PARK CITY, Kan. — Southeastern moved into contention for a strong team finish Friday at the 2026 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships inside Heartland Credit Union Arena, closing Day Two in sixth place with 69.5 team points and four All-Americans advancing to the final day of competition.
The Fire remain within striking distance of the top five in a tightly packed team race led by Grand View (163.5) and Life (130.5), with Oklahoma City, Southern Oregon, and Doane rounding out the current top five.
Southeastern's biggest moment of the day came at 133 pounds, where top-seeded
Aaron Lucio continued his dominant run to the championship finals. Lucio opened the quarterfinals with a fall over Concordia's Paul Ruff before edging Rochester Christian's Nick Alayan, 6–1, in the semifinals to secure a place in Saturday night's national title bout. Lucio will face Grand View's Gabe Gonzales in the championship match.
At 149 pounds,
Mario De La Torre rebounded after a narrow 7–2 quarterfinal loss to Campbellsville's Nik Yancey by battling through the consolation bracket. De La Torre earned an 8–4 decision over Wayland Baptist's Jaden Two Lance before pinning Cornerstone's Cole Karasinski to advance to the consolation semifinals and guarantee All-American honors.
The Fire placed two wrestlers into the 165-pound consolation semifinals, ensuring a Southeastern wrestler will compete for third place.
Anthony Federico advanced after a 7–5 quarterfinal win over Morningside's Zander Ernst before falling in the semifinals to Indiana Tech's Jonathan Kervin.
Jovon Mitchell responded after a quarterfinal loss to top-seeded Cam Robinson with back-to-back consolation wins, including a 14–2 major decision over Providence's Jalen Vladic and a 7–5 decision against Campbellsville's Jasitin Kubwimana.
At 197 pounds, Southeastern saw mixed results.
Gentry Smith advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated in the consolation rounds, while
Kasten Grape picked up a 4–2 win over Friends' Logan Davidson before dropping a tight 12–8 decision to Indiana Tech's Nathan Critchfield.
Earlier in the day at 141 pounds,
Drew Jones opened the consolation rounds with an 8–3 decision over Concordia's Steven Barnes before falling to Cumberland's Sammy Shires, ending his tournament run.
With four wrestlers still alive, Southeastern secured multiple All-American finishes heading into the final day.
Lucio will compete for a national title Saturday night, while De La Torre will wrestle Arizona Christian's Carlos Stanton in the 149-pound consolation semifinals, where a win advances to the third-place match and a loss moves to the fifth-place bout. At 165 pounds, Federico and Mitchell will face each other in the consolation semifinals, guaranteeing the Fire placements of third and fifth in the weight class.
Day Three begins Saturday at 11 a.m. CT with the consolation semifinals and placement matches before the championship finals take place during Session VI at 7 p.m. CT, following the Parade of All-Americans.
