LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Bellarmine University wrestling team concluded its first weekend of action in 2026, competing at the Southern Scuffle and Soldier Salute.

At the Southern Scuffle, hosted by Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN, the Knights placed 20^th with 32 team points. Redshirt freshman Noah Hall was the lone placer for Bellarmine, coming in eighth in the 165-pound weight class. Hall began his run with a pin of Morgan State's Antoine Glasgow in 2:16. In the second round, he earned a 7-3 statement win over Brown's Max Norman, ranked No. 26 at 165 by TCWR. After a decision loss in the quarter finals, Hall bounced back with an 8-2 decision over Michigan State's DJ Shannon before dropping back-to-back matches to finish eighth.

Redshirt junior Trayce Eckman (133) joined Hall in the ranked wins department, defeating California Baptist's Richard Murillo, No. 32 by TCWR, by 6-5 decision.

Although he didn't earn a placement, redshirt junior Grant O'Dell (174) turned in the best record of any Knight at the event, going 4-2 with both losses coming in overtime periods. O'Dell opened the tournament with an 11-2 major decision oven Penn State's Sean Degl before taking down Utah Vallye's Tanner Lofthouse by 2-0 decision. O'Dell took his first loss in the second tiebreaker against Penn's Caden Bellis. He bounced back immediately however, winning by 17-3 major decision over Army's Hayden Hochstasser before defeating North Carolina's Murphy Menke in the second tiebreaker. O'Dell finished his weekend with a sudden victory loss to Chattanooga's Kamdyn Munro.

At the Soldier Salute, held in Coralville, IA, Bellarmine placed 14^th with 12 team points. Grad student Steven Villalobos was the Knights top finisher, taking eighth place in the 157-pound weight class. In just his second action of the year, Villalobos bounced back from an opening round loss with three straight wins, defeating fellow Knight Charlie Gessford by tech fall, 17-1, South Dakota State's Zach Ballante with a pin in 4:07 and North Carolina's Joey Showalter by 12-8 decision. From there, he dropped his final two matches to take eighth place.

Redshirt Joe Calvin and redshirt senior Nate Higley turned in two wins each for Bellarmine. Calvin (125) won his first two bouts by decision, defeating Iowa's Joey Cruz 9-5 and Oklahoma's Koufax Christensen 13-11. Higley also won back-to-back matches, defeating fellow Knight Christian Moder by 8-4 decision and Army's Anthony Tresch by major decision, 15-6.

Up next, Bellarmine will compete in its final open tournament of the 2025-26 season, heading to Lancaster, PA on January 9 for the David H. Lehman Franklin & Marshall Open.

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