By Tom Blair - ICW staff

The five DII colleges in the state had high hopes going into the NCAA DII National Championship in Birmingham, Alabama on March 10^th & 11^th.  The results were that only five wrestlers out of the 15 that were representing their schools and the state of Colorado placed in the All - American rounds. The highest placement was 4^th by Daniel Salazar (Colorado Mesa) at 141 lbs and JaVaughn Perkins (Colorado St.-Pueblo) at 184 lbs. Three wrestlers placed 8^th - Darek Huff (Adams St.) at 125 lbs, Jacob Gerken (Colorado Mines) at 149 lbs and JaCobi Jones (Colorado St.-Pueblo) at 165 lbs. CSU – Pueblo placed the highest of the Colorado teams in 22 place with 21 team points. While Notre Dame(OH) had a commanding lead with 103.5 points and St Cloud St ate trailing in second place with 67 points. Zach Stodden (Neb.-Kearney) who graduated from Broomfield HS was also crowned an All-American with his 13 – 11 decision for 7^th place at 184 lbs.  

Read more: NCAA DII - Colorado results

The 28^th Annual NHSCA National Wrestling Championship is taking place at the Virginia Beach Convention Center March 24^th – 27^th, where each grade in high school goes against each other in competition. There is four tournaments going on at once on the mats in the 14 weight classes in each grade.

This event is the most prestigious high school event, in any sport, throughout the country. NHSCA National Championship Events have seen hundreds of its participants enjoy illustrious college careers. Many NCAA champions and All-Americans and USA Olympians have competed in NHSCA National Championship Events when they were in high school. Modeled after the NCAA Division I Championship, the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships affords you the very best competition in the country and best chance to be noticed by college coaches.

Read more: NHSCA Nationals

by tom blair - ICW staff

The seeds and the brackets are up for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Friday March 10^th and Saturday March 11^th in Birmingham, Alabama. This is part of the DII Festival, wrestling will join indoor track and field and swimming in the Olympic-style event with three separate venues all located within one athletic complex. Wrestling will include twists, turns, last-second victories and plenty of drama over the two-day event.

Colorado has five colleges with 15 entries into this event that qualified thru the regional tournament held Feb 25 & 26 at Colorado School of Mines in Golden. Top teams for the tournament are St Cloud State with 9 entries and Notre Dame (Ohio) with 8 wrestlers.

Adams State - Darek Huff, 125 lbs , RS/ FR, placed 3^rd at regional is from Broomfield HS; Martin Ramirez, 133 lbs, RS/ SR, 3^rd at regional

CSM – Jacob Gerkin, 149 lbs, SR, 2^nd at regional, from Fort Morgan

Colorado Mesa – Juaquin Olivas, 133 lbs, So, placed 4^th at regional; Daniel Salazar, 141 lbs, RS/ SR, placed 4^th at regional, from Palisade HS; Jason Buhr, 165 lbs, RS/SO, placed 4^th at regional, from Centauri; Bruno Nicoletti, 174 lbs, RS/ JR, from Cherokee Trail

CSU Pueblo – Paul (PT) Garcia, 133 lbs, SO, placed 1^st in regional, Bear Creek; Kyle Fantia, 157 lbs, RS/JR, placed 4^th at regional; JaCobi Jones, 165 lbs, JR, placed 2^nd at regional; JaVaughn Perkins, 184 lbs, RS/ FR, placed 2^nd at regional;

Western State – Ronald Wardleigh, 125 lbs, SR, place 2^nd at regional; Ian Steen, 149 lbs, RS/JR, placed 3^rd at regional; Brendon Supernaw, 174 lbs, RS/SO, place 2^nd at regional, from Doherty; Konnor Schmidt, 184 lbs, RS/FR placed 4^th at regional, from Rocky Mtn,

UNK – Kearny - Zach Stodden, 184 lbs, RS/So, placed 3^rd at regional, from Broomfield

Roger Moore | NCAA.com

Here are 10 things to watch for in Birmingham.

