PARK CITY, Kan. --- The Wayland Baptist Men's Wrestling team had four wrestlers compete at the 2026 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships highlighted by
Jesse Lewis, who earned 5
th place and received All-American honors.
A freshman for Norfolk, Nebraska, Lewis had an outstanding performance at the NAIA National Championships after taking 5
th place in the 125 pound division, which earned him NAIA All-American honors. Lewis finished the tournament with a 6-2 record, recording four wins by way of Decision, one by Fall, and one by Major Decision.
Jaden Two Lance fell just short of All-American honors in the 149 pound weight class after falling in the "Blood Round", which is round 4 of the consolation bracket. Two Lance finished the tournament with a record of 3-2. He secured his first win in the Opening Round by way of a 17-0 Technical Fall, then by an 8-1 Decision in the consolation round two, and finally a 16-2 Major Decision in the consolation round three.
Allen, Texas native
Emmett Bivens finished in similar fashion to Two Lance, falling in the "Blood Round" and narrowly missing out on All-American honors in the 285 pound division. Bivens also finished 3-2 in the tournament. After dropping the Opening Round match, Bivens rattled off three straight wins, all by way of Major Decisions.
Dayne Stormer competed in the 184 pound division, going 0-2 in the tournament. Stormer fell in the Opening Round, and an unfortunate injury prevented him from being able to compete the rest of the way.
As a team, the Pioneers placed tied for 22
nd out of 63 total teams. Wayland Baptist earned 22 points during the national championships, which tied them with Arizona Christian.
Head Coach
Stryder Davis expressed how proud he was of his team saying, "Extremely proud of the way these guys represented Wayland all season and especially at the national tournament."
Coach Davis continued, "
Jesse Lewis earned All-American honors at 125 and that is a testament to the work he has put in every day.
Jaden Two Lance and
Emmett Bivens both battled hard and came up just short in the blood round, one match away from the podium. That is a brutal place to be, but it show the level they compete at. I saw a ton of growth from this group throughout the year. Jaden and Jesse will be right back in the hunt for the top of the podium next season. And while we hate to see Emmett graduate, we are incredibly grateful for everything he gave to this program."
To view the full results from the 2026 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships, please visit
here.
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