Southwest Conference

DENTON, Texas – North Texas and Richland College went neck-and-neck in the team standings throughout the SWC Championships, with UNT pulling away at the end with a championship at heavyweight from Ikaika Neal to edge Richland, 138.5-134. The Eagles and Thunderducks each won five weight classes, with UNT taking most of the lighter weights and Richland earning most of the heavier classes.
Richland and UNT battled each other in seven finals matches, with Richland taking four of them. In all, Richland (10) and UNT (9) earned more than half of the SWC’s 33 automatic qualifier spots to the NCWA Championships. Texas A&M took third place with 48 points with 125-pound champion Brandon Felan.
UNT was led by SWC champions Taylor Swanson (133), Scott Akers (149), Coltan Williams (157), Drake Dudley (184) and Neal (285). But it was the Eagles’ depth with runners-up Cassidy Collins (141), Jake Wright (174), Quinn Redmond (197) and Brandon White (235) that showed through.
Samuel Hodges led off the Thunderducks’ charge with the title at 141, and Richland began its string of champions when Dustin Basham won the 165 title, followed by Hugo Martinez at 174, Dalton Madole at 197 and Caleb Smith at 235. Richland had runner-up finishes from David Washington (149), Asad Muhammad (157) and Niyubuntu Jean-Dedieu (184).
Houston-Downtown placed fourth with 44.5 points, helped by a 2-3 finish at 285 with Christopher Woods and Blake Cedillo, along with 133 runner-up Kevin Evans. Texas placed fifth with 34 points.