WICHITA, Kan. – Horacio Godinez (So.) from The Evergreen State College won his opening match, lost in the second round of the championship bracket, and earned a win in the second round of consolation play to go 2-1 on the first day of the 2026 NAIA Men's Wrestling Championships on Thursday, March 5. The tournament is being held at the Heartland Credit Union Arena. Action will continue through Saturday, March 7.

Godinez is the first Geoduck to compete for Evergreen at an NAIA men's wrestling championship since adding men's wrestling as a sport for the 2023-24 season.

Seeded #14, Godinez opened the NAIA Championships with a 13-6 win over Dylan Clark from Southern Oregon University. It was a rematch from the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships. In the semifinals of the CCC meet, Godinez downed Clark 9-4. Godinez went on to win the CCC title in the 141-pound weight class.

In the rematch against Clark at the NAIA Championships, Godinez took a 3-1 lead in the first period, then added an escape and a takedown in the second period for a 7-1 advantage. Godinez outscored Clark 6-5 in the third period to clinch the win. Clark pulled within 10-5 with just over a minute left, but Godinez gained a 2-1 scoring edge the rest of the way, including a point for riding time.

Godinez lost to Sammy Shires from Cumberland University (Tenn.), seeded #3, in the second round of the championship bracket 8-7. Shires built a 6-2 lead with two takedowns in the first period.

The only point in the second period was earned by Godinez with an escape. Shires added an escape with 1:48 left in the third period to increase his lead 7-3. Godinez moved within 7-6 on a takedown with 1:16 to go. Shires achieved one point for an escape to grab a two-point lead. Godinez was unable to add a winning takedown in the closing seconds but did receive a penalty point when Shires was called twice for stalling.

Godinez moved into the second round of the consolation bracket to take on Guiseppe Guerra from St. Ambrose University (Iowa). Godinez won the match with a technical fall 17-1. He recorded four takedowns and one escape, before ending the match with a four-point near fall in the third period. Godinez extended his overall record to 35-5 on the season.

On Friday, Godinez will return to action in the third round of the consolation bracket against Jared Dinh from Cumberland (Tenn.). Dinh is seeded #6. The winner will advance into the fourth consolation round, set for Friday's evening session, which starts at 6 p.m. CST / 4 p.m. PST.