Thursday’s action will get underway at 1 p.m. CST with a single session of championship round preliminary and first round matches. Two sessions will take place on Friday, starting with a 10 a.m. round of championship quarterfinals along with preliminary, first, second and third round matches of consolation action. The third session, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, will feature championship semifinal matches and two rounds of consolation wrestling. Medal matches will get underway at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the championship finals starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Wrestling National Championships will be streamed live via NeuLion, the parent company of JumpTV. All 10 individual weight class Championship bouts on March 6 will be available to view starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. CST. A fee of $7.95 is set to view the Saturday Championship finals event. Click here to order Saturday night’s finals.
Lidenwood (Mo.) will be seeking its fourth consecutive team title and sixth in program history, but will have to do it with only five returning wrestlers from the 2009 championship squad. The Lions would be in rare company to four-peat. Central State (Okla.) took home four national team titles from 1984-87. In a decade’s span, Central State is the most successful team in five decades of NAIA wrestling, capturing seven titles during the 1980s. Lindenwood follows with five championships during the 2000s. The challenge of maintaining that dominance will begin on Thursday.
Five national champions from a year ago will be back to defend their titles, with a pair of grapplers looking to make their third appearance in the championship bout of their respective weight class. Notre Dame (Ohio) senior Adam Koballa captured the 141-pound title as a junior after taking runner-up honors in 2008. The Falcon is 27-2 in his final season.
Andrew Sanchez, a junior 197-pounder from McKendree (Ill.), will also be eyeing a spot in the finals for the third time in as many trips to the NAIA Wrestling National Championships. As a freshman in 2008, Sanchez took runner-up honors and followed up with the title in 2009. The junior Bearcat has registered a 33-6 mark heading into Oklahoma City.
McKendree’s other national champ, senior Aaron Winning, will look to repeat at 165 pounds and earn his third All-America honor. Winning took seventh at 165 in 2008. Chris Platt, a junior 184-pounder from Southern Oregon, and Simon Fraser (B.C.) heavyweight Arjan Bhullar return to the field to defend their titles.
Forty-six All-Americans return to the field to challenge for their right to stand on the podium again. Two-time All-American Tyler Chang of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) has previously earned accolades at 141 and 149 pounds. The junior, who was ranked third for the final four polls, will take to the mat at 157 pounds.
After finishing second at 174 pounds in 2008, Brendon DeCock of Great Falls (Mont.) took home fifth-place honors a year ago. Missouri Baptist’s Ike Okenwa is a two-time placewinner at 197 pounds, finishing seventh in 2008 and fifth in 2009.
California Baptist’s Enock Francois, a two-time 174-pound All-American for Northwestern (Iowa), will be looking to reach the podium for the first time in a Lancer singlet after sitting out last season. Francois was the top-ranked 174-pounder for all seven regular season polls and boasts a 34-11 record on the mat in his senior season.
A 133-pound All-American a year ago, Kyle Williams of McKendree will make a run at the podium at 141 pounds. Austin Ouellette was a seventh-place finisher at 174 pounds for Montana State-Northern, but has dropped down to 165 pounds for his senior season.
For updated information throughout the Championships, click here.
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