INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy Wrestling team is sending five wrestlers to this year's NCAA DII National Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D., which are set to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday March 13.
The Greyhounds are tied with No. 8-ranked McKendree for the most national qualifers this season, just one year after
UIndy sent six to the 2025 edition of the NCAA National Championships.
UIndy had a strong showing at the
NCAA DII Super Regional IV, with three Hounds coming away with second place finishes from;
Nathan Smith (125),
Gavin Garcia (149) and
Cale Gray (285), while
Ethan Farnell (197) and
Michael Ortega (157) each battled their way through the consolation brackets to third place finishes.
The Greyhounds head into this year's national championships with two veteran wrestlers, Gray and Smith, making return appearances to the national championship. Gray leads the duo with
four all-time appearances for the Greyhounds at the national championships in a Greyhound singlet, while Smith is heading into this year's event with back-to-back appearances.
Similar to last year, Smith will face a rematch from earlier in the season in his first match at the 125 weight class. He begins his quest for a national title against the No. 3 seed, Jack Parker from Grand Valley, someone he saw at the
Greyhound Duals just a month ago.
While Gray begins his national tournament journey in the championship preliminary bracket against King's Nathan Coley, with the winner getting the rights to take on the No. 7 seed Luke Tweeton from UMary. Gray and Tweeton battled one another in the third place match at the
2025 Midwest Classic, with Tweeton coming out on top 4-2 in a match that didn't see many attacking chances for either guy.
With the two returners set for Sioux Falls, the Greyhounds also have three first time national qualifiers set to make their debuts this weekend. Ortega heads into this event with loads of momentum including, three pin victories and a top-15 upset win over Grand Valley's No. 12 seed Maclain Morency at the
Greyhound Duals, since the start of the calendar year. He opens his tournament against Mike Zacur in the championship preliminary bracket. Zacur has only faced the Greyhounds once in his career, which came against
Jackson Hoover last year at the
Bob Del Rosa Open.
Garcia is another one who comes in with a lot of momentum that dates back to the beginning of the season when he took home the 149 title at
Pioneer Open. He begins his journey to a national title as the 12 seed, opening up against Rudy Lopez, the No. 5 seed.
The
GLVC Freshman of the Year, Farnell, rounds out the five Greyhound national qualifiers at 197. He starts his 2026 National Tournament debut against the No. 4 seed Jackson Kinsella from Nebraska-Kearney. Kinsella has only faced the Greyhounds once in his career, and that was at last season's
2025 NWCA National Duals when
Derek Blubaugh beat him by major decision.
For more information about the
NCAA DII National Championships, please visit
FloWrestling, and follow along on
UIndy Athletics website and
social media platforms.