The frontrunners - St. Cloud State has won the last two NCAA Championships and has been ranked No. 1 all season. Head coach Steve Costanzo’s squad packs a powerful and experienced punch led by national champion 125-pounder Brent Velasquez and three-time All-American Austin Goergen at heavyweight. SCSU was bridesmaids in 2011, 2012 and 2013 but got over the hump two seasons ago in St. Louis. Notre Dame College of Ohio won the 2014 NCAA title and brings a ton of talent to Alabama. Senior 184-pounder Garrett Lineberger is a former national champion, and freshman 165-pounder Isaiah White leads the pack at 165 pounds. Senior 125-pounder Ivan McClay will also cause problems, along with 141-pounder Cobey Fehr. If SCSU and NDC wrestle as well as they are capable, they will separate from the field and go toe-to-toe for the 2017 trophy.

Perfection - Nick Becker, a junior from Hartford, Wisconsin, started his career at Central Michigan after winning a state championship for Hartford Union High School in Wisconsin. Since transferring to Wisconsin-Parkside before the 2015-16 season, Becker is 62-0. The 174-pounder finished a 41-0 sophomore campaign with an NCAA title last March. Becker’s (21-0) older brother Craig, an assistant coach for UW-P, was a DII champion for the Rangers in 2010.

Read more: Division II college wrestling: 10 things to watch for in the NCAA Championships

By Tom Blair - ICW staff

Reflecting on the State Wrestling Tournament these couple past weekends at the Pepsi Center. The stands were full for the parade of champions, which is the two wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes and the 4 classifications walking in with their coach or their parent for the cross-mat introduction. The tension and excitement was high and the wrestlers were eager to see action on the mats, as once you start to wrestle your training and skills take over. The results whether you win or lose can be seen in your expression and actions immediately following the last whistle of the match.

Looking at some interesting facts on the three-day tournament. The 20^th – 4X state champion was crowned as 152 lbs Hunter Willits, Pueblo County took down his 4^th title in this his senior year. The six wrestlers looking for their third title all took that giant step and were able to have their arm raised in victory. Five of those wrestlers all left the high school mats for the last time in Colorado – Jacob Rodriguez, Rocky Ford; Johnathan Andreatta, John Mall; Isaiah Delacreda, Alamosa; Jody Sandoval, Ft Lupton and Grant Willits, Pueblo County.  While the last wrestler junior Jacob Greenwood, Poudre now has his sights set on earning his fourth title in the 2017 – 2018 season.

Read more: State Reflections

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Iowa Central claimed its eighth NJCAA wrestling national title in dramatic fashion Saturday at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. Entering the finals, the national title was within striking distance for three perennial powers in NJCAA wrestling as the Tritons - along with Clackamas (Ore.) and defending champion Northeastern Oklahoma A&M – exchanged the top spot on the team leaderboard six times over the course of the 10 championship bouts. Trialing Clackamas by two and a half points (146.5 to 144), the national title was ultimately decided on the last match of the evening when Iowa Central’s Thomas Petersen handled Mario Pena of North Iowa Area in the heavyweight final. Petersen’s pin lifted Iowa Central to 150 points to surpass Clackamas. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M settled for third place with 143. 

• The 2017 national title marks the eighth in program history for Iowa Central and sixth since 2006 – all under the direction of head coach Luke Moffitt.  
• Iowa Central’s eight national championships in NJCAA wrestling ranks second all-time to North Idaho’s 14.
• Eight Iowa Central wrestlers finished on the podium stand with top 8 finishes. 
• Todd Small (125#), Dayton Racer (149#) and Thomas Peterson (285#) each won individual titles for Iowa Central.
• Clackamas had two individual champions: Josh Reyes (149#) and Colt Doyle (174#).
• Northeastern Oklahoma also had two individual champions: Sean Deshazer (133#) and Wyatt Jordan (165#).
• Rochester (Minn.) was the top non-scholarship program in the team standings coming in ninth overall with 61.5 points.

  Northeastern Junior College sent three wrestlers to this event, Anthony Curtis finish in 5th place at 157 lbs with a record of 3 - 2; Justin Anderson went 0 - 2 at 165 lbs; and at 125 lbs Morgan Fogg went 1 - 2 in the tournament. 

  Otero Junior College qualified seven wrestlers for the NJCAA National tournament, with 2 wrestlers placing 5th in their weight class.

