PARK CITY, Kan. – The road was not easy for La'Ron Parks on day one of the NCAA Division II National Championships. The Notre Dame College heavyweight wrestled four times on Friday and three of those bouts were against nationally ranked opponents. He upset University of Mary's Luke Tweeton (No. 7) in the first round and then got past West Liberty's Francesco Borsellino (No. 1) in the second round of the consolation bracket to secure All-America status for the first time in his career.
 
Parks was one of four wrestlers at 285 lbs. who wrestled in the prelims, prior to the first round matchups. In the preliminary round, the Falcons' heavyweight and Colorado Mesa's Tyler Doyle were locked in a close battle, before Parks put one point on the scoreboard with an escape in the second period. Doyle earned a point with an escape, but Parks waited for Doyle to go low and then finished the takedown in the third period. He advanced with a 4-2 decision.
 
In the first championship round, Parks faced Tweeton, who is ranked No. 7 in NCAA Division II. Another scoreless first period ended and then Tweeton went ahead with an escape in the second period. Parks had an escape, early in the third period, and with a little under 30 seconds left, he grabbed Tweeton's leg and took him down for three points. Parks advanced to the quarterfinal with another decision victory (4-1).
 
As the last quarterfinal matchup in the Friday night session, Parks had a tough battle with No. 2 ranked Isaiah Vance, from Pitt-Johnstown. Parks was trailing 2-0, but looked as if he had set up a move for a potential takedown with a few seconds left. However, Vance held on long enough for the final whistle. The Pitt-Johnstown grappler then picked up one more point with riding time for a 3-0 decision.
 
Parks moved into the consolation bracket, where he met the top ranked Borsellino, who had been upset in the first round of the day. Parks fell behind by one, but he did not look like a wrestler who had less than an hour in between battles. About 20 seconds into the second period, Parks spun Borsellino around on the mat for a takedown and a nearfall as the two fell out of bounds. A few seconds into the third period, Borsellino attempted to grab Parks' legs and missed. The Falcons' grappler took advantage of the mistake for another takedown and pulled ahead 10-2. Parks won with a 10-5 decision, his first win ever over Borsellino.
 
By punching his ticket to Saturday, Parks becomes an All-American for the first time in his career in his third trip to the D2 Championships. It is the 73rd time that a wrestler from Notre Dame College has earned that honor, and the first since Kelan McKenna in 2021.

Wrestling will resume on March 16, at 11 a.m. and Parks will start the day against No. 6 ranked Ryan Herman (Maryville) in the consolation quarterfinals.
 
La'Ron Parks, 285 lbs. – Defeated Tyler Doyle (Colorado Mesa) by decision (4-2) in the preliminary round… Defeated Luke Tweeton (UMary) by decision (4-1) in championship round one… Lost to Isaiah Vance (Pitt-Johnstown) by decision (3-0) in the championship quarterfinals… Defeated Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) by decision (10-5) in consolation round two.