Wichita, Kan.—USM would sadly wrap up their National Tournament run and the 2025-26 season in Wichita with
Brody Gee (125lb.),
Roman De La Cruz (133lb.), and
Josey Jernegan (157lb.) all facing losses in the Friday evening sessions.
Gee would be defeated by TF 20-4 to No. 10 Pacheco of Friends University after a tough battle through three periods in the quarterfinal round. The second period would be crucial as Pacheco earned 7 points to Brody's 2, effectively closing the door for a comeback by Gee. Brody would again face defeat in the consolation round, losing by major decision (3-16) in what started out as a back-and-forth battle to Jesse Lewis of Wayland Baptist. Lewis would rack up eleven points in the final period and this would subsequently end Brody's incredibly successful season.
De La Cruz would face a similar story to his day. Roman would put up a fight starting with a quick take down against No. 6 seeded Luke Rioux of Indiana Tech, but fell by major decision with a final tally of 5-14. In the consolation round, Roman would be matched up against No. 16 seed Zuunbayan of Missouri Valley College. Roman would get down quick in the first period 1-3 and sadly never recover. De La Cruz would be defeated by major decision with a final tally of 3-19, bringing his post season run to a close.
Josey Jernegan would face an aggressive No. 2 seeded Padilla of Life University in the quarterfinal round last night. Padilla would get up 7-1 over Josey in the first period and wouldn't look back as Jernegan was defeated by a final score of 2-13. Josey's consolation round would tell a similar story for the 157lb.-er. Josey would get down quick 1-7 to No. 12 Cayleb Atkins of Friends University and wouldn't recover, not scoring in the second period and getting two points in the third that just wouldn't be enough. Jernegan would fall by major decision 3-15, putting an end to his exciting season.
The University of Saint Mary is extremely proud of the dedication and grit our Spire wrestlers have put forward all year and we are already thrilled to see what next year brings!
