CEDAR FALLS, IOWA – Grand View Men's Wrestling made their way to Cedar Falls for the NWCA National Dual Championships this weekend. The Vikings entered as the defending champs and No. 1 seed in the NAIA bracket. GV made it known that they are the team to beat.
FRIDAY
Grand View went 19-1 on Friday. Grand View faced off against St. Thomas University in round one, and Embry-Riddle in round two. The Vikings won 53-0 in round one which included 6 falls, and 9 bonus point wins. They went 10-0 as a team, starting with a 3-1 decision for Kaden Weber. Cam Clark followed with a 13-2 major decision, scoring points early into the match. Luke Fogleman found a first round pin and the first of the tournament. Khyler Carstarphen and Easton Larson followed suit, earning first period falls. Dylan Whitt put on points on the board and earned a 17-2 tech fall. Danny Diaz did the same, winning 16-1 in just over a minute. Tommy Even, Carter Smuck, and Shane Cook all finished the dual with first period falls as the Vikings dominated every weight.
Against Embry-Riddle, the Vikings went 9-1 with six bonus point wins. Gabe Gonzales and Marckis Branford earned TF's, Elijah Larsen earned a pin, Bryce Bouman's finished off a 20-5 TF, Dylan Whitt fought for a major decision 11-3, and Lucas Hageman found a third period fall. The Vikings finished the dual with a convincing 40-3 win to push them into the semifinal bout, losing only one match on day one.
SATURDAY
Grand View entered awaited No. 4 seed Southeastern in the Semifinal on Saturday morning. The Vikings continued their dominance and showed they will out fight anybody. GV won 9 of the 10 bouts, including 8 bonus point victories. Cater put a clinic from the top position and getting the TF in period two, 16-0. Gonzales found a fall as the first period was closing, and Branford earned a 19-4 TF moments into the second period. The loss came at 149 pounds before Bryce Bouman's and Robinson earned major decisions. Ketchum earned a third period TF and Hageman earned a sudden death victory with a quick take down in the extra period. Garavous Kouekabakilaho majored in his opponent 9-0, shwoing control throughout the match. Cook finished the dual with a 2-minute fall and secured the 42-4 win over the No. 4 ranked team in the country.
NWCA National Finals
The Vikings set the tone early as Elijah Cater pinned Mikey Doerr in 3:28 at 125 pounds. Gabe Gonzales followed with a dominant 17-2 technical fall over Isaiah Rubio at 133, and Marckis Branford added another fall at 141, pinning Mauro Michel in 4:14 to give Grand View a commanding 17-0 lead.
Luke Fogleman earned a hard-fought 4-2 decision, bumping up to 149 pounds before Life got on the board at 157 with Douglas Terry's 5-2 decision over Bryce Boumans.
Grand View answered immediately as Cam Robinson earned a 14-8 decision at 165 pounds, and Kristopher Ketchum added a 4-2 victory at 174. Life's Tre Morrisette secured a major decision at 184 pounds, but Garavous Kouekabakilaho responded with a 17-2 technical fall at 197 pounds.
Shane Cook closed out the dual with a forfeit victory at heavyweight.
Grand View defeated No. 2 seed Life University 37-7 in the finals to claim the 2026 NWCA National Dual Meet Championship. The victory marks the second consecutive dual meet title for the Vikings and the 13th in program history.
First-year head coach Grand Henderson led the Vikings to the championship in his inaugural season at the helm, guiding Grand View to an impressive performance that saw them win eight of ten bouts in the finals, and only dropping 4 matches the entire weekend.
UP NEXT
Grand View join the women's wrestling on PBS this Thursday, January 15th for a double dual against Missouri Valley. The women's dual will begin at 7 PM and the men's wrestling team will follow.
