Wichita, Kan. - The Marian wrestling team turned in a strong day at the NAIA National Championships on Friday, as three of Marian's eight wrestlers prevailed through the competition to earn NAIA All-American honors. The trio of Blake Mulkey, Asa Garcia, and Jack Servies each earned NAIA All-American honors and will wrestle for final standings on Saturday, while Marian's other five competitors showed strong fight throughout the day. In total Marian's eight wrestlers won a combined 17 matches, the most ever on the opening day of the championship.

BLAKE MULKEY (133)

Mulkey entered as the No. 4 seed in his weight class, and after sitting idle with a bye in his first round, Mulkey went to work against No. 13 Alex Pena, defeating the Wayland Baptist product on an 11-3 major decision. The win advanced Mulkey into the quarterfinals, where he squared off against Matt Gimson of Indiana Tech. Battling his rival, Mulkey needed extra time to complete the win, earning a 3-1 sudden victory win to reach the semifinals. Mulkey and Grimson locked horns for much of the overtime, but in the closing seconds the Marian senior took his shot, scoring the two-point takedown to earn the win. Mulkey's win sets him up against No. 1 Carson Taylor of Grand View, with a win sending Mulkey to the NAIA Championship at 133. 

ASA GARCIA (141)

Garcia got off to a strong start in his nationals debut, winning his opening match over Kyler Adams (Midway) on a 12-5 decision. Garcia followed with a win by fall against Joe Rice (Missouri Valley) in 75 seconds, but after reaching the quarterfinals saw his streak come to an end as Doane's Baterden Boldmaa took a 7-3 win. Garcia fell into a matchup against his teammate in the consolation bracket, ending Wagner's day with a 5-2 win by decision to earn NAIA All-American honors. Garcia will have a chance to wrestle up to third, and will begin his Saturday by taking on Chasen Brown of the Cumberlands. 

LOGAN WAGNER (141)

After going 0-2 in his previous nationals experience, Wagner got off to a shaky start by suffering a 9-8 defeat before turning it on in the consolation bracket. Wagner claimed his first NAIA Tournament win with an 11-5 victory over Thomas Williams (St. Thomas), and followed with a 4-2 win over No. 14 Jackson Wenberg (Graceland). Wagner notched a third consecutive win as he took down his rival from Indiana Tech, Kyle Kantola, by a 14-9 decision. Wagner's run would end one match short of an All-American run, losing to his teammate Asa Garcia to close with a 3-2 overall record. 

BAILEY MOORE (157)

At 157 Bailey Moore claimed a win in his opening round, dominating Elijah Chacon (Indiana Tech) to the tune of a 17-1 tech. fall. Moore wouldn't stay in the championship bracket past the second round despite the strong start, falling to Sal Silva (Southeastern) on a 9-4 decision. In the back draw, Moore earned a second win as he defeated Larry Rodriguez (Missouri Valley) in a 16-5 major decision. The win would be the final of the seniors career, as Moore fell in his next match on a 12-3 major decision to Wilder Wichman (Thomas More) to close with a 2-2 record.

ELLIOTT RODGERS (165)

Looking to make another All-American run Rodgers started his weekend with a win by fall in the opening match against Braden Anderson (Ottawa) at the 6:11 mark. Rodgers would drop to the consolation bracket as he was upset by No. 10 Shadric Slone (Campbellsville), and in the consolation bracket the weekend came to a close for the Marian junior as Braeden Baller (Texas Wesleyan) scored an upset 10-4 victory. Rodgers finished with a 1-2 overall record. 

NOAH HOLLENDONNER (174)

Hollendonner got off to a slow start in his NAIA Tournament debut, suffering an ankle sprain in his opening match before getting pinned in the second period by Embry-Riddle's Sheldon Cole. Hollendonner would use a bye to get back into form, scorching the mat with a 9-3 win by decision over No. 11 Michael Long (Cumberland) and a win by fall over No. 13 Maximus Zamora (Menlo) at the 5:45 time stamp. Hollendonner would miss All-American honors by one match, falling to Cole Tenety (Reinhardt) on a 12-4 major decision. The Marian redshirt-sophomore finished with a 2-2 record. 

SAM OSHO (184)

One of Marian's reigning All-Americans showed strong wrestling early Friday, scoring a 17-7 major decision win against Kaden Martin (Arizona Christian) to begin his day. In Osho's second match, the fifth-year senior fell behind 8-0 early against Brett Bober (Baker), trailing after one period. Osho continued to fight through multiple blood stoppages, and despite trailing 10-7, the senior scored a win by fall to reach the quarterfinals, winning with 56 seconds remaining in the third period. The Knight was unable to capture the momentum and reach the semifinals, as Asher Eichert (Life) scored a 2-1 win by decision. After the session break, Osho came up one win short of reaching the All-American rounds, losing to Sam Irwin (Reinhardt) on a 3-2 decision to end his storied career. Osho went 2-2 in his final trip to the NAIA National Championship.

JACK SERVIES (197)

Servies began the tournament with a bye, and rolled right into a win as he defeated WHAC rival Carter Kroll (Lourdes), scoring a win by fall at the 1:42 mark in the top-10 bout. Servies then earned a win by decision in the quarterfinals, taking down yet another WHAC opponent in Indiana Tech's Nathan Critchfield, downing the Warrior 6-2. The Marian senior's two wins landed him a trip to the semifinals, where he will wrestle Grand View's Owen Braungardt on Saturday. 

Competition will resume on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET, with Mulkey and Servies wreslting in the championship semifinals. Garcia will continue his run in the consolation quarterfinals, looking to wrestle into a third place match. The NAIA Championship matches will begin at 8 p.m. ET.

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