Lander University

Farrah Sheeren

Wrestling 3/15/2025 12:45:00 AM Turner Kirby - Director of Athletic Communications

#8 Lander has Four Named All-Americans on First Day of NCAAs

INDIANAPOLIS – The eighth-ranked Lander wrestling team saw Christian Davis, Isham Peace, and David Hunsberger advance to the championship semifinals of their respective weight classes, while Marvelous Rutledge battled through the consolation bracket to secure a top-eight finish on Day 1 of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at Corteva Coliseum on Friday.

The Bearcats sit in second place with 37.5 team points, two ahead of third-place St. Cloud State. Nebraska-Kearney leads the field with 64.0 points after the first two sessions.

Lander has now produced an All-American in four consecutive seasons, bringing the program's total to 17 since its inaugural 2019-20 campaign.

Davis, the No. 2 seed, opened his tournament with a 2-0 victory over Anthony Sagaris of Lake Erie, earning an escape in the second period before riding out the third for the win. In the quarterfinals, Davis built an 8-2 lead against Ryan Henningson of Minnesota State Moorhead, but Henningson clawed back to take the lead late in the third period. Davis secured a takedown with four seconds remaining to earn a dramatic victory and a spot on the podium in his freshman season. He joins Hunsberger as the only Lander freshmen to achieve All-American status at the NCAA Championships. Davis will face third-seeded Reece Barnhardt of UMary in the semifinals, a rematch of their Midwest Classic 133-pound final, where Davis won 8-2.

Seventh-seeded Peace continued his dominant season with his 19th and 20th bonus-point victories, earning a 15-0 tech fall over Brock Durbin of Ashland before rolling past Braden Tatum of Newberry, 14-5, to clinch his first career top-eight finish. The South Carolina native will take on Khyvon Grace of West Liberty in the semifinals. Grace has already upset the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds in the tournament.

Hunsberger collected two bonus-point wins en route to the semifinals. He opened with a pin of Edward Terreri of Felician in 5:46 before dismantling Nate Barrett of Ashland with a 17-4 major decision. The junior is now 9-2 in his career at the NCAA Championships, joining Zeth Brower as the only three-time All-Americans in program history.

Rutledge opened against top-seeded Dominic Murphy of St. Cloud State and pushed him to the wire before a last-second takedown gave Murphy a 4-1 victory, sending Rutledge to the consolation bracket. He rebounded with a win over John Parker of Newberry before facing No. 2-seed Logan Kvien of McKendree. Rutledge staved off a two-point near fall and secured a 4-3 victory, guaranteeing his place on the podium.

Freshman Isaac Sheeren came within one win of earning All-American honors. After dropping his opening match against the No. 7 seed, he bounced back with a win over Kale Schrader of Newberry. In his next match against Tyler Doyle of Colorado Mesa, Sheeren had a deep shot late but was pulled out of bounds, preventing him from finishing his attack and ending his season.

Kaden Kuenzi earned a pin against Colt Brown of Montevallo to advance to the main draw but was eliminated after a loss to Nathan Smith of UIndy.

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Players Mentioned

David Hunsberger: Junior; 157

Kaden Kuenzi: Senior; 133

Isham Peace: Redshirt Junior; 141

Christian Davis: Freshman; 133

Marvelous Rutledge: Junior; 197

Players Mentioned

David Hunsberger
: Junior; 157

Kaden Kuenzi
: Senior; 133

Isham Peace
: Redshirt Junior; 141

Christian Davis
: Freshman; 133

Marvelous Rutledge
: Junior; 197