EDMOND, OK – The UIndy wrestling team sent 10 wrestlers to this year's NCAA Super Regional IV tournament, and claimed five spots at this year's NCAA DII National Championship tournament.
Four-time national qualifier Cale Gray (285) and two-time national qualifier Nathan Smith (125) return to the national tournament after both earning spots last season. Along with the two national tournament returners, the Greyhounds will be sending three first-timers; All-GLVC Third Team member Gavin Garcia (149), GLVC Freshman of the Year Ethan Farnell (197) and freshman Michael Ortega (157).
On the day the Greyhounds finished in fourth place as a team, matching their 2025 fourth place finish. The Hounds collected 96 team points with three second place finishes, two third place finishes, two fifth place finishes and two sixth place finishes. UIndy finished only behind the top-15 duo of Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri, and GLVC foe Maryville.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Nathan Smith, Gavin Garcia and Cale Gray garnered the three second place finishes for the Greyhounds today, with Garcia and Gray both capturing three wins en route to runner-up finish.
Just a year ago Smith punched his ticket to nationals and was looking to do the same today. He cruised in his opening match of the day against Newman's Jaxson Newcomb with an early second period fall. Smith was set to face Drury's Bryson Humphries in the semifinals, someone he's seen three times already prior to today's meeting, leading 2-1 in their meetings. After an early take down in the first, Smith was able to hang on and secure riding time to earn the 4-0 win and secure his spot at the national tournament.
Garcia was the next Greyhound to capture a spot at nationals after going 3-1 on the day. He opened his day with a third period comeback decision against Maryville's Leo Buchheit before taking down McKendree's Caleb Lavine in the quarterfinals to earn his spot in the semifinals. Similar to his first match he needed a big third period to earn the win, and did so with a take down and an escape to get him the four points he needed to book his trip to Sioux Falls.
Gray earned his fourth trip to nationals after a 3-1 day that began with him earning a comfortable third period fall over Gavyn Uribes. Gray pinned Uribes at the Greyhound Duals just a month ago, moving his all-time match up record to 3-0 versus Uribes.
Gray then needed overtime and a tiebreaker to push past his second match against Ouachita Baptist's BK Seago. Gray found the escape in the second overtime, and earned riding time to get his 4-2 win and a spot in the semis. His semifinal was a routine 14-2 major decision win over the No. 1 seed Ryan Nichols that consisted of three take downs and three-point near fall.
The freshman duo of Ethan Farnell and Michael Ortega showcased the young talent from UIndy, needing three wins each to capture the final two spots at nationals.
Farnell earned a fall in his first match of the day, and faced a tough second round match up with McKendree's Logan Kvien, a 2025 national qualifier. He fell to Kvien but it did not come without a fight, as a late third period take down gave Kvien the 5-1 win. Farnell earned the two wins he needed after his loss to capture his first trip to nationals including a win over the No. 3-ranked Garrett Wells from Central Oklahoma.
Ortega was the final national qualifier, earning a 10-6 decision in his first match of the day, and similar to Farnell faced a tough second round opponent. He fell to the No. 1 nationally ranked Gabe Johnson, but rebounded with a pin just 34 seconds into his consolation semifinal to earn a chance at a spot at the national tournament. Ortega faced McKendree's James Hoskinson in the third place match, and got his revenge after dropping the first two meetings to him this year. He came back in the third period, including a take down with 21 seconds left to punch the final ticket to nationals for the Greyhounds.
Christian Chavez (184) and Logan Farnell (165) both concluded their seasons with fifth place finishes, while Aidan Sprague (133) and Zach Haughton (141) captured sixth place at this year's Super Regional tournament. Shane Bates was the final Greyhound to compete in the Super Regional, earning two wins in his final event as a Greyhound.
UP NEXT
The five Hounds who advanced to this year's NCAA DII Championships will have two weeks to rest before things get underway in Sioux Falls, SD on March 13.
