TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

WICHITA, Kan. – After securing All-America status Friday, Southern Oregon's Aaron Gandara and Evan Potter both opened Saturday's action with wins and went on to take home matching sixth-place finishes from the NAIA Championships at Hartman Arena.

Gandara, a No. 10-seeded sophomore at 157 pounds, and Potter, unseeded freshman at 133, accounted for 22 ½ of the unranked Raiders' 23 ½ team points, lifting them to 19th place in the final standings. It marked the first time since 2017 that SOU boasted multiple top-six placers.

Grand View (Iowa) won the team title for the 10th time in 11 years with 206 ½ points, running away from runner-up Life (Ga.)'s 144 by crowning three individual champions.

Gandara started Day 2 by beating the buzzer for his fourth consecutive consolation win against 11th-seeded James Williams of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), scoring the deciding takedown with two seconds left in the third period. Second-seeded Wilder Wichman of Thomas More (Ky.) stopped his run in the consolation semifinals, 6-4, and Reinhardt (Ga.)'s Trevor Burdick beat him by 13-4 major decision in the 157 fifth-place match

Potter – who wrapped Friday with back-to-back wins over the Nos. 11 and 2 seeds at 133 – executed his third straight upset in Saturday's opener with a 5-3 decision over No. 8 Keshawn Laws of Cumberland (Ga.). Grand View's fourth-seeded Carson Taylor, the same wrestler who defeated Potter in the Round of 16, also topped him in the consolation semis, 11-1. Menlo (Calif.)'s No. 7 Jacob Mendoza topped him for fifth place, 5-1.

Potter, a Junction City product, completed the season as SOU's wins leader at 32-13. Gandara finished with a record of 28-12.

The Raiders' 19th-place finish was their best since 2018.

FINAL SOU RESULTS
133 – Evan Potter (6th place)
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Round 1 – Potter major dec. Diago Hernandez, Ottawa, 9-1.
Round 2 – No. 4 Carson Taylor, Grand View, dec. Potter, 6-0.
Consolation R2 – Potter major dec. Ivan Arguello, Reinhardt, 15-3.
Consolation R3 – Potter dec. No. 11 Taylor Vasquez, Morningside, 13-10.
Consolation R4 – Potter dec. No. 2 Matt Robertson, Saint Ambrose, 4-1.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Consolation R5 – Potter dec. No. 8 Keshawn Laws, Cumberland, 5-3.
Consolation Semifinals – No. 4 Carson Taylor, Grand View, major dec. Potter, 11-1.
5th-place Match – No. 7 Jacob Mendoza, Menlo, dec. Potter, 5-1.

157 – No. 10 Aaron Gandara (6th place)
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Round 1 – Gandara dec. Jalon Strong, Waldorf, 6-0.
Round 2 – No. 7 Derrick Smallwood, Lindsey Wilson, dec. Gandara, 8-7.
Consolation R2 – Gandara major dec. Adam Valdez, Vanguard, 11-0.
Consolation R3 – Gandara tech. fall Carlo Castagnaro, Arizona Christian, 15-0.
Consolation R4 – Gandara dec. Abraham Del Toro, Menlo, 8-7.
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Consolation R5 – Gandara dec. No. 11 James Williams, Embry-Riddle, 8-6.
Consolation Semifinals – No. 2 Wilder Wichman, Thomas More, dec. Gandara, 6-4.
5th-place Match – Trevor Burdick, Reinhardt, major dec. Gandara, 13-4.

125 – Pancho Barrera
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Round 1 – Barrera dec. Evan Shell, Morningside, 3-2.
Round 2 – No. 3 Justin Portillo, Grand View, dec. Barrera, 9-7.
Consolation R2 – Shay Horton, Thomas More, dec. Barrera, 4-2.

133 – No. 10 Justin Coon
FRIDAY'S RESULTS
Round 1 – Alex Pena, Wayland Baptist, major dec. Coon, 15-7.
Consolation R1 – Bye.
Consolation R2 – No. 8 Keshawn Laws, Cumberland, dec. Coon, 7-2.