Takedown Report

Averett, PSU-Behrend and Westminster bring their first-ever qualifiers to NCAA Div. III Nationals

TDR Editor’s Notes ; Missed on posting this earlier yet we seek to applaud and encourage new teams and the schools that restart their programs.
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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. ….
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. Rest of the story at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/March/06/Averett-PSU-Behrend-and-Westminster-have-first-D3-qualifiers?mc_cid=e0eaa2fc3e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

March 23, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized