Grand View men’s wrestling has done it again, winning the NAIA Championships on March 7 after a dominant effort in Wichita, Kansas.
The Vikings crowned four champions as well as nine NAIA All-Americans among their 12 wrestlers. 133-pounder Gabe Gonzales, 149-pounder Elijah Larsen, 174-pounder Kris Ketchum and 197-pounder Garavous Kouekabakilaho all won titles. As a result, they outpaced Life University, scoring 192.5 team points to Life’s 166.
Gonzales pinned the No. 1 seeded Aaron Lucio (Southeastern) to win his NAIA title. Larsen won his via a 7-4 decision over Victor Guzman (Cumberland). Ketchum majored the No. 1 seed Tate Picklo (Oklahoma City) by a 8-0 final. Kouekabakilaho secured an NAIA title in dramatic fashion with a 4-1 win in sudden victory.
Elijah Cater (third, 125), Easton Larson (fourth, 157), Bryce Boumans (sixth, 157), Cam Robinson (second, 165) and Shane Cook (fifth, heavyweight) all were NAIA All-Americans for Grand View as well.
This is the fifth year in a row Grand View has won the NAIA men’s title and the 14th in 15 years. The last time the program didn’t take first was in 2021, placing second behind Life. This title comes in Grant Henderson’s first year as head coach, after he took over for the legendary Nick Mitchell after being his assistant coach for many years.
2026 NAIA Championships finals results
2026 NAIA Championships final team scores
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Grand View men’s wrestling wins NAIA Championships, crowns 4 champs
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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