Smalls had a successful outing at the NCAA Super Region II Championships this past weekend. The freshman earned national qualifying honors after going 2-1. He started out the day by defeating Isiah Royal, the top seed of his weight class, by decision. Smalls then picked up another decision in a battle of 141-pounders before falling in the championship match. He lost 6-3 to Zachary Van Alst of Coker to finish second. His second-place finish meant he automatically qualified for the NCAA Division II Wrestling National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

first wrestler of the Tornado to qualify for the national championship. He knocked off two opponents on the way by decision and major decision, including No. 1 Isiah Royal from Newberry. In the finals he put together a great effort but would lose 6-3 to No.3 Zachary Van Alst from Coker. He did not have a true second match as he had already defeated his opponent Royal, who wrestled all the way back to third place from his loss to Small.