Johnny Lopez and Kyle Botelho are representing San Francisco State at the 2025 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships.
INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Botelho and and Johnny Lopez represented the San Francisco State wrestling team at the NCAA Division II National Championships at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis. Lopez, who is ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II at 141 lb. by the NWCA, will advance to Saturday's Semifinals after notching a pair of wins. Botelho, wrestling at 165 lb., bowed out with a pair of losses.
Lopez won his opening bout with a 13-5 major decision over Quincy's Sabian Russell (31-8). With 1:21 left in the first period, Lopez scored a takedown and rode Russell the rest of the period, scoring a four-point near fall at the end of the period for a 7-0 advantage. Russell scored a takedown with 1:03 to go in the second quarter but Lopez escaped less than ten seconds later. Moments later, Lopez scored another takedown but that was waived off after a video review. He wasted no time in the third quarter and scored a takedown, but Russell reversed the hold, and Lopez got a point back with an escape. Lopez added a point with two minutes of riding time to finish off the major decision.
Lopez had his work cut out for him in the quarterfinal versus No. 10 Lake Erie's Christian Small. Small was the top seed in the bracket and entered the day ranked No. 1 at 149 lb. in the latest NWCA Rankings. Prior to that, he was ranked No. 2 at 141 lb. Loped scored first with a takedown in the first minute. He held on for 30 seconds before Small scored a reversal. Small evened the bout in the second quarter with an escape and went ahead with a takedown with five seconds remaining in the second quarter. However, the Gators coaches challenged the call and video review overturned the call, leaving the bout tied at 3-3 through the firs two periods. Small scored a reversal to begin the third period but injured his left knee on the play and was unable to continue, securing All-American status for Lopez.
Botleho lost his opening bout, 8-4, to No. T8 Tiffin's Nolan Gessler (19-5). The two wrestlers wrestled through a scoreless first period but Gessler scored first with an escape early in the second period. Gessler made it 4-0 with a takedown with 45 seconds to go in the second period, and doubled his lead with a four-point near fall. Botelho was awarded a point with Gessler stalling and scored a late takedown but ran out of time to even things up.
Botelho's time at Nationals came to a close with a tough 4-3 loss to No. 11 UMary's Leo Mushinksy. Mushinky scored a takedown with 1:45 to go in the first period, though Botelho quickly escaped. An escape gave Mushinsky a 4-1 advantage in the second period. Botelho earned an escape to begin the the third period. With time dwindling, Mushinsky opted to concede a point for stalling rather than threaten a takedown that would give Botelho the win.
"What a great performance on day one," said Head Coach Jason Welch. "Botelho didn't get the outcome he wanted, but he's wrestling better than he ever has. We're back on the All-American podium with Lopez to the semis, but the job's not done yet. We're excited for tomorrow to see Lopez keep pushing."
Lopez will face No. T25 Fairmont State's Colton Stoneking on Saturday, March 15 in the Semifinals. Stoneking is ranked fifth at 141 lb. Follow along with live stats and video at TrackWrestling.
