Life Finishes as NAIA National Runner-Up; 14 from AAC Earn All-American Honors

WICHITA, Kan. - Three Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) teams placed in the top 20 at the 2024 NAIA Men's Wrestling Championship.

The annual event was held in Wichita, Kan., from Feb. 29-March 2.

Life scored 154 points to finish second overall, while Southeastern placed fourth with 91 points. Reinhardt finished 18th overall with 28 points. St. Thomas tallied eight points to finish 32nd, and Brewton-Parker collected three points to place 38th.

Individually, the AAC saw two earn national championships. Brevin Balmeceda of Life won the 157-pound class, while Zane Lanham of Life won the 285-pound class.

In all, 14 from the AAC earned NAIA-American honors. The honorees are:

• Brandon Orum, Life (125-pound class, fourth)
• Thaddeus Long, Life (133-pound class, second)
• Andrew Voiles, Southeastern (133-pound class, seventh)
• Kael Brisker, Southeastern (141-pound class, fourth)
• Parker Dobrocky, Southeastern (149-pound class, third)
• Brevin Balmeceda, Life (157-pound class, first)
• Trevor Burdick, Reinhardt (157-pound class, fourth)
• Steven Villalobos, Life (165-pound class, fourth)
• Trace Braun, Southeastern (165-pound class, seventh)
• Graham Calhoun, Southestern (174-pound class, second)
• Riley Smucker, Life (174-pound class, fifth)
• Kyle Homet, Life (184-pound class, second)
• Zane Lanham, Life (285-pound class, first)
• Gabe Jacobs, Southeastern (285-pound class, sixth)