Wichita, Kan. - For the first time in program history, the Marian wrestling team will have an individual compete for an NAIA National Championship, as fifth-year senior Logan Wagner earned a pair of victories, upsetting the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals before dominating the semifinal match to reach the national title round. Marian earned two overall All-Americans on the day as Anthony Hughes guaranteed sixth place or better, as the senior tandem put Marian in ninth place as a team entering the final two sessions.

Logan Wagner headlined Marian's first session of the day on Friday, as the fifth-year senior picked up the team's lone championship bracket victory, moving to 3-0 at 141 as he upset top-ranked Adrian Ayala of Lindsey Wilson. Wagner won 6-4 in a full-time tiebreaker decision, taking the win after three overtime periods. Wagner's win earned him NAIA All-American honors and advanced him to the NAIA Semifinals as the top-remaining seed in the weight class. 

Of Marian's other remaining wrestlers in the championship bracket, both Anthony Hughes and Anthony Rinehart suffered losses, falling into the consolation brackets. For Hughes, the senior was unable to upset No. 4 Elijah Cater of Grand View, losing by decision 4-1. Hughes is 2-1 entering the consolation bracket. Rinehart also fell to 2-1 in the tournament as he suffered the same fate as his senior teammate, losing in his 174 match to Grand View's Kris Ketchum by an 11-2 major decision. 

The Knights had four wrestlers begin the day in the consolation round three, and two of the four Marian wrestlers facing elimination were able to advance to the fourth session. Jeivan Ross stayed alive at 174 as he moved to 3-1, earning his third consolation win as he took down Montana State-Northern's Orion Thivierge by a 5-4 decision. Tiernan Boots also moved to 3-1, recording his third consolation win as he defeated St. Ambrose's Georgino Moraga by a 4-2 decision. Boots scored his winning points in the third period to advance to the next round. 

Landon Bertsch would see his run in the NAIA Championship come to an end in consolation round three, falling by tech fall against Tuvshinjargal Zuunbayan of Missouri Valley in a 21-5 score. Bertsch finished the championship with a 2-2 record. Christian Arberry also saw his time close on Friday afternoon, ending with a 2-2 record as Southern Oregon's Avant Stephenson won by major decision 11-1.
 

---

In the fourth session of the weekend, the Knights got a huge team lift from Logan Wagner, as the senior continued to make the most of his final NAIA Championship with a national semifinal victory. Wrestling against Tyler Rhue of Southern Oregon, Wagner did not wait long to strike early, getting a takedown 90 seconds into the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Wagner would allow the escape point, and then began the second period with one after choosing bottom, taking a 4-1 lead. The senior would concede an early escape in the third period, but Rhue was unable to get the Knight to the mat, as Wagner completed his 4-2 win.

The Marian senior is the first-ever wrestler in program history to compete for an NAIA National Championship, as his semifinal victory advanced him to the title round on Saturday night. Wagner will wrestle No. 11 Yoshiya Funakoshi of Embry-Riddle in the championship match, which will begin between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. tomorrow evening. 

Following Wagner on the mat was Anthony Hughes, who staved off elimination twice on Friday night to earn All-American honors. In his first match, the senior defeated No. 8 Matteo Vargo of the Cumberlands 12-5, as the decision earned his second consecutive NAIA All-American honor. Hughes continued to win on Friday night, following his victory with a commanding 17-2 tech fall win against Braden Ledford of Friends, advancing to the consolation semifinal round. Hughes guaranteed a finish between third and sixth place with his win, and will wrestle twice on Saturday morning, first against Braydon Pacheco of Friends. Hughes will then compete in a rematch against Elijah Cater or Jesse Lewis in the third or fifth place match. 

Behind the super-seniors, Marian would go 0-3 on Friday night, falling in each of the program's remaining consolation round four matches. Tiernan Boots was defeated at 149 by a tech fall score of 22-6, ending his first NAIA Championship experience with a 3-2 overall record. Anthony Rinehart lost his bout to Konlin Weaver of Life by a 6-3 decision in the 174 weight class and ended with a 2-2 record in his first NAIA Championship experience, while Jeivan Ross also fell in round four of the consolation bracket, taking a 15-0 tech fall defeat against Shadrick Sloane of Campbellsville. Ross finished his collegiate career with a 3-2 record in the 2026 NAIA Championship. 

Entering Saturday, the Knights are in ninth place at the NAIA Championship, holding a team score of 47 points. Marian will look to gain ground on Saturday, as Hughes and Wagner wrestle for higher placement in the field. Hughes will compete in both of his matches on Saturday morning, while Wagner wrestles Saturday night.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.