BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has announced the 2021-22 Winter All-Academic team with ten Southwest Minnesota State University wrestlers being recognized during the winter season.
To be eligible for the NSIC All-Academic Team, members must have a 3.20 cumulative GPA or higher, while to be named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence, a student-athlete must have a 3.60 cumulative GPA or higher.
2022 NCAA Division II National Championships results. March 11-12 at St. Louis, MO.
SAINT LOUIS, Mo. – Caden Steffen (22-4) finished sixth at 184 pounds after going 1-2 on the second day and 3-3 overall at the NCAA Wrestling Championships inside the Chaifetz Center in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon.
Steffen opened his day with seventh-seeded Anderson Salisbury of Colorado School of Mines, with each wrestler recording an escape to go into overtime tied 1-1. Steffen would prevail with 1:12 left in the overtime period, recording a takedown to earn the victory and advance to the next round.
Steffen’s next match would be against third-seeded Billy Higgins of Nebraska-Kearney, with the winner advancing to the third-place match. After a second period escape to take a 1-0 lead into the third, Steffen would run into trouble, giving up an early escape and then a takedown with 55 seconds left. He then would get put on his back, giving up four near-fall points to put the match out of reach. Steffen would escape with just under 30 seconds left, but it wouldn’t be enough to move past Higgins, putting Steffen into the fifth-place match-up.
ST. LOUIS, Mo.- Caden Steffen (21-2) closed out the first day of the NCAA Championships splitting a pair of matches to earn All-American honors for the second consecutive season during the second session inside the Chaifetz Center in St. Louis.
Steffen started the championship quarterfinals against the fourth-seeded Dan Filipek of McKendree. Filipek would open the scoring with just two seconds left in the first period, leading to an escape and takedown in the second period to climb to a 5-0 lead. Steffen would score on an escape with under a minute left to trail 5-1 into the third period but would get outscored 5-2 in the period to close out a 10-3 loss.
MANHEIM, PA – The field has been set for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships, with the top 10 ranked wrestlers in each weight class making up the final NWCA Division II Coaches Rankings of the season.
The final rankings represent the top 8 seeds and top 10 ranked wrestlers for the upcoming NCAA Division II National Championships in St. Louis March 11-12. Nebraska-Kearney moved into the #1 spot for the first time this season, amassing 115 total points behind an NCAA DII-high nine National Qualifiers. Central Oklahoma moved to the #2 spot with 111 points behind seven National Qualifiers, with 2021 National Champion St. Cloud in the three-spot with 95 points from seven National Qualifiers. West Liberty held in the #4 spot, while Indianapolis moved up to the #5 ranking.
MOORHEAD, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State’s Caden Steffen became the third wrestler in the program’s DII history to win a regional championship and has qualified for his second consecutive NCAA Championships to lead SMSU at the NCAA Super Region V tournament.
It’s the fifth straight season SMSU has had a national qualifier. The top three finishers at each weight class qualify for the NCAA Championships, with the fourth-place finisher serving as an alternate in the class.
Steffen would start the day off with a bye in the first round. He would finally get a match in the quarterfinals, where he would defeat Gavin Christofferson of MSU 18-4 in a rematch of their sudden victory match on Feb. 13. Steffen would defeat Kolby Kost of Augie 8-4 in the semifinals, moving on to a rematch with Reece Woracheck of Parkside after a sudden victory match on Feb. 11. Steffen would shut down any debates, winning 3-1 in the finals to solidify his spot in Mustang history.
2022 NCAA Division II Super Region 5 Qualifier results. Saturday, February 26 at Moorhead, Minn.