Kansas Wrestling (all images via ravenathletics.com)
Keenan Graef earns fifth place at 157 pounds, qualifies for NAIA National Championship
Men’s Wrestling – Tue, Feb. 16, 2021 at 12:25 PM
OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Keenan Graef headlined a group of three wrestlers who placed at the annual Heart Wrestling Championship on Saturday for the Raven Wrestling Program.
Graef placed fifth at 157 pounds and earned a trip to the 2021 NAIA National Championship in Park City, Kan., on March 5-6.
Graef fell 4-0 in his first match of the Championship to eventual bracket winner Giovanni Bonilla of Grand View University. In his first match of the consolation bracket, he earned a 4-2 decision over teammate Michael Lucas. In his second match of the consolation bracket, he earned a win by fall over Cameron Hargrove of William Penn before falling in the consolation semifinals. He earned a 7-2 decision in the fifth-place match with a win over Baker’s Joey Hancock to clinch his trip to the National Championship.
Fischer Valleroy (133 pounds) and Jensen McDermott (174 pounds) both earned sixth-place finishes. Valleroy fell by a major decision in his fifth-place match to Dickinson State’s Caleb Nielson. McDermott lost by fall in his fifth-place match to Dickinson State’s Isaac Anderson.
As a team, the Ravens scored 29 points to earn an eighth-place finish.
