Wichita, Kan.—
 
WOMEN'S FALCON INVITE:

The No. 16 ranked Spire women's wrestling team started their 2026-27 season in the same place they'll look to end it at Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kansas at the annual and highly competitive Falcon Invite yesterday on Friday, October 30th.

The reigning All-American in the 103lb. weight class, Alexsys Jacquez, proved exactly why she's so dominant in the collegiate landscape taking 2^nd overall in opening weekend. Alexsys would have an excellent day, starting with three quick wins to get her into the championship match. Jacquez would win by fall over Reyes of Bellevue in her first round of action for the 2026-27 season, followed by a tech fall win (12-2) over Abramson of OCU. She would follow that up with another win by fall (1:52) in the semifinal round over Navarette of Doane. The championship match would be full of action for Alexsys as she faced unattached wrestler Katey Valdez but would eventually be defeated by fall to bring home 2^nd place overall in Wichita.

Teammate Holly Thacher (117lb.) would find her first win of the season but unfortunately only win of the day in her opening match. Holly would begin her season with a tech fall win (10-0) over Gutierrez over Doane. It would be two tough outings in a row after that for the underclassman as she was defeated by unattached wrestler Alisha Paradise by tech fall (10-0) and then again in round two of the consolation bracket falling to Bilbao-Guzman of the hosts Friends University.

Freshman Maddy Knight would get her first taste of collegiate action at Hartman. Knight would open her career with a win over Hawkins of Missouri Valley but then fall in both her subsequent matches against Rampani of Missouri Baptist and Busick of Friends University.

Fellow newcomer Olivia Gardner opened her collegiate career in strong fashion in the freshman division, starting off with two wins right off the bat. Gardener defeated Calovich of Barton Community College by tech fall (10-0) before going on to defeat Guerrero of Friends (10-0) as well. She would hit a road block come the semifinal match as she fell to Sellars of Carl Albert, sending her to the consolation semis. Olivia would then be defeated by Skelley of OCU to end her evening.

Maci Pearson opened her junior season with a win in round two after a first-round bye, defeating Begemann of Central Methodist. Maci's quarterfinal round would be a hard-fought battle, but she would come up just short in a tech fall loss (10-0) to Jewell of Missouri Valley. She would face a similar fate in the consolation round, falling to Weese of Doane to complete her opening weekend.
 
MEN'S FALCON INVITE:

It was the (RV) Spire men's team up today Saturday, October 31st as they saw their first action at Hartman. USM kicked off what promises to be a strong 2026-27 season with fifteen wrestlers competing this weekend.

In the 125lb. weight class, Caden Gallet had a phenomenal outing after receiving a first-round bye earlier this morning. Caden would record two wins by fall over Heitland of Murray State and Bailey of Fort Hays Tech Northwest. In the quarterfinal round, he would earn a win by decision (3-0) over Stark (unaffiliated) quickly followed by a semifinal win (7-4) over Williams of Concordia (Neb.) to send himself to the championship match. Caden would put up a fight in the final outing of the night, but fall to Quint to bring home a 2^nd place finish.

Freshman Jeremy Welch (133lb. weight class) would get his first taste of a collegiate outing. He received a bye in the first-round but would then go on to win his first match of his college career with a win by decision (9-5) over Madda of Benedictine College. The rest of Welch's day would split from there, dropping the next match by fall to Clayton of Doane, but winning the consolation round four over Boyd of Fort Hays Tech Northwest. Jeremy finished his outing with a loss to Wallace by fall in the consolation round five.  

Owen Leffert in the 141lb. class would face a tough day at the Falcon Invite, dropping both of his matches. Round one was a loss by tech fall to Harms of Midland (Neb.) and in round two a loss by fall to Rose of Doane University.

Ryan Buccat in the 149lb. weight class started the day with three straight wins through three rounds, opening the day with a win by fall over Hodgson of Cowley County. Moving on to round two, Ryan found himself victorious again with a tech fall win (21-1) over Leon of Doane University. Win number three was a major decision win (17-7) over Hasbrouck of Bellevue. Ryan would suffer his first loss of the afternoon by fall to Hernandez of Doane University, but quickly turned things back in his favor in in the consolation round six with a win by fall over Cook of Doane University. Buccat would notch two more matches in his long opening day starting with a round 7 win over McElwain of Pratt Community College. Ryan would wrap up against fellow Spire Trever Mogren in the consolation semifinals and face a loss to end the day.

Newcomer Zach Dawson (149lb.) had a challenging day for his first time out as a Spire. After a first-round bye, Zach defeated Lopez of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) by major decision (13-5). However, Zach would run into a quarterfinal and consolation round defeat by Tabor of Labette (5-2) and Powe of Pratt CC by decision (7-3) to end his night at Hartman.

