Hall of Fame
Andrew Sanchez was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the NAIA during his four-year career at McKendree. In addition to winning better than 86 percent of his matches while wearing the Purple and White, Andrew helped elevate the Bearcats’ wrestling program to new heights at the national level.
In each of his four seasons at McKendree, Andrew posted at least 34 victories on the mat. In his first full season in 2007-08, he registered 34 wins on his way to a runner-up finish at 197 pounds in the 2008 NAIA Wrestling National Championship. Andrew built on that initial success by collecting 35 wins, which included a takedown in the third sudden-victory period to claim his first individual national championship at 197 pounds at the 2009 NAIA meet.
After taking fifth place at 197 pounds at the 2010 championship meet to wrap up a 36-7 campaign, Andrew closed out his McKendree career with a flourish. He rolled to a 38-1 overall record during the 2010-11 season, capping the run with a 2-1 victory in the 197-pound finals at the 2011 NAIA Wrestling National Championship. The victory made Andrew one of just two Bearcats to capture two wrestling national titles, as well as one of two McKendree grapplers to earn NAIA All-America honors four times in a career.
Following his senior season, Andrew was named as the 2011 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)/NAIA National Wrestler of the Year and is the only Bearcat to ever collect the honor.
In each of the four seasons that Andrew qualified to wrestle at the national level, McKendree notched a top-five finish at the NAIA Wrestling Championships. That included a national runner-up finish in 2008 as well as third-place efforts in 2009 and 2011.
Following his McKendree career, Andrew began to take on a new challenge in the mixed martial arts arena. In 2016, he battled his way through a field of 16 light heavyweight competitors to win Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter.
