Hargrove Upsets #1 Seed, Finishes 2-2 Overall
Wichita, Kan.–Cameron Hargrove (Fr., Bolingbrook, Ill., Undecided) recorded one of the biggest upsets in the tournament, but fell just shy of All-America status at the 65th Annual NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship Friday.
The 149-pounder owned a 2-2 mark, landing one win short of getting on the podium in his first trip to nationals. He opened with a bang, pinning Conner Holman of Oklahoma City in a time of 1:53.
That moved him into a matchup with #1 seed Cole Luallen of Reinhardt (Ga.). Hargrove battled him to a 4-4 tie after seven minutes and eventually landed a takedown to claim the 6-4 upset in overtime.
Hargrove unfortunately could not stay on the championship side of the bracket, losing by fall to #8 seed Ryan Moore (Thomas More-Ky.) in 2:12 in the quarterfinals. Still just one victory away from becoming an All-American, he was upended by a 15-4 major decision against #10 seed Salvador Silva of Southeastern (Fla.) to end his experience.
174-pounder Makail Stanley (Fr., Oreana, Ill., Biology), who was also making his first appearance at nationals, was in contention Friday as well, but was denied victory, going 0-2 at the Championship. He opened with a 19-4 technical-fall setback to #8 seed Asher Eichert of Life (Ga.) and then was nipped 6-4 by Patrick Boulanger of Saint Mary (Kan.) in the consolation bracket.
Entering the final day of competition, William Penn is tied for 36th in the team standings with five points, while Grand View is on top with 123.5 points.
