
In the team standings, Grand View claimed the title with 132.5 points, followed closely by Missouri Valley (129) and Concordia Nebraska (124), with SEU (122) just behind in fourth and Indiana Tech (109) rounding out the top five. With two champions and depth throughout the lineup, the Fire leave Marshall with momentum.
The Fire will return to action on Thursday, January 29, traveling south to face St. Thomas in a conference dual beginning at 7 p.m. in Miami Gardens, Fla.
