Averett, PSU-Behrend and Westminster bring their first-ever qualifiers to NCAA Div. III Nationals
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by Jon Gremmels, D3onthemat, Special to TheMat.com
Averett wrestling graphic courtesy of AverettCougars.com
Wrestling continues to grow at the Division III level.
When the national tournament kicks off Friday in Roanoke, Virginia, 74 of the 108 D3 schools that offer wrestling will be represented.
For several of the schools, it will be their first trip to the national stage.
Averett leads that group with three qualifiers – freshman Jared Lough (157 pounds) and sophomores Sam Braswell (125) and Brandon Woody (141) – while Penn State-Behrend is sending sophomore Jake Paulson (184), and freshman Sean Sax will represent Westminster.
It's amazing, like going to state as a freshman in high school,” said Sax, an undefeated Missouri state champion last year for Waynesville High School. “I've been with Mike and Tony (the Eierman brothers who are Westminster's coaches and also guided him with the Eierman Elite Wrestling club) for about seven years. They got me here, and it feels amazing.”
Sax won in dramatic fashion to place third and earn the final qualifying spot at 149 pounds at the Lower Midwest Regional. Tied with Millikin's Tristan Birt in the overtime tiebreaker, Sax used one of his favorite moves and scored a four-point near fall that sealed the 9-6 win.
“I put my legs in and ripped a spladle,” he said. “Once I got those four points I knew I could coast.”
Before Sax ever steps on a mat at the Berglund Center he has much higher aspirations for the weekend.
“This isn't the goal,” he said of getting to the national tournament. “This is a stepping stone. I plan to show what a skinny 149-pounder can do. Nobody's going to think about me.”
Two other schools that reinstated programs in recent years also will have their first national representatives in many years. Eron Haynes will represent Nebraska Wesleyan, which brought back wrestling when it joined the Iowa Conference (now the American Rivers Conference) in 2016, and Jordan Burkholder will compete for Muskingum. Both wrestle at 125 pounds.
“This is a great step, bringing our name out there,” said Haynes, the runner-up in the Lower Midwest Regional. “It was a goal of mine to be the first (qualifier for the Prairie Wolves).”
Wrestling continues to grow at the Division III level.
When the national tournament kicks off Friday in Roanoke, Virginia, 74 of the 108 D3 schools that offer wrestling will be represented.
For several of the schools, it will be their first trip to the national stage.
Averett leads that group with three qualifiers – freshman Jared Lough (157 pounds) and sophomores Sam Braswell (125) and Brandon Woody (141) – while Penn State-Behrend is sending sophomore Jake Paulson (184), and freshman Sean Sax will represent Westminster.
It's amazing, like going to state as a freshman in high school,” said Sax, an undefeated Missouri state champion last year for Waynesville High School. “I've been with Mike and Tony (the Eierman brothers who are Westminster's coaches and also guided him with the Eierman Elite Wrestling club) for about seven years. They got me here, and it feels amazing.”
Sax won in dramatic fashion to place third and earn the final qualifying spot at 149 pounds at the Lower Midwest Regional. Tied with Millikin's Tristan Birt in the overtime tiebreaker, Sax used one of his favorite moves and scored a four-point near fall that sealed the 9-6 win.
“I put my legs in and ripped a spladle,” he said. “Once I got those four points I knew I could coast.”
Before Sax ever steps on a mat at the Berglund Center he has much higher aspirations for the weekend.
“This isn't the goal,” he said of getting to the national tournament. “This is a stepping stone. I plan to show what a skinny 149-pounder can do. Nobody's going to think about me.”
Two other schools that reinstated programs in recent years also will have their first national representatives in many years. Eron Haynes will represent Nebraska Wesleyan, which brought back wrestling when it joined the Iowa Conference (now the American Rivers Conference) in 2016, and Jordan Burkholder will compete for Muskingum. Both wrestle at 125 pounds.
“This is a great step, bringing our name out there,” said Haynes, the runner-up in the Lower Midwest Regional. “It was a goal of mine to be the first (qualifier for the Prairie Wolves).”
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