(ALLEN, Texas, March 16)- Junior Brenden Murphy (Palos Park, Ill./Marian Catholic) and sophomore Julian Smith (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) both won individual National Championships, while four others earned All-America honors at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Championship on Saturday.

The Bearcats scored 137 team points, only trailing national team champion California Baptist University by 8.5 points. The runner-up finish is the highest since finishing in second place at the NAIA National Championship at the end of the 2007-08 season.

The individual championships are the eighth and ninth in program history at McKendree.

Murphy defended his 133-pound NCWA National Championship and earned his third All-America honor with an 8-5 decision victory over Chris Caton of United States Air Force Academy Prep. Murphy had three pins and a tech fall on his way to the championship. He ended his season with an overall record of 37-6.

Smith earned his first collegiate All-America honor with a championship at 197 pounds. Smith edged Aaron Thompson of Liberty University by decision, 3-2, in the championship match. Smith ended his season with an overall record of 31-6.

Sophomore heavyweight Ross Janney (Daleville, Ind./Yorktown) earned his second NCWA honor with a runn-erup finish at heavyweight. Janney, a fifth-place finsiher last season, dropped a 3-0 decision to Zach Merrill of California Baptist in the championship match. He ended his season with a 34-11 record overall.

Junior Isaiah Gonzalez (Montgomery, Ill./Montini Catholic) finished in third place at 174 pounds to earn his first All-America honor. Gonzalez, a two-time NAIA national qualifier, pinned Keyshaun Ward of Liberty University in 1:32 to earn his third place finish and finish his seaosn with an overall record of 23-10.

Sophomore Luis Alba (Kissimmee, Fla./Cypress Creek) was pinned by Royal Bettrager in the third place match at 184 pounds to finish in fourth place. Alba, a fifth place finisher last season at 174 pounds, earned his second NCWA All-America honor and ended his season with a 27-14 record.

Sophomore Nick Haferkamp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln Community) earned his second collegiate All-America honor with a fifth place finish at 165 pounds. Haferkamp defeated Sergio Ardilla of University of Georgia by major decision, 13-4, to earn his spot on the medal stand and end his season with a record of 35-14.