LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Men's Wrestling is set to travel to Wichita, Kansas, for the 69th NAIA Men's Wrestling National Championship. The NAIA national office released the preliminary brackets this week, with five Mountaineers slated to compete for a national title.

Eastern Oregon automatically qualified four wrestlers at last weekend's Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships and added a fifth competitor via at-large selection. An alternate was also announced Tuesday. Ranked No. 23 in the final NAIA team poll, EOU enters the national tournament with three individually ranked wrestlers and two additional qualifiers who earned their spots through the CCC Championships.

The championship will feature six sessions over three days, beginning Thursday, March 5, at Hartman Arena in Wichita. All 10 weight classes will include 32 wrestlers competing in a double-elimination format, with the top eight finishers in each class earning NAIA All-American honors.

Brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee. A 16-member selection committee, composed of conference raters and oversight members, first determined the remaining at-large qualifiers. The committee then established the ranking order in each weight class, which served as the foundation for final bracket placement.

No.10 Kai Carson (22-6) will open competition against fourth-seeded No.6 Vincent Citrano of Oklahoma City. Carson has recorded 10 falls, two technical falls and seven decisions this season.

Also at 133 pounds, 11th-seeded No.10 Braden Carson (17-9) will face Aurelio Mendez of Cornerstone. Carson has totaled six falls and nine decisions on the year.

15th-seeded Cole Cross (16-10) will take on Georgino Moraga of St. Ambrose. Cross has posted one fall, three technical falls and 10 decisions this season.

Carlos Valdez (35-19) is set to face seventh-seeded No.6 Avant Stepherson of Southern Oregon. Valdez enters nationals with 13 falls, eight technical falls and 10 decisions.

Fifth-seeded No.12 Nico Rodriguez (25-9) will meet No.15 Bryce Wheatley of Southeastern. Rodriguez has tallied four falls, four technical falls and 15 decisions this season.

John Rudebaugh will travel as the alternate at 165 pounds and could compete if the bracket shifts prior to weigh-ins.

All sessions will be streamed live on FloWrestling, the NAIA Network and the Urban Edge Network. Live results and updated brackets will be available through TrackWrestling.

To view the full release: NAIA Preliminary Bracket