ATHLETICS REVIEW
Life U Men ’ s Wrestling Captures Program ’ s First Ever NAIA National Championship
Life U ’ s Men ’ s Wrestling team had 10 of its 12 wrestlers make it to the podium as All- Americans , and Brandon Orum clinched the 125-pound title as the Life University Men ’ s Wrestling team turned the NAIA wrestling world on its head this past spring , making history by winning the program ’ s first ever NAIA National Championship .
Life U accumulated 158 team points during the NAIA National Tournament to reject the favorites , Grand View , from a shot at making collegiate wrestling history with its 10thstraight championship , winning by a fivepoint margin over the second-place Vikings ’ 153 points in what was a two-team race after the first day .
“ This 20-21 team was special because it was a culmination of my four years of coaching at Life U ,” said Head Coach Omi Acosta . “ We had guys that were incoming freshman as I took over the program in 2016 that were seniors and a mixture of student-athletes that fit the Life U Wrestling mission and vision , which is to maximize the best version of yourself on and off the mat . This team was tough , coachable and extremely prideful to wear the Life U colors .”
Three Running Eagles — Orum , Denver Stonecheck and Asher Eichert — took to the
Brandon Orum clinched the 125-pound individual NAIA National Championship during the Men ’ s Wrestling triumph back in March . stage on championship night , vying for the highest honor in their respective weight classes with Orum being the team ’ s lone victor . In his title match , Orum battled all the way against the two-seed Lucas Nelson ( Brewton-Parker ), holding on for a tight victory via a 3-2 decision .
Orum ’ s championship run started with a 17-2 tech fall , breezing through the first day as he outscored his three opponents 38-8 to clinch his All-American status and earn himself a spot in the semi-finals . Day two opened with Orum ’ s hardest test yet , facing the topseeded 125-pounder Justin Portillo ( Grand View ) in a match that went to extra time before winning 6-4 in sudden victory one .
Stonecheck made it all the way to the final match of the 149-pound bracket , standing on the podium as the runner up . His first day started with a bye before he defeated the 12 and four-seeds via decision to advance to the final day . In his semi-final match , Stonecheck earned a 9-6 victory over Jack Latimer ( Arizona Christian ) before dropping the championship in a decision .
Four other Life U wrestlers made it to the semifinals : Randy McCray , Jr . at 125 pounds , Tyree Johnson at 141 pounds , Sid Ohl at 165 pounds and Zane Lanham at 197 pounds . McCray , Jr . swept through the first day before coming up short in the semis . As the team did the rest of the tournament , he fought his way back , defeating the eight and one-seeds to secure a third-place finish . Johnson kicked his tournament off with a pin and ended it the same way with a pin of the four-seed Blake Mulkey ( Marian ) to secure third place , collecting tons of bonus points for the team with two falls , a tech fall and a major decision . For Ohl , he fell in tough matches in both the semis and consolation semis , before earning important bonus points for Life U with a 10-0 major decision over the three-seed Elias Vaoifi ( Missouri
Valley ) for fifth place . Lanham narrowly lost to the eventual 197-pound champion in the semis , but he followed that up by taking care of business in his final two matches to take third place on the podium .
Jack Bass , Baker Hadwan , and Diallo Matsimela all made it through the blood round at the end of day one to make their way into the final day of competition and lock themselves in as All-Americans . Bass took a loss in the quarterfinals to the threeseed , but quickly bounced back with a pin and made it through the blood round with an epic , tie breaker-one 2-1 victory to make it into the final day . As part of Life U ’ s flawless 7-0 performance in the ranking round , Bass earned bonus points with a pin of the fourseed Tanner Abbas ( Grand View ) for fifth place . After falling in the blood round last year , Hadwan made it through this time with extra time victories to make it to the day two and then recorded a 10-5 decision over fourseed Tyler Hall ( Lindsey Wilson ) for a fifthplace finish in the 184-pound bracket .
Myles Starke finished the tournament 2-2 , beating three-seed Ben Lee ( Grand View ) to start the day before coming just short in the blood round . Julian Hernandez also started his day with a victory before dropping his remaining matches .
Following the conclusion of the event , the NAIA announced Head Coach Omi Acosta for a pair of honors for his and his team ’ s spectacular season . He was called up first for the Sportsmanship Award before being announced as the NAIA Coach of the Year as voted by his peers .
“ The goal was never to beat Grand View . The goal was not to win a national championship . The goal was to be the best version of ourselves on and off the mat , and in doing that , success followed ,” explained Acosta .
78 Alumni . LIFE . edu | 2021