KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In just his second season at the helm, Friends University men's wrestling head coach Tyler Mies has ascended to the top of the league after being named the 2024-25 KCAC Coach of the Year following today's conference runner-up finish at the KCAC Championships tonight (Feb. 21) at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo.
Individually, the Falcons brought home two conference championships as Braden Morgan was victorious in the 285-pound class and Benedict Holthaus came out top of the 174-pound division to earn their way to the NAIA National Championship.
Ezavian Ortega also finished as the runner-up in the 157-pound class to receive a berth to the NAIA National Championship.
Additionally, Jake Knowles gave the Falcons a second place showing and Wyatt Gardner and Jason Bowers each produced top-three finishes.
Chase Baker recorded a fourth-place result, while Logan Sell, Jacob Bible and Junior Camacho were all within the top five for Friends.
"These guys game to scrap," said Mies. "We didn't reach the goal we set out for, but this is a great step in the right direction. We are looking forward to getting these guys ready for the National Tournament in a couple of weeks.
The Coach of the Year award shows how amazing our coaching staff is, the support at Friends, our amazing wrestlers and all those that have supported us along the way!"
As Mies noted, Morgan, Holthaus and Ortega will now begin preparing for the upcoming NAIA National Championship, set for Mar. 6-8 at nearby Park City, Kan.
