On Saturday, Gators’ junior wrestler Johnny Lopez won the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championships in Indianapolis, defeating Khyvon Grace of West Liberty University, 8-7.
Lopez and senior Kyle Botelho represented San Francisco State University at the championships at Corteva Coliseum in Indiana. The two finished in second and third place at the NCAA Division II Super Regional IV where the Gators finished eighth as a team.
According to Lopez, the mentality of the team is to “take it one match at a time” in every tournament, but being under the championship spotlight felt different for him.
“You got one opponent in front of you, you take them down,” said Lopez. “Walking into the tournament, I was, of course, a little nervous. The environment got to me, but after that first match, I won it, I felt confident. I was like, ‘I can carry this momentum, and let’s at least see where it gets me, and if I lose, so be it.’”
The no. 8 ranked Lopez reached the championships a day after he received All-American status on Friday following his matchup against Lake Erie College’s Christian Small. Small was the top-seeded wrestler in the championship bracket, who forfeit the quarterfinal match due to injury forfeit.
Lopez advanced to the semifinals on Saturday, where he faced Colton Stoneking of Fairmont State University. Lopez overcame a one-point deficit to claim victory 7-5 after a last-second reversal.
Lopez’s championship win marked the first time in 12 years that an SFSU wrestler won as a National Champion since former Gator wrestler Naveed Bagheri during his senior year, according to SFSU Athletics. Lopez also became the wrestling program’s 14th national champion in its history.
“It was just instant relief,” Lopez said. “This has been a childhood dream of mine since I was in like sixth grade and it just finally came to fruition.”
Gators wrestling head coach Jason Welch expressed his thoughts on Lopez’s achievement in a press release from SFSU Athletics.
“So happy for Johnny — we got it done! We’ve been on the right path for a while now, and it’s great to finally see the results and have the affirmation that we’ve been doing the right things,” Welch said. “I know this success is going to continue to push our program to the next level. Congrats to Johnny!”
