GREENVILLE, S.C. — Elijah Carrington was named the Conference Carolinas Men's Wrestling Freshman of the Year as he was one of five Crusaders to earn All-Conference honors as the league office released the teams Friday.

In addition to being named freshman of the year, he was a third team all-conference selection at 133 pounds while teammates Luke Kunath (141), Skyler Caban (149) and Caleb Moore (197) were first-team selections. Kyler Pickard (184) was a second-team selection to round out the Crusader representation. The teams were voted on by the league's head coaches and coaches could not vote for their own teams.

Kunath and Moore are back on the team for the second straight season while Carrington, Caban and Pickard are all making their first appearances on the team.

Carrington is the first Crusaders since Josh Blatt to be named the conference freshman of the year back during the 2019-2020 season. The freshman from became the regular starter at 133 pounds for the Crusaders. He finished with a 19-5 record over the course of the season and was named the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Month for January for finishing undefeated during the month. One of his other highlights came after defeating UNC Pembroke's Logan Robinson 15-12 in January. Robinson was ranked No. 6 in his weight class at the time of the bout according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) rankings.

Kunath is back on the all-conference team after earning second-team honors last season at 141 pounds. He finished the regular season with a 15-5 record and was a perfect 5-0 against Conference Carolinas competition with one win each by pin, tech fall and major decision. Additionally, he was ranked as the No. 11 wrestler in the NWCA rankings for all of Division II at the time of nomination. He finished eighth in the Division II National Championship last season and earned All-American status.

Caban is a first-time all-conference selection at 149 pounds thanks to a 17-5 overall record. He earned Conference Carolinas wrestler of the week honors earlier this season and went 7-0 in Conference Carolinas competition this season with three pins. He also had a third-place finishing at the Pioneer Open in Glenville, West Virginia back in November.

Moore is a first-team selection at 197 pounds after earning second-team honors last season. He put together another outstanding season for the Crusaders, compiling a 21-3 overall record. He was named the Conference Wrestler of the week twice this season and was ranked No. 12 in the NWCA rankings for his weight class. He had five wins by pin this season, including one in just 14 seconds against Ferrum.

Pickard rounded out the group of Crusaders on the all-conference team with a strong season at 184 pounds. He finished the regular season with a 15-5 overall record that included a third-place finish at the Pioneer Open. He also earned a conference wrestler of the week honor and was 6-1 in Conference Carolinas competition this season. He was ranked No. 14 in the NWCA Division II rankings and one of his best wins of the season came against fellow ranked opponent John Parker of Newberry.

The full teams can be found below.

Belmont Abbey returns to the mat in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Tournament to face top-seed Lander at 11 a.m. Sunday at UNC Pembroke.

2025-26 Conference Carolinas
Men's Wrestling All-Conference

Wrestler of the Year
David Hunsberger, Lander

Freshman of the Year
Elijah Carrington, Belmont Abbey

Coach of the Year
R.C. LaHaye, Lander

125 Pounds
First Team: Cole Hunt, Montevallo
Second Team: Braydon Mitchell, Emmanuel
Third Team: Ricky Springs, Newberry

133 Pounds
First Team: James Joplin, Lander
Second Team: Logan Robinson, UNC Pembroke
Third Team: Elijah Carrington, Belmont Abbey

141 Pounds
First Team: Luke Kunath, Belmont Abbey
Second Team: Elijah Lusk, Lander
Third Team: Kade Brown, Montevallo

149 Pounds
First Team: Skyler Caban, Belmont Abbey
Second Team: Max Stedeford, Montevallo
Third Team: Brennan Watkins, King

157 Pounds
First Team: Keegan Roberson, UNC Pembroke
Second Team: Matt Hoelke, Newberry
Third Team: Carson Freeman, Montevallo

165 Pounds
First Team: David Hunsberger, Lander
Second Team: Caleb Grau, UNC Pembroke
Third Team: Bo Perkins, Newberry

174 Pounds
First Team: Clint Morrisette, King
Second Team: Maxwell Kiel, Lander
Third Team: Logan Hoffman, UNC Pembroke

184 Pounds
First Team: Dylan Kohn, Lander
Second Team: Kyler Pickard, Belmont Abbey
Third Team: Jack MacKiernan, Mount Olive

197 Pounds
First Team: Caleb Moore, Belmont Abbey
Second Team: John Parker, Newberry
Third Team: Marvelous Rutledge, Lander

285 Pounds
First Team: Isaac Sheeren, Lander
Second Team: Willie Cox, Montevallo
Third Team: John Domencic, Mount Olive