Thursday, March 28, 2024

To the Class of 2024: NCAA Division III 157 lbs

 

Nolan Hertel
UW- La Crosse

What a storybook career with a Cinderella ending it was for Nolan Hertel of UW-La Crosse.  I wish all wrestlers who truly deserve it could go out the way Hertel did.  I mean think about it.  You win your second national title, competing at your school, in front of your fans. It doesn't get any better than that.  102 career victories.  A three time Upper Midwest Regional champion & a four time WIAC champion.  Phenomenal career for Hertel. 

Patrick McGraw
John Carroll

109 career victories for Patrick McGraw, who twice finished one match shy of NCAA DIII All American honors with Central Regional finishes of 1st-1st-3rd.  30-8 on the year, he had a 12-6 decision over NCAA Division II All American Keegan Roberson of UNC-Pembroke. 

Garret Cornell
Messiah 

An NCAA DIII qualifier as a freshman in 2020 with a Southeast Regional finish of 3rd & 5th in the NWCA in 2021, I thought for sure we'd see Garrett Cornell back at the NCAA DIII championships again before his career was said & done.  Came close with 5th & 4th place finishes at the Regional in his final two seasons.  Where he really shined these past two years was at the Pete Willson Invitational, where he finished 3rd in '23 & 2nd this past season.  All in all, Cornell had 95 victories. 

Jeff Johnson
Jersey City 

My heart goes out to Jeff Johnson, as we never got to see how good he really was because of nagging injuries that would not let him be.  Nevertheless, he was still a trend setter, who made history by becoming the Gothic Knights first ever NCAA DIII qualifier as a sophomore in 2022. Had he not gotten injured, I believe he very well could have been Jersey City's first All American as well. 

Gabe Fiser
Loras

I hated to see things end the way they did for Gabe Fiser this year.  Yet, I've said it a 1,000 times & I'll say it 1,000 more times.  At the NCAA DIII level, there is no room for error. You cannot afford a mistake, because the environment is unforgiving.  2nd & 1st in the Lower Midwest Regional in '22 & '23 respectively, Fiser unfortunately slipped to a 7th place finish this season.  Although things didn't end as they should have for the Duhawk, he did have a good career that also featured an NWCA 4th place finish in 2021. 




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