WICHITA, KANSAS - Grand View wrestled their final day at the 69th Annual NAIA National Championships this Saturday, and what a day it's been. The Vikings took home four National Champions and nine total All-Americans to claim their 14th NAIA National Team Title, and the first under Head Coach Grant Henderson. The Vikings also brought home the NAIA Head Coach of the Year, Grant Henderson, and the NAIA Wrestler of the Year, Garavous Kouekabakilaho. GK is just the 3rd ever Grand View Wrestler to win the award. Grand View put up 192.5 points in the team race and put another team in the record books.
SATURDAY
125 Consi Semis
Cater started the session in the consi-semifinal bout against the No. 12 seed Jesse Lewis. Cater earned a take down in the first after defending a single near the edge. Cater finished the period on top, leading 3-0. In the second, Cater let up a take down to things up. Late in the second, Cater earned a reversal with just 5 seconds left, going up 5-3. Cater chose bottom in the third, and Lewis chose to bring things to neutral which put Cater up 6-3. Cater controlled the ties and fought off the last ditch efforts to move into the 3rd place match.
125 3rd place match
Cater earned a quick take down to go up 3-0, and stayed tough on top with multiple returns. After and injury time, Cater chose down and earned a reverse, followed by two more near fall, extending his early lead to 7-1. Cater went down in the second period and got turned to make things 7-5 at the end of the second. No. 10 seed Pacheco chose top in the third and Elijah fought through the third to keep things where the were.
2026 NAIA 3RD PLACE FINISHER – ELIJAH CATER
157 Consi Semis | Easton Larson vs Bryce Boumans
A pair of Vikings meet in the consolation semifinals as Larson and Boumans look to advance. No scores in the first period and Boumans chose to keep things on their feet to start the second. A couple exchanges in the second but still 0-0 heading into the third. Larson chose bottom and earned an escape an the 1-0 lead. That held up and the Larson moved into the 3rd place match. Boumans will finish in the 5th place matchup.
157 3rd place match
Easton Larsen took on the No. 2 seed Fabian Padilla from Life to end his tournament. Multiple scrambles in the first period but no change for either wrestler. Larsen chose bottom in the second period and found an escape but was taken down shortly after and couldn't find an escape before the end of the second, down 1-3. Easton looked for turns in the third, going to crab rides to find nearfall. Larsen gave up a reversal, then escaped, making the score 2-5. A riding time point was awarded to end the match 2-6.
2026 NAIA 4TH PLACE FINISHER –EASTON LARSON
157 5th place match
Boumans took on No. 8 seed Hobbs in 5th place bout. Boumans let up a couple take downs in the first period and needed to fight his way back into the match, down 6-1. Boumans couldn't find any attacks until late in the match, falling to Hobbs.
2026 NAIA 6TH PLACE FINISHER – BRYCE BOUMANS
285 Consi Semis
Shane Cook took on No. 1 seed Sivels for a spot in the bronze match. Cook kept his pace high for most of the period with fakes and controlled the center. No score in the first, and Cook chose bottom to start the second period. Cook earned his escape late in the period, but not before Sivels earned over a minute of riding time. Cook gave the escape to start the 3rd period and then let up the first take down of the match on the edge. With a quick escape, Cook had to push the pace and find a way to score. Cook forced a stall call on Sivels when he shot him out of the circle.
285 5th place match
2026 NAIA 5TH PLACE FINISHER – SHANE COOK
NAIA NATIONAL FINALS
133 | NO. 2 GABE GONZALES vs NO. 1 AARON LUCIO
Gabe with beautiful head hands defense with minute left in the first period found him scoring the first points of the match! An escape was given at the end of the first for a 3-1 lead. Lucio chose down to start the second period and Gabe took advantage. He locked up a cradle and stayed patient for the finish. A fall for the Viking to earn his first NAIA National Title. Gonzales earned bonus points in every match at the national tournament.
2026 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPION // 133 LBS // GABE GONZALES
149 | NO. 2 ELIJAH LARSEN vs NO. 5 VICTOR GUZMAN
Larsen was taken down a minute into the match on a single leg attack, but was quick to get his escape,. Larsen kept clearing ties and moving Guzman on their feet, but the period stalled out at 1-3. Larsen chose down to start the second period and earned another escape to get within one. Larsen's first attack came on a single to his right side, and finished the job going up 5-3. An escape was awarded before the end of the period and Elijah was up 5-4 going into the third. Guzman chose bottom and Alaska went to work on top. Great pressure and the Vikings looked for turns the whole period. He locked up a riding point and earned a stall call point to end the match at 7-4 and a two time NAIA National Champion.
2026 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPION // 149 LBS // ELIJAH LARSEN
165 | NO. 1 CAM ROBINSON vs NO. 2 JONATHAN KERVIN
Cam was in on a left side single early in the match but was well defended to kept things square early. Cam also got to a good slide by attempt but nothing doing and 0-0 the score after one. Cam chose down with his choice and Kervin surrendered the point immediately. Cam stayed on the offensive but nothing going. The third period quickly went to 1-1 with an escape by Kervin and Cam let up the go ahead take down with 1:28 remaining. Cam escaped and pushed the pace was seconds from a take down as time expired.
2026 NAIA NATIONAL FINALIST // 165 LBS // CAM ROBINSON
174 | NO. 3 KRIS KETCHUM vs NO. 1 TATE PICKLO
Kris fought off a tough attack nearly instantly in the first period, and then again, but the second time, Ketchum turned the leg defense into his score. Kris transitioned straight into his boots and rode Picklo out for a 3-0 lead and 1:28 in riding time. Picklo chose neutral in the second period and Kris kept his style moving. He turned another single leg defense into a take down and put on another ride out, accumulating almost 3:00 minutes of riding time, and a second stall call made it 7-0. Kris chose top in the third and continued to break Picklo. A near 5:00 minutes of riding time and an 8-0 major decision to become an NAIA National Champion.
2026 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPION // 174 LBS // KRIS KETCHUM
197 | NO. 1 GARAVOUS KOUEKABAKILAHO vs NO. 3 ASHER RUCHTI
GK started with fakes and getting to angles, but Ruchti slowed things down with and under hooks. Ruchti attempted lat drop shortly after that turned in the first big scramble of the match. GK fought it off and the rest of the period dwindled with tough hand fighting. GK started down in the second and earned a quick escape to put a score up on the board. In the third, Ruchti tied things up with an escape of his own, and the battle had just begun. Both wrestlers were in on attacks but continuous wrestling held things at 1-1. Sudden death for GK's last match in a GV singlet was written long ago. GK hiked up a single leg in the extra period and finished on the legs near the edge. Maybe the biggest roar of the night for the now, 3x NAIA National Champion.
2026 NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPION // 197 LBS // GARAVOUS KOUEKABAKILAHO
TOP FIVE TEAM SCORES
| Team |
Abbr |
Score |
| 1 |
Grand View |
GV |
192.5 |
| 2 |
Life |
LIFE |
166.0 |
| 3 |
Oklahoma City |
OKCT |
99.5 |
| 4 |
Embry-Riddle |
ERAU |
85.5 |
| 5 |
Doane |
DONE |
80.5 |
FULL RESULTS: 2026 NAIA National Championships
CHAMPIONSHIP LIFESTYLE
