Life University Athletics

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA — The Life University men's wrestling team made history over the weekend, winning their first ever NWCA National Duals title. The No. 2 Life University men's wrestling team secured the victory over No. 1 Grand View as their 24-17 upset win over GV earned the team their first ever NWCA National Duals Title and dual victory over the Vikings.

Starting against Graceland, two-time NAIA National Champion Brandon Orum got things going with his return to the mat with a 4-0 decision over Robert Albert. At 133, Kaden Ramos kept things going with a stellar opening period, jumping ahead to an 11-0 lead. He then held on for an 18-12 win. At 141 lbs, Bret Minor then earned the first upset of the weekend for Life U, earning a pin over #7 Jackson Wenberg. At 149 lbs, Avant Stepherson kept the ball rolling with another win via fall, pinning his opponent in the opening period after a take down and nearfall.

At 157 lbs, Brevin Balmaceda easily bested his opponent with a 17-1 tech fall. Following Balmaceda, both Jaden New and Tre Morrisette earned majors. Myles Stark pinned his opponent at 184 lbs before Life U's next upset of the day was earned by Michael Gibson.

In the opening frame, Gibson earned the first points with a takedown. Leading 3-1, the redshirt-senior then earned an escape before adding another takedown to his point total. He then worked his way to a pin over #18 John Schuttler. The final bout of the opening dual was another pin for Life U as Cohle Feliciano turned a first period takedown into a fall. Overall, the Running Eagles ran away with the dual 49-0.

After winning the opening dual against Graceland, the Running Eagles were then matched up in the quarterfinals against #11 Indiana Tech.

Much like the dual earlier in the day, the Running Eagles were again dominant in their second match. Opening at 125, Adrian Morales got things going with an upset over #12 Allen Calderon. After the 8-4 decision, the Running Eagles kept things going with a win at 133 lbs as Thaddeus Long long pinned his opponent in just under two minutes. Tyree Johnson then followed with a win via injury at 141 lbs.

At 149 lbs, Reese Jones earned a major over his unranked opponent. Next, at 157 lbs Alexander Couto began his impressive showing with a second period pin. The only loss on the day was unfortunate, as the Running Eagles forfeited 165 lbs due to injury.

Next up, the Running Eagles got back on track with bonus points as #1 Riley Smucker was unstoppable, earning an 18-2 tech fall over #23 Stuyvenberg. Demarco Lee continued the trend also delivering a tech fall, this one against an unranked foe, 15-0. At 285, Zane Lanham won via forfeit.

On day two, the Running Eagles began competition in the semifinals against conference foe #4 Southeastern. At 125 lbs, Orum went back into the lineup squeezing out a 4-2 decision in the final period to move Life U ahead, 3-0. After a SEU forfeit at 133 lbs, Tyree Johnson kept things going and held his rank, earning a decision over his opponent 8-5. The Running Eagles fell at 149 lbs before Couto went back into the lineup at 157 earning an 4-1 upset decision over #18 Andreus Bond. Bumping up a weight class, Balmaceda was again sensational, earning an 11-0 major over the #14 wrestler in the 165 lbs weight class. Myles stark then dominated his matchup to earn another tech fall before Lee followed with a 14-3 major of his own at 197 lbs. Cohle Feliciano then pinned the final SEU wrestler to cruise into the championship match against #1 Grand View.

Heading into the championship, Grand View held an all-time record of 5-0 over Life U, and had only lost one dual since 2013. Despite the odds, the Running Eagles made history.

Starting at 125 lbs, Orum's impressive return to the mat was halted as the graduate student fell in a 13-4 major. At 133 lbs, redshirt sophomore Thaddeus Long used three periods to work his way to a huge 19-3 tech fall and upset over #4 Jackson Cockrell. Tyree Johnson then earned a decision over an unranked opponent at 141. At 149 lbs, the Running Eagles lost via major.

Approaching the midpoint of the dual the teams were all knotted 8-8 as Balmaceda took the mat back at 157 lbs. The multi-time national champ controlled the entire bout, awarding Life U four more points after a dominant 9-0 routing of his foe. In what proved to be the major turning point of the dual, Jaden New matched up with Jovon Mitchell, sneaking in a takedown near the edge of the circle before working his way to a momentum-swinging pin.

Leading 18-8, Smucker again took care of business at 174 lbs. with a controlled 5-1 decision over #5 Alex Reynolds. Kyle Homet battled in his match against #1 Isaiah Luellen holding his own, but eventually up short in an 8-6 decision. With two bouts to go, the Running Eagles held a favorable 21-11 lead. Needing to just not lose by either a TF or a pin, #10 Demarco Lee took the mat to face off against the defending national champ, #1 Owen Braungardt.

The two competitors worked their way through a scoreless opening frame before Braungardt elected to start down to gain the first point of the bout in the second period. Then, as the second frame was nearing its end Lee tabbed a crucial takedown to gain the lead heading into the final period 3-1. On Lee's choice, he also chose to begin down, earning an escape and holding on for the 4-2 upset over #1 Braungardt.

Head Coach Omi Acosta shared his thought on the team's performance stating, "First, I would like to thank God for the opportunity to compete and to get out of National Duals healthy and on top. Second, I want to thank Cole Manion for taking the team and having ownership and traveling out to Iowa. I also want to thank the whole coaching staff, Coach Bailey, Early, and just all those guys for going out there and handling business. This is not something that just happened today at National Duals this has been in motion and it's been in the making for a while." He then continued, "I'm extremely proud of the fight… the LUCHA… that my guys showed tonight and we're going to continue to get better and continue to work on the small areas that we could improve on. The goal was never about a national championship, the goal has always been to see how great Life University can be. LUCHA!"

In the end, the Running Eagles outscored their opponents 156-33 over the two days and joined the women's wrestling program as the first collegiate duo to be simultaneously crowned as both NWCA National Dual Champions.