JEREMIAH VOLIVA WINS 184-POUND KCAC CHAMPIONSHIP AND VOTED OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Junior Jeremiah Voliva took advantage of competing in the KCAC Championships on his home mat as the junior from Phoenix, Ariz., went 3-0 in the conference tournament on Friday, winning the 184-pound class and automatically qualifying for the NAIA National Championships.

Voliva's day wasn't done on as the KCAC Head Coaches voted him as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships.

"I knew Jeremiah could do it all season long," said Avila head coach Eric Mateo. "He battled some injuries throughout the year and we got him in a rhythm second semester. He came into the tournament as the four seed, had to knock off the No. 1 seed in the semis and he majored him. Then he knocked off a nationally-ranked opponent in the finals who was a tough opponent. He had to get a takedown and he got it down, so I was proud of him. It was also great to see him recognized for his efforts as the OW."

As Mateo mentioned, Voliva defeated No. 25 Gabe Chesbro of Saint Mary in the first-place match via 5-4 decision. He recorded victories in the semifinal over Friends' Jason Bowers with an 11-3 major decision and a quarterfinal win over Spencer Rochelle of Ottawa with a 16-5 major decision.

Hosting the conference tournament for the first time, Voliva and the Eagles had a strong showing with Logan Johnson finishing 2-1 and in second place in the 149-pound division. As a team, the Eagles finished No. 5, just 2.5 points behind Oklahoma Wesleyan in fourth place.

Johnson, a member of the program since the start, won his quarterfinal match via fall in 1:38 and his semifinal match with a 5-0 decision before falling in the first-place match.

In addition to Voliva and Johnson, Ryan McNeel (No. 5, 133 pounds), Tyler Johnson (No. 4, 133 pounds), Terrell Carter-Williams (No. 6, 141 pounds), Jace Tapia (No. 6, 157 pounds), Joe Juitt (No. 6, 174 pounds), Blake Becker (No. 6, 197 pounds) and Jeremiah Sanders (No. 6, 285 pounds) placed for the Eagles.

While there weren't as many medalists as they would have hoped, Mateo saw strides and was pleased with his team's performance:

"I was proud of the guys and how far they've come this season. We're in the fourth year of the program – a couple guys were here since the inception of the program and wrestled in their final conference tournament. A ton of gratitude for those guys who came to start this program. I'm proud of the effort as a team."

As the only guaranteed qualifier, Voliva will next compete at the 2025 NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championships in Park City, Kan from March 6-8. 550-229

Mateo: "The final message to the guys was the job's not done. We have one qualifier and hopefully a few more at-large and we'll need the whole team at practice on Monday. These guys are for sure working to get Jeremiah on the podium."