MEN’S WRESTLING FINISHES THIRD WITH TWO NAIA AUTO QUALIFIERS AT KCAC CHAMPIONSHIP
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Avila men's wrestling left the 2026 KCAC Championship with its best postseason conference performance in program history, finishing in third as a team with a pair of automatic qualifiers, three wrestlers with second-place finishes and 12 placers.
For the second-consecutive season, senior Jeremiah Voliva earned an automatic qualification to the NAIA National Tournament in the 184-pound class. Voliva finished third in his weight class with three wins on the day, including a major decision victory in the quarterfinal and a pair of decision victories in the consolation semifinals and the third-place match.
One weight class up, Rodney Trotter Jr., continued his stellar season with a third-place finish and Avila's second automatic qualifier of the Championships.
Trotter Jr., picked up a pair of victories on the day, highlighted by a 17-2 tech fall victory in the third-place match and a 4:19 pin in the consolation semifinal match.
The Eagles had a trio of second-place finishers in the conference championship: Gavin Howes, 285, Aiden Pina, 133 and Tyler Johnson, 141.
Howes was nearly the conference champion in the heavyweight division, losing in overtime in the first-place match to Steven Elwell of Ottawa.
Aiden Pina, the freshman, won with a 4:17 pin in the semifinals before losing to St. Mary's Roman de la Cruz in the first-place match.
Finally, Tyler Johnson, in the 141-pound division got a win via 1:47 fall in the semifinals before a tough loss in the championship match.
The Eagles had seven other placers in the competition: Raul Romero (fourth, 125), Daniel Vines (fifth, 141), Dru Thomas (third, 149), Luke Ward (eighth, 149), Kristjan Marshall (fourth, 157), Corey Holes (fifth, 174) and Caleb Sharp (sixth, 184).
As a team, the Eagles finished in third place with a final score of 129.5, finishing just behind St. Mary and ahead of Ottawa, Oklahoma Wesleyan and York.
"I'm super proud of our team today," said head coach Eric Mateo. "Our guys absolutely showed up and wrestled the best they have all year. I'm incredibly proud of having 12 conference placers for the first time in program history."
Trotter, Voliva and Mateo now turn their sights to the 2026 Men's Wrestling National Championship March 5-7 at the Heartland Credit Union Arena in Wichita, looking to become the second and third All-Americans in Avila men's wrestling history.
Mateo: "Job's not done. Now it's time to get our qualifiers prepared for the national tournament."
