SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — No. 8 Augustana wrestling will travel to St. Louis this weekend to compete in the 2022 NCAA DII Wrestling Championships. Eight wrestlers qualified for the national tournament and will represent Augustana on March 11 and 12.
“We are excited to have eight guys going to the national championships,” said head coach Jason Reitmeier. “Every one of them is wrestling at a very-high level right now and it showed in the regional. They are focused, excited and looking forward to competing.”
“I am proud of this team’s effort all year, they continue to be consistent in their training, focus, and attitude. I look forward to watching them raise their level once again.”
The Event
The Championships are set to take place Friday and Saturday at the Chaifetz Arena. Wrestling begins at noon each day with the championship finals taking place at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The NCAA is offering a free live stream for the event that can be found on GoAugie.com/Live. In addition, brackets for the tournament can be found here.
The National Qualifiers
Jaxson Rohman – 125 pounds
Rohman was victorious in his first match of the regional championships, earning a 10-3 decision win over Trenton McManus of Minnesota State. The true freshman went on to defeat Oscar Nellis of Minot State in the second round, punching a ticket to the semifinal match. Rohman entered the consolation bracket after a loss to No. 6 Paxton Creese of St. Cloud State.
In the consolation semifinals, Rohman defeated Northern State’s Landen Fischer by way of a 6-3 decision. Rohman became a national qualifier for the first time in his collegiate career after defeating Jackson Stauffacher of Southwest Minnesota State to place third at the Super Region V championships.
Jack Huffman – 133 pounds
Huffman dominated the competition and won the 133 pound bracket at the Super Region V championships. Huffman defeated Southwest Minnesota State’s Hunter Pfantz by major decision in his first match of the championships. Huffman defeated Brandon Meikel of Minot State by way of 6-1 decision and pushed through to the semifinals.
In the semifinal match, Huffman took down his opponent from Upper Iowa to lock down a spot in the final match. Huffman bested Reece Barnhardt of UMary to win the Super Region V championships and qualify for the national championships. The qualification is the first of his collegiate career. Huffman is nationally ranked at No. 3 in his respective weight class.
Keaten Schorr – 141 pounds
Schorr went 2-1 at regionals after a first round bye. Schorr defeated Tate Murty of Upper Iowa by way of a 13-11 decision to head into the semifinal match. Schorr met Brock Luthens of Minnesota State in the semifinal match, using a takedown, four-point nearfall and a point for riding time to become a national qualifier. Schorr fell to No. 1 Joey Bianchini of St. Cloud State in the final match. It will be his first trip to the national championships in his collegiate career.
Schorr is nationally ranked at No. 8 at 141 pounds.
Hunter Burnett – 149 pounds
Burnett became a national qualifier for the second time in his collegiate career after going 2-1 at the regional championships with a bye in the first round. In his first match at the Super Region V championships, Burnett defeated Shadi Mitwalli of Minot State with a pin at 5:54.
In the semifinal match, Burnett defeated No. 7 Kyle Rathman in overtime. In the final, he fell to Nick Novak of St. Cloud State. Burnett is the Super Region V runner-up at 149 pounds.
Tyler Wagener – 157 pounds
Wagener joined his teammates in becoming a national qualifier for the first time in his collegiate career with a second place finish at the Super Region V championships. The junior went 2-1 on the day, defeating No. 7 Braydon Huber of UMary in the first match in a tiebreaker. Wagener bested Upper Iowa’s No. 4 Chase Luensman in the semifinal match to head into the final match and qualify for the national championships.
Miles Fitzgerald – 165 pounds
Fitzgerald finished the Super Region V tournament as the runner-up. The redshirt freshman went 2-1 on the day and defeated MSU Moorhead’s Braydon Ortloff in his first match. In the semifinals, Fitzgerald took down Jared Head from St. Cloud State in a 15-7 major decision victory. In the final match, Fitzgerald fell to Parkside’s Shane Gantz to place second and qualify for the national tournament. This will be Fitzgerald’s first trip to the national tournament.
Fitzgerald also earned a national ranking in the final NWCA Coaches poll at No. 10 for the first time this season.
Cade Mueller – 174 pounds
Mueller defeated three tough opponents to win the regional championships at 174 pounds. Mueller received a bye in the first round and logged a major decision win over Tanner Wiese of Northern State in his first match. In the semifinal match, Mueller defeated No. 7 Dominic Murphy of St. Cloud State to qualify for nationals and earn a spot in the finals.
Mueller faced Minnesota State’s No. 3 Trevor Turriff and won in sudden victory overtime. He holds the spot at No. 2 in the NWCA National Rankings.
Steven Hajas – 285 pounds
Hajas placed third at the Super Region V championships and earned a spot at nationals. In his first match, Hajas defeated Gerardo Jaime of UMary to land a spot in the semifinal match. Hajas fell to No. 2 Kameron Teacher of St. Cloud State in the semifinal match, but came back to take down Minot State’s Jordan Will in the consolation semifinals. In the third place match, Hajas defeated Gerardo Jaime for the second time in the tournament to qualify for the national championships.
One Last Thing
The Championship will determine the Division II All-America team with the top-eight finishers in each weight class earning All-America status.
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