Garrett Finke - Sports Information Director - Western State

GOLDEN, Colo. – Western State Colorado University will be sending four to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on March 10 in Birmingham, Alabama. The Mountaineers qualified those four wrestlers on Saturday at the NCAA Division II Region IV Championships. 
As a team, Western finished fifth of 15 teams at the regional championships. The Mountaineers earned 75.5 team points. California Baptist University took home the team title with 125 points. 
Western's four qualifiers were Ronald Wardleigh at 125 pounds, Ian Steen at 149 pounds, Brandon Supernaw at 174 pounds and Konnor Schmidt at 184 pounds. Wardleigh and Supernaw each placed second at the tournament, while Steen finished third. Schmidt finished fourth, not needing a true fourth wrestle-back. 
It will be the second trip to the Division II National Championships for Wardleigh, Steen and Supernaw. Wardleigh finished sixth last year, earning All-America honors. It will be the first national championship appearance for redshirt freshman Schmidt. 
No. 3 Wardleigh face No. 2 Dustin Reed of Newman University in the finals on Saturday. It was the first time the two faced each other this season. Reed was able to get the first takedown and win by an 8-4 decision. 
No. 10 Supernaw faced No. 12 Nolan Kistler of California Baptist University in the 174-pound championship bout. Supernaw was unable to get points back from Kistler, losing 10-3. 

Read more: Western State qualifies four for National Championships

Nick Alspaugh, UNCBears.com

TULSA, Okla. – The historic year for Head Coach Troy Nickerson and Northern Colorado wrestling rolls on, as the Bears qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament this weekend at the Big 12 Wrestling Championships.
This will be the most wrestlers Northern Colorado has ever qualified in a season for the NCAA Tournament since the 2007 season, when they qualified five.
Northern Colorado will be sending [133] Rico Montoya, [141] Timmy Box, [165] Keilan Torres, and [184] Dylan Gabel to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri in two weeks.
In addition, the Bears also placed four wrestlers at the Big 12 Championships this weekend, which set a new program record.
The Bears four NCAA Tournament Qualifiers was tied for the fourth most in the entire Big 12 Conference. Northern Colorado, Wyoming, and North Dakota State all qualified four wrestlers, while Oklahoma qualified seven, and Oklahoma State will send all 10 starters.
Dylan Gabel became the first wrestler in Northern Colorado history to reach the Big 12 finals at any weight for the Bears.
Dylan Gabel placed 2nd at 184 lbs., after a tough 15-4 loss against No.1 seed and No. 4 ranked Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State).
With the second place finish, Gabel becomes the highest placer in Northern Colorado history in the Big 12 Conference.
In reaching the finals, Gabel automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament. 

Read more: UNC Bears Wrestlers Continue to Make History

CSU-Pueblo stafff - GOLDEN, Colo. (February 25, 2017) – Kyle Fantin (R-So., Cave Creek, Ariz.) had to wrestle three times Saturday to secure his advancement to the NCAA Championships, as he and three Colorado State University-Pueblo wrestling teammates punched their ticket to nationals after finishing in the top four at the NCAA Division II Super Region Four Championships in Golden, Colo. PT Garcia (R-So., Denver, Colo.) was crowned Super Region Four Champion at 133 due to a medical forfeit in the title match. JaCobi Jones (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) finished second at 165 after falling in the championship bout by the score of 3-2. JaVaughn Perkins (R-Fr., Omaha, Neb.) was also second, as he lost the 184 Championship 5-4 in the first tiebreaker. Both Jones and Perkins lost to the No. 2-ranked wrestlers in the nation. All four will travel to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships March 10-11 in Birmingham, Alabama. The four wrestlers matches the foursome the Pack sent in 2013 as the most since the restart in 2008. That season the Pack had two All-Americans, a national champion and finished 13th nationally. The wrestlers also lifted the 16th-ranked ThunderWolves to a second place finish in the team standings. The Pack totaled 112.5 points, while California Baptist University were regional champions with 125 points. Third was University of Nebraska at Kearney with 110.5 points. Fantin won his consolation semifinal by an 11-5 decision to reach the third place match, but fell in the bout in an attempt to secure his trip to nationals. In the true fourth place bout, Fantin had a comfortable lead before his opponent had to forfeit to injury. The Pack had nine wrestlers competing Saturday with six in the consolation semifinals. Fantin was the only one of the six to advance to the third place bout. Winning their final bout and finishing fifth were Josiah Seaton (So., Bonner Springs, Kan.) at 125 and Kyle Bateman (Sr., Sandy, Ore.) at 174.

Read more: Pack Wrestling qualify four to NCAA Championships; Finish second in Super Region Four