College wrestling: Ridgewater 9 gear for national tournament
WILLMAR — Ridgewater College will supply nine of 251 wrestlers representing 40 community colleges across the country competing in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday and Saturday at the NJCAA national wrestling tournament.
First-round action begins 9:30 a.m. Friday on eight mats at the Jacobsen Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds and is set to conclude at 6 p.m. Saturday with the parade of champions.
The Warriors, under head coach Tom Beyer, return four to the tournament: Klinton Van Heuveln, Shane Fesenmaier, Tyrell Martin and Trevor Mahlum.
Van Heuveln fell just short of the top eight last year, losing in double overtime. He leads the Warriors in wins, approaching 40 for the season that began in early November.
Each of the 10 weight classes has a 32-man bracket, averaging 25 wrestlers. Top eight earns All-America designation. The tourney is single division though both a scholarship and non-scholarship team champion will be named.
Warriors matchup Round of 32
125: no entry
133: Frank Wilcek (Ft. Ripley, Little Falls) vs Jeff Rottingen, Bergen NJ
141: Klint Van Heuveln (Pennock, KMS) has bye
149: Dennis Wilson (Dillingham, Alaska) vs Colby Kloetzer, Northwest
157: Shane Fesenmaier (Sauk Rapids) vs Zach Martin, SW Oregon
165: Tyrell Martin (West St. Paul) vs. Bryce Lewis, Colby, Kansas
174: Trevor Mahlum (Murdock, KMS) vs. Connor Fox, Alfred State
184: Brady Thisius (Wells) vs Landon Keiswetter, Pratt
197: Alex Thurber (Kimball) vs VJ Guillo, North Idaho
Hwt: Zane Peterson (Lakeview, South) vs Ben Tynan, Highland
