TOPEKA, Kan. – Five years ago, Campbellsville University was celebrating Tommy Pretty's  133-pound NAIA Wrestling National Champion and immediately began looking for its next one.

Head Coach Franky James went back to his hotbed – the Ohio State Tournament – seeking to sign Davion Caston, a fourth-place 119-pound finisher from Sandusky High School.

Caston fulfilled that quest Saturday, March 7, upsetting No. 1 Michael Ruiz of Great Falls, 10-6, to win the 2015 NAIA 133-pound national title and help Campbellsville finish sixth as a team at the Kansas Expocentre. The national title is CU's third, with Ohio native Zach Flake winning the 141-pound title in 2007. (CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH)

But Caston's journey didn't begin at CU as James originally hoped.

Notre Dame College, the 2010 NAIA tem champion, snagged Caston out of high school, but he eventually landed at Darton College (Ga.) wrestling for Coach James Hicks, a CU alum and former Tiger assistant.

"I wanted him out of high school. We lost him, but thank goodness James (Hicks) helped him get us here now," James said.

"It's funny how it came full circle, and I'm the next national champ after (Pretty)," Caston said. "Honestly, I've got to thank God. It's been a long journey. I've been down, and been to a couple of different schools, but I trusted the coaches and just gave them all I had. I listened to everything they said. I bought in full fledge and went out there and wrestled my hardest. I was just going out there having fun and wasn't worried about anything else."
 

Ruiz entered the Saturday night final after pinning his way through the bracket – most all in the first period. Caston continued to listen to his coaches (Franky James and TJ Moen) to give him his best chance at a championship upset.  

"He's been beating people so bad this year, I'm not sure when his last full match was," Caston said. "Coach was telling me, 'if you can take him deep into the third period, then you can probably have your way with him.' I stuck to the plan, and knew I could go for seven minutes, nine minutes or however long it would take me to go. I stayed level and kept my composure."

That composure flipped a 5-2 deficit early in the second period with a takedown and near fall points at the edge of the mat to go up 9-5. Caston was able to add a riding time point to cap the win.

"It was a real big upset. It makes all the work feel worth it. There are so many ups and downs, but when you get a big one like this as an underdog, it makes it all worth it … He seemed so relaxed and composed. It takes a lot to do that mentally. It was a great win," James said. "It now gives the guys up in the stands something to dream about when they see Davion win it and Travis out there."

Caston is pleased to represent CU as a national champ, but also Darton, which announced it is closing its wrestling program at the end of the 2014-15 season.

"It's huge for the (Darton) program, saying they put someone at the next level. At Darton, it's nice to have a national champion, but the bigger picture is to produce someone to be a national champion at the next level, and I'm happy I was able to do that," Caston said.

Caston closed the season with a 10-match win streak, including an NAIA East Region championship.




MCINTOSH RUNNER-UP IN BATTLE WITH FOUR-TIME CHAMP
 

Later in the evening, senior Travis McIntosh finished runner-up at 174 pounds after losing an 8-0 major decision to four-time national champion Brock Gutches of Southern Oregon.

"Obviously I'm disappointed in the outcome, but the he's one of the best in the country in any division. I'm not happy with losing, but it's a little easier to take when it's to a four-time national champ and to one of the best NAIA wrestlers ever," McIntosh said.

Gutches, ranked No. 1 at 174 pounds pinned his way to the finals and had more than 20 during the season, including pinning McIntosh in January. McIntosh was able to make the defending three-time champ work for his fourth title.

"First of all you know he's got a big move, a head lock. The whole time you have to be ready for it because he throws it out of nowhere," McIntosh said. "You have to keep the pressure on him. My pressure was different (since January), and I hand fought a lot harder. I couldn't get to any shots and that's why he's the best."

The national runner-up finish and All-America status closes out McIntosh's up-and-down four-year career. After coming to CU as a 215-pound Ohio state champ, McIntosh attempted to compete at 184 as a freshman, before redshirting his sophomore season. Last year, McIntosh began the year at 184 and then cut to 174 after Christmas break and went on to earn his first trip to the NAIA Championships, going 1-2.

This year, he continued to show improvement on the mat and in the wrestling room through leadership, earning the honor of being CU's Champion of Character representative at the national tournament.

"As a freshman and sophomore, I wasn't prepared for college wrestling, and I didn't work the way I needed to work," McIntosh said. "Coming into this year, it was either do or die. One of my coaches back home told me, "It's your time. You haven't wrestled since you were 5 to not have something to show for it." And that's the mentality I carried all year."

Despite having another year of eligibility after redshirting, McIntosh will graduate in May with his sports management degree and will begin his coaching career with Jeff Jordan State Champ Camp and 14-time defending Ohio state champion St. Paris Graham High School.

"I love competing, but I'm moving on to do what my real passion is," McIntosh said. "I love coaching and working with the youth of the sport that has made me who I am."


TIGERS FINISH SIXTH IN NAIA TEAM STANDINGS 

Campbellsville posted its fifth-consecutive Top 10 finish at the NAIA Wrestling Championships with a sixth-place finish. The Tigers collected 61 team points to finish ahead of No. 7 Missouri Valley (58.5), Montana  State-Northern (57.5) and Cumberland University (55.5). Midland University was 10^th with 48.5 points.

Grand View University won its fourth consecutive team national championship with 147.5 points and two individual titles. Southern Oregon edged Lindsey Wilson College for second place with 109 points to LWC's 104.5. Great Falls finished fourth with 87.5 points and Oklahoma City was fifth with 71 points.  

With the win, Grand View joins Central State (Okla.) (1984-1987) as the only programs to win four-consecutive NAIA banners.