“That was a lot heavier than I thought it was going to be,” said Carazo, who exaggerated the trophy weight – he and his teammates help Grand Canyon earn over the weekend in Pueblo, Colo. -- at 90 lbs.
Carazo, in the 174-pound class, and Kyle McCrite, at 125, each won national championships to lead GCU to its best-ever finish in its brief five-year history.
“Coming into the tournament we knew (Nebraska-Kearney) had so much fire power. We only had six guys and third is as about as best we could have done and we got there,” said GCU head coach R.C. LaHaye.
The Antelopes were seventh last season and got their first-ever individual champion in Todd Wilcox (133).
They added two more champs and four more All-American to the short-lived, but quickly-rising, program’s history. Carazo and McCrite earned All-American status along with Bobby Ward, who was third at 149, and Celic Bell, who took eighth at 197.
For Carazo it was his third straight All-American honor, but he’d never won. He was third in last year’s championships and came into this year’s tournament ranked a modest fifth in the nation.
“I came in and felt it was my time,” Carazo said. “After two years getting to the semifinals, I was so close. I had to work a little harder and fix the little things.”
Along his national tournament path, Carazo disposed of two three-time All-Americans, including St. Cloud State’s Shamus O’Grady, who had handed him his lone loss of the season. In the title match, Carazo dominated top-ranked Luke Rynish of Wisconsin-Parkside, a three-time national finalist, for an 8-3 win.
It was as close as anyone would get to Carazo all weekend. Three of his four wins were by five points and he added a technical fall win in the first round.
“I felt comfortable and calm and never felt panic (all weekend),” said the senior from Modesto, Calif. “It doesn’t get any better than this. To go out a national champion, I guess I can close that chapter now and keep moving on.”
“He got better and better each match,” said LaHaye. “He dominated what was maybe the deepest weight class in the tournament. He had lost a couple of times in the semis and I think that fueled his fire for his senior year.”
McCrite, from Rathdrum, Idaho, was his stellar-self throughout his four matches in the two-day event. He defeated Augustana’s Cody Lensing 9-3 in the title match after besting Dave Fogle of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 5-3 in the semis. McCrite, who came in ranked No. 4, upset No. 1 Corey Ulmer of Minnesota State-Morehead in the quarterfinals Friday.
“I’m overwhelmed with excitement and happy to achieve my goal,” said McCrite. “Coming into the tournament I knew what I had to do. I was able to execute that and I’m happy with the results.”
McCrite will be the first GCU national champion that will have an opportunity to defending his crown. He is a junior and both Carazo and Wilcox won as seniors.
“He turned it up at the exact right time,” LaHaye said of McCrite. “He dug deep and found a way and will have a chance to repeat as a senior.”
McCrite finished the year with 38 wins, tying a school record set last season by both Wilcox and Carazo.
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