WICHITA, Kan. – For the second-straight year, the Corban University Men's Wrestling team has advanced a wrestler to the National Semifinal round at the NAIA National Championships in Wichita, Kansas, as redshirt sophomore David Rubio will get another stab at becoming the program's first-ever National Champion.

"We had some hard fought matches today!" Warriors' Interim Head Coach Kary Hadden shared earlier today following his team's day one results. "We're heading in a great direction as a program, we just need to continue laying down a solid foundation."

Hadden continued with, "Lots of lessons learned today, we're excited to see David's semifinal match tomorrow morning against the number one seed!"

Freshman Brayden Boyd kicked off the tournament for the Warriors at the 125-weight class as the No. 13-ranked wrestler, advancing to the second round via a bye before a rematch from his last bout this season with No. 4-ranked Hunter Sparks from Eastern Oregon University. Unfortunately, Boyd was not able to flip the results on Sparks at the national stage, falling in a 12-0 major decision.

Boyd jumped back into action in the consolation round with another Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) foe on deck, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Landon Smith. A major decision in favor of Boyd was written in the sand for this round, defeating Smith 11-2 to advance to the next round of the consolation bracket. Boyd's national championship run finally came to an end in the next round, falling to No. 12-ranked Nick Rodriguez from Lourdes University by a major decision of 15-7. He finished his season with an impressive first-year record of 26-7, an incredible feat accomplished in his first collegiate season.

Junior Matthew Bartlett and sophomore Tyson Stover each had their own cracks at the national stage today, with each of them falling in their first two matchups to bow out early from the final tournament of the 2022-23 season. Bartlett and Stover each end their seasons with a 16-11 and 19-8 record, respectively.

Rubio, the No. 4-ranked wrestler in his class, was also the benefactor of a first-round bye to begin the tournament, but earned back-to-back Top 13 victories to earn himself a spot in the 165-weight class semifinals. He earned a sudden victory over 13-ranked Dayton Hill from Ottawa University, followed by a 7-4 decision over No. 12-ranked Matt Jenkins of Reinhardt University.

The full results from the Corban Men's Wrestlers to compete today can be found below:

125

Brayden Boyd (26-7) place is unknown and scored 1.5 team points.

·       Champ. Round 1 - Brayden Boyd (Corban) received a bye

·       Champ. Round 2 - Hunter Sparks (Eastern Oregon) won by major decision over Brayden Boyd (Corban), Maj 12-0

·       Cons. Round 2 - Brayden Boyd (Corban) won by major decision over Landon Smith (ERAU), Maj 11-2

·       Cons. Round 3 - Nick Rodriguez (Lourdes) won by major decision over Brayden Boyd (Corban), Maj 15-7

165

David Rubio (21-1) placed 6th minimum and scored 9.0 team points.

·       Champ. Round 1 - David Rubio (Corban) received a bye

·       Champ. Round 2 - David Rubio (Corban) won by sudden victory over Dayton Hill (Ottawa), SV-1 8-6

·       Quarterfinals - David Rubio (Corban) won by decision over Matt Jenkins (Reinhardt), Dec 7-4

174

Matthew Bartlett (16-11) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

·       Champ. Round 1 - Isaiah Luellen (Grand View) won by tech fall over Matthew Bartlett (Corban), TF 18-3

·       Cons. Round 1 - Noah Clary (Lourdes) won by fall over Matthew Bartlett (Corban), Fall 2:48

197

Tyson Stover (19-8) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

·       Champ. Round 1 - Malachi Karibo (Baker) won by major decision over Tyson Stover (Corban), Maj 10-1

·       Cons. Round 1 - Liam Swanson (Providence) won by decision over Tyson Stover (Corban), Dec 5-2

Rubio will make the final push for a National Championship trophy starting tomorrow, as he's set to face off against No. 1-ranked Jack Bass from Life University on the main stage. The entire NAIA Men's Wrestling Semifinals and Championship matches will be livestreamed on ESPN3, while live results can be found HERE.

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