MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No. 3 Southeastern closed the opening day of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships in second place Friday at the Fernandez Family Center, totaling 93.5 team points.
No. 2 Life leads the tournament with 101 points, followed by the Fire. Reinhardt (61), No. 20 Keiser (59.5), and St. Thomas (27) round out the top five. Truett McConnell (26), Brewton-Parker (22.5), Montreat (22.5), Pikeville (11.5), and West Virginia Tech (6) complete the standings.
Southeastern placed nine wrestlers into Saturday's semifinal round, powered by a strong showing in the bonus-point column.
At 133 pounds, top-ranked
Aaron Lucio recorded two technical falls. He defeated Brewton-Parker's Bryan Cates, 19-3 (4:25), and West Virginia Tech's Jeremiah Chinyere-Okiyi, 23-3 (6:28). Lucio will meet Reinhardt's Zac Bosken in the semifinals.
The Fire had two advance at 141. No. 1
Andrew Voiles secured technical falls over Reinhardt's Karmel Thompson (16-1, 4:51) and WVU Tech's Luke Carpenter (17-1, 7:00). No. 15
Drew Jones added a 4-1 decision against Keiser's Anthony Santos and an 18-1 technical fall over St. Thomas' Jerry Molina. Voiles and Jones are set to face each other in an all-SEU semifinal.
At 149, No. 1
Mario De La Torre produced a 20-4 technical fall against Truett McConnell's Tyler Garrett and pinned WVU Tech's Corbyn Cuningham in 2:02. He advances to face Reinhardt's Garrett Pace.
Southeastern's 165-pound tandem also remains active heading into Saturday. No. 5
Anthony Federico opened with back-to-back falls, pinning Montreat's Bryson McCraw (1:40) and WVU Tech's Curtis Smith (1:04). No. 9
Jovon Mitchell earned a 12-2 major decision over Truett McConnell's Nate Napolitano. Both Fire wrestlers at 165 will compete Saturday, though updated bracket details were not available at the conclusion of Friday's session.
The 174-pound bracket featured multiple key results. No. 18
Husam Mustafa defeated Montreat's Dylan Hogan (12-6), dropped a 4-1 sudden-victory decision to Brewton-Parker's Sean Houston, then rebounded with an 11-3 major decision over St. Thomas' Tehran Piza to remain in contention.
No. 7
Ty Rodriguez advanced with a 7-4 decision over Reinhardt's No. 20 Nathan Bukovich and later secured a fall against Piza (6:15). Rodriguez will face Keiser's Ronald Butler in the semifinals, while Mustafa is scheduled to meet Pikeville's Chase Price.
At 184, No. 11
August Batson earned a 12-2 major decision over Brewton-Parker's Zahquel Davis to move into the semifinals, where he will take on No. 2 Kendall Norfleet of Life.
The 197-pound bracket guarantees the Fire a finalist. No. 5
Gentry Smith advanced with a 7-3 decision over St. Thomas' Ghee Rachal, while No. 7
Kasten Grape posted two falls — pinning Reinhardt's Aaron Riner (4:29) and WVU Tech's William Stricklin (1:55). Smith and Grape will meet in Saturday's semifinal round.
At heavyweight, No. 15
Bryce Wheatley secured a 2-1 decision over No. 24 Daguy Massillon of Keiser and will face Keiser's No. 11 Jordan Sommers in the semifinals.
With multiple semifinalists and bonus points throughout the lineup, Southeastern remains positioned to challenge for the team title as action resumes Saturday in Miami Gardens.