Trever Mogren (149lb. weight class) would take 4^th place at the battle in Hartman. Starting with a hot streak and four hard-earned wins. Opening the day in round one with a win by decision (7-2) over Sanders of Oklahoma City. Round two brought a win by fall for Mogren over Williams of Pratt Community College and a quick round three win by major decision (12-1) over Thomas of Benedictine College. In the quarterfinal match, Trever battled it out against Gutsch of Bellevue and earned a 8-2 win to send him to the semifinal match. Mogren would face his first loss of the day by major decision (17-4) to Garrett of Cowley County. A win in the consolation semifinals over teammate Buccat would earn Trever a spot in the 3^rd place match against Roesch of Doane University where he would finish the weekend taking 4^th place overall.

Spire standout Josey Jernegan (157lb.) would go 1-2 on the day, starting with an opening round bye. In round two, Josey would defeat Glade by major decision (14-4) before dropping the quarterfinal bout to Downing of Corban University. Jernegan would forfeit the consolation round to Christo, ending his day.

Ben Smith in the 157lb. class would split his day going 2-2 in Wichita. Smith earned two quick wins in rounds one and two by fall and tech fall (18-3), respectively. Fetterolf of OKC would get the best of their match in the quarterfinal round as Ben was defeated by tech fall 18-1. The consolation round would tell a similar tale as Smith fell to Jensen of Wayland Baptist by major decision.

Freshman Lane Vogel in the 165lb. weight class would have a solid first outing for his opening. Vogel would win his first two matches of the day by fall over Briggs and Washington of Labette Community College and Murray State, respectively. The quarterfinal round would prove a bit more challenging as Lane was defeated by major decision (21-9) by Ingram of Pratt Community College to send him to the consolation round. He would bounce back in round fur with a 45-second win by fall over Nation of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, but go on to drop his round five match to McAvey of Fort Hays Tech NW to end his Saturday.

Lleyton Hoover saw tough competition in the 165lb. class, dropping his opening round match to Gomez of Texas Wesleyan by major decision. After a consolation round bye, he would again drop the bout against Stadel of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) by major decision (14-4).

Luke Hancock in the 174lb. weight class finished 1-2 at Hartman. Luke dropped his opening bout against Griggs of Benedictine by tech fall (16-1). After a consolation round one bye, he would pick up his only win of the afternoon against McMahen of Missouri Baptist by a 9-7 decision but then subsequently fall to Wheeler of Grand View.

Graham Kilpper in the 174lb. weight class would have a dominant outing to build off a great end of last season. Graham would pick up three wins in the first three rounds. First, a win by decision over Rakes of Morningside followed by a tech fall win (15-0) over McMahen of Missouri Baptist and a 17-9 MD victory over Fitzpatrick of Grand View. Graham would have a hard battle in the semifinal round and fall to Page (unattached). He would battle his way back in the consolation semi's with a win by decision over Vander Luitgaren of Grand View and a victory in the 3^rd place match, defeating Morris 13-10 to earn 3^rd place overall.

Fellow freshman Samuel Alvarez (184lb.) picked up two wins after an opening bye over Lottie (MD 16-5) and Moorman (TF 20-2) of Missouri Baptist and Midland, respectively. The semifinal round would prove tougher as Alvarez was defeated by tech fall to Morrison of Doane University to find himself in the consolation semifinals. Sam would end his outing in the consolation semi's by fall to Tyler of Bellevue.

Orinn Hubbard put together a slid overall performance to earn himself a 3^rd place finish in the 197lb. class. After an opening bye, Orinn picked up three consecutive wins in rounds two (54-second fall), three (Fall), and four (MD 15-3) to get himself into the semifinal round. Hubbard would fall to Hagel of Pratt Community College but it didn't slow him down as he went on to win the consolation semi's over Obanion and then defeat Lamfers by major decision (12-2) for a well-earned 3^rd place final.

Devon Lolar would round out the Spires in the heavyweight class for USM. Devon would pick up two kick wins first over Jones of Texas Wesleyan by fall and then a 2-1 victory over Massillon of Keiser University. Lolar would face a battle in the final two rounds, losing first in the semifinal round to Soufi of MBU by decision (8-2) followed by a consolation semi loss to Botma of Arizona Christian by decision.
 
To view the entire bracket from the weekend, please visit Flo Wrestling.
 
 
Coming Up…

USM will continue life on the road for a few weeks as they gear up to travel to Lamoni, Iowa for a tri with the hosts Graceland University and Hastings College on Thursday, November 5^th with GU vs USM matches set for 5:00 p.m. in the Morden Center.