Wrestling 2/13/2026 5:55:00 PM

Wrestling Finishes in Second Place at the Mid-South Conference Championship

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.--Cumberland put together a gritty performance at the Mid-South Conference Championships to finish in second place on Friday at Ephram White in Bowling Green.

TThe University of the Cumberlands claimed the Mid-South Conference Championship finishing with 168 team points. Cumberland came in second at 165.5 followed by Campbellsville in third place at 156.0 and Lindsey Wilson in fourth at 130.0

The Phoenix had nine wrestlers qualify for the NAIA National Championship with their performance on the mat today. Four Phoenix earned second place honors: Chase Walker (125), Sammy Shires (141), Victor Guzman (149), and Tyler Rowland (197) while Jared Dinh (141), Ethan Gomez (165), and Anthony Pyron (174) each finished in third place.

Chase Walker opened his tournament with a bye before exploding in the semifinals, pinning Wyatt Payne of Georgetown (Ky.) in just 19 seconds. In the championship match, Walker faced eighth-ranked Matteo Vargo of Cumberlands (Ky.), ultimately dropping an 8-2 decision to finish runner-up. Walker later secured second place officially with a no contest over Payne in the placement bout to earn the automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.

After receiving a first-round bye, Sammy Shires advanced to the finals via injury default over teammate Jared Dinh in the semifinals. In the championship bout, second-ranked Shires battled third-ranked Adrian Ayala of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) but dropped a tight 7-4 decision to place second. Shires also qualified for the NAIA National Championship for the third time.

Victor Guzman put together one of the most impressive runs of the day. He opened with a fall over Josh Sharron of Georgetown (Ky.) before pinning Nathan Payton of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. Guzman followed with an 8-2 semifinal decision over 15th-place Ty Lehman of Cumberlands (Ky.). In the finals, he battled fourth-ranked Nik Yancey of Campbellsville (Ky.), ultimately falling 4-1 in sudden victory to finish second.

Tyler Rowland opened with a fall over Ashton Simison of Rio Grande before earning a 15-10 semifinal decision over 12th-ranked Ashton Boswell of Campbellsville. In the championship bout, Rowland battled No. 11 Marcus James of Georgetown (Ky.) in a tight contest, ultimately falling 4-1 in a tie-breaker to finish runner-up.

Jared Dinh began his run with a 4-0 decision over No. 17 Eli Peyton of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. After falling to Shires by injury default in the semifinals, Dinh rebounded with a dominant 15-0 technical fall over Lucas Hall of Midway in the consolation semifinal. He then edged Peyton again in the third-place match, winning 1-0 to secure bronze.

Ethan Gomez opened with a technical fall over Michael Colligan of Midway. He then dropped a 4-3 ultimate tiebreaker to Derrick Bannister of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. Gomez responded with a forfeit win over Aidan Karpinski (Midway) and a technical fall over John Walters (Rio Grande). He earned a 4-1 sudden victory win over Jaiden Moore (Lindsey Wilson) in the consolation semifinals and then avenged his earlier loss to Bannister with a 4-1 sudden victory win in the third-place match. Gomez later dropped a decision in the second-place match to 10th-ranked Malachia Harris of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Anthony Pyron opened with a fall over Jackson Burger of Georgetown (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. After falling 8-1 to No. 10 Weston Melvin of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the semifinals, Pyron rebounded with a 13-3 major decision over Keenan Shively (Georgetown). He capped his day by pinning Burger again in the third-place match, securing bronze and earning his third trip to nationals.

Antonio Parker began with a bye before falling 15-3 to Brice Coleman of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Parker recorded back-to-back technical falls over Kaylin Foust (Rio Grande) and Jeremy Mills (Georgetown). He then defeated teammate Elijah Griffin 10-6 in the consolation semifinal. Parker fell 9-4 to Emmanuel Chelestin of Lindsey Wilson in the third-place match before finishing fourth after a no contest in the placement bout, but Parker earned his first trip to the NAIA National Championships.

Rocco Horvath received a bye to open and then defeated Justin Bartee of Rio Grande 14-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Horvath fell 11-3 to No. 8 Navarro Nanpuya (Georgetown). He responded with a 22-5 technical fall over No. 19 Lane Kiser (Cumberlands) in the consolation semifinal before dropping a 6-0 decision to Ashston Habiel (Lindsey Wilson) in the third-place match to finish fourth.

Elijah Griffin opened strong with a fall over Jeremy Mills of Georgetown (Ky.) and followed with a 5-4 decision over No. 22 Marc Le Gaspe of Cumberlands (Ky.) in the quarterfinals. After falling to No. 16 Antwaun Burns of Campbellsville by technical fall in the semifinals, Griffin dropped a 10-6 decision to teammate Antonio Parker in the consolation semifinals. He rebounded to defeat Mackandle Freeman of Rio Grande, 8-4, to earn fifth place.

Logan Heckert began with a technical fall over Sebastian Hutchinson of Midway before falling 16-4 to No. 8 Navarro Nanpuya of Georgetown in the quarterfinals. After receiving a bye in consolation round two, Heckert pinned Doug Dittmer (Georgetown). He later fell by pin to Ashston Habiel of Lindsey Wilson before earning fifth place via medical forfeit over 19th-ranked Lane Kiser of Cumberlands (Ky.).

Ellis Otting received a first-round bye before falling to eventual champion Nik Yancey by technical fall in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Otting responded with a 5-2 decision over Josh Sharron (Georgetown), before dropping a 10-6 decision to Cal Beadling of Campbellsville to conclude his tournament.

The NAIA National Championship is set to begin on March 5 at the Heartland Credit Union Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

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Players Mentioned

Jared Dinh: 5' 7"; Senior

Ethan Gomez: 5' 4"; Senior

Elijah Griffin: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Victor Guzman: 5' 8"; Graduate Student

Rocco Horvath: 5' 9"; Senior

Anthony Pyron: 5' 10"; Senior

Tyler Rowland: 6' 0"; Senior

Sammy Shires: 5' 7"; Redshirt Junior

Logan Heckert: 5' 9"; Junior

Antonio Parker: 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Jared Dinh
: 5' 7"; Senior

Ethan Gomez
: 5' 4"; Senior

Elijah Griffin
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student

Victor Guzman
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student

Rocco Horvath
: 5' 9"; Senior

Anthony Pyron
: 5' 10"; Senior

Tyler Rowland
: 6' 0"; Senior

Sammy Shires
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Junior

Logan Heckert
: 5' 9"; Junior

Antonio Parker
: 5' 10"; Freshman