PARK CITY, Kan. — Three wrestlers from Montana colleges earned All-America status at the NAIA national championships.
Providence's Abel Nava and KC Buday both placed third Saturday at Hartman Arena, while Rylin Burns of Montana State-Northern placed fifth.
Nava, a sophomore from Washington, started the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the 174-pound bracket and won his first match by technical fall, 16-0. He lost a 9-5 decision in the second round to fall into the consolation bracket, where he won six matches, including the third-place match by fall in 3:00 over second-seeded Cole Smith of Cumberland (Tenn.).
Buday, a Great Falls CMR alum in his senior season at UP, was the No. 2 seed at 285 pounds. He opened the tournament with an 18-1 tech fall in the first round, followed by a 7-1 decision in the second and 4-1 sudden victory of Hunter DeJong of Morningside (Iowa) in the quarterfinals.
Buday lost an 11-5 decision to Zane Lanham of Life (Ga.) in the semifinal round to slip into the consolation bracket. He won two matches in the wrestlebacks, including again defeating DeJong in the third-place match 4-1 in sudden victory.
Burns, a junior from Lame Deer who went to Colstrip High School, was not seeded in the 184-pound bracket but opened with a pin of No. 13 seed Brett Bober of Baker (Kan.). Burns lost in the second round to fall into the consolation bracket. He won three matches before losing in the consolation semis. In the fifth-place match, Burns earned a 9-1 major decision over Daryus Webb of Avila (Mo.).
