WICHITA, Kan. – KC Buday became an All-American on Friday after the first day of competition at the NAIA National Championships in Wichita, Kansas.

"It's an awesome thing for KC," head coach Steve Komac said. "He has worked very, very hard and done a lot of things right. He was able to put together a great day and become an All-American. The entire program is super happy for KC."

Buday, who entered the tournament as the 11-seed, started out hot, defeating Earnest Johnson (Keiser) 5-1 in the opening round. In the second round he took on #6 Joshua Isaac (Missouri Valley), where he lost a tight 4-2 match.  

Facing elimination in the consolation bracket, Buday took on Isaac's teammate Brooks Baker (Missouri Valley), defeating him 7-3 to move on. In the next round Buday pinned Ethan Powell (Truett McConnell) to advance to the blood round, where the winner would earn All-American status. His opponent was #9 Patrick Depiazza (Cumberlands), who Buday defeated 3-1 to clinch the victory. 

"One of the excellent gifts that KC has is a short-term memory when it comes to losses," Komac said. "He has a lot of composure. He lost the match early on and returned with a great effort. When you take the short term-memory loss and the good composure and effort, it makes days like today possible."

This marks the first time that Buday has earned the All-American honor. It's also the first for the program since the 2019-20 season.

"We have very high expectations for ourselves as a staff and as a program," Komac said. "We want to be very successful at the national level. We didn't have any All-Americans a year ago and today we do. It's a step in the right direction, even if it's a small step."

Jordan Komac, a 12-seed in the tournament, started the day off with a win as well, defeating Weston Miles (Cumberlands) 3-2. He fell to #5 David Rubio (Corban) in the second round, which sent him back to the consolation bracket. There he defeated #11 Wyatt Kirkham (Southeastern) by an 8-6 decision. The win matched Komac up with his rival Chase Short (MSU-Northern), who eliminated him from the tournament.

Hayden Schrull, also 12-seed for the squad, started off hot by defeating Joey Ewalt (Baker) 9-1 to advance to the second round. There he fell to Lucas DeSilva (Brewton-Parker) and was sent to the consolation bracket. He faced off against Chase Vincent (Oklahoma City) where he fell 10-7.

"Jordan and Hayden have been tremendous leaders in our room all year long," Komac said. "They're two of the hardest workers we have. They're going through a hard time right now but we're very proud of those two. They give everything they've got and they hang it all on the line."

Joel Avila, yet another 12-seed in the tournament, started off the day with a 3-1 decision win over Mario Ybarra (Concordia). He then lost 8-6 to #5 Jacob Ruiz (Life) in the second round, pitting him against #11 Taylor Vasquez (Morningside), where he lost 7-3.

Also in the 184-lb. bracket was Alan Badley. After receiving a bye in the first-round, Badley was defeated by #2 Eric Vermillion (Indiana Tech). He then took on Tyson Stover (Corban), losing 8-4.

"Joel and Alan have had better days, Komac said. "They've had good seasons for us. We'll have to sit down with them and reflect and talk about what we might do for different results moving forward."

Buday will hit the mat again on Saturday for an opportunity to reach 3^rd place. He will take on #4 Aaron Johnson Saturday morning.

"We know that everybody that's left can wrestle. Our goal is the same every time – wrestle the best we can every time we get on the map. Hopefully we find a few more wins and keep climbing the ladder. Regardless we're excited to get back out there tomorrow."