If Montana State had a wrestling team
Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2018 4:33 pm
Montana isn't a powerhouse for producing D1 college wrestlers, but there are plenty of home-grown wrestling talent out of Montana that could make Montana State a fairly competitive mid-major D1 wrestling program. Let's look at some of the Montana-made wrestlers who have made it to the college level in recent years, and a few that have been successful.
Trent Sprenkle, Billings Senior, North Dakota State
After winning three individual state titles for the Broncs and a two-year LDS mission, Sprenkle came to NDSU and had a successful career. Contributing as a freshman, redshirting his second year on campus, and then being a major contributor for the Bison over the next three years, highlighted by a 5th place finish at 125 pounds in the 2012-13 season after upsetting the two-time defending National Champ Matt McDonnough out of Iowa in the round of 12.
Jade Rauser, Broadwater HS, Utah Valley
With a perfect 175-0 record in high school, a Junior National Triple Crown winner, and Pan-American Games champion, Rauser redshirted his first year at UVU, then became the school's first four-time NCAA Championships qualifier, ending up as an 8th-place All American in the 2016 NCAA Championships, a third-place finish at the 2016 Big 12 Championships, and finishing his career with a 77-32 record.
These are two recent All Americans out of the Treasure State, but there's quite a few talented wrestlers from Montana who could be future All Americans
Jarrett Degen, Belgrade, Iowa State
With a 184-8 prep record with 4 individual state championships, the 6'3" 149-pounder made an instant impact for the Cyclones in the 2017-18 season. After spending a year at Virginia Tech, Degen came to Iowa State, compiled a 23-11 record, a third place finish at the Big 12 Championships, and qualified for the NCAA National Championship Tournament. He lost in the opening round 4-3 to Arizona State's Jason Tsirtsis (the 2014 NCAA National Champ), and ended up only one match away from placing.
Other D1 wrestlers from Montana Include Billings West's Koby Reyes and Havre's Parker Filius at Purdue, Bozeman's Keavon Buckley at Arizona State, Forsyth's Luke Weber at Nebraska, and Sawyer Degen at NDSU.
Billings Senior's Luke Paine of Wyoming and Charlo's Jacen Peterson of Arizona State were also contributors for D1 wrestling teams.
Do you think Montana State should have a wrestling team?
Trent Sprenkle, Billings Senior, North Dakota State
After winning three individual state titles for the Broncs and a two-year LDS mission, Sprenkle came to NDSU and had a successful career. Contributing as a freshman, redshirting his second year on campus, and then being a major contributor for the Bison over the next three years, highlighted by a 5th place finish at 125 pounds in the 2012-13 season after upsetting the two-time defending National Champ Matt McDonnough out of Iowa in the round of 12.
Jade Rauser, Broadwater HS, Utah Valley
With a perfect 175-0 record in high school, a Junior National Triple Crown winner, and Pan-American Games champion, Rauser redshirted his first year at UVU, then became the school's first four-time NCAA Championships qualifier, ending up as an 8th-place All American in the 2016 NCAA Championships, a third-place finish at the 2016 Big 12 Championships, and finishing his career with a 77-32 record.
These are two recent All Americans out of the Treasure State, but there's quite a few talented wrestlers from Montana who could be future All Americans
Jarrett Degen, Belgrade, Iowa State
With a 184-8 prep record with 4 individual state championships, the 6'3" 149-pounder made an instant impact for the Cyclones in the 2017-18 season. After spending a year at Virginia Tech, Degen came to Iowa State, compiled a 23-11 record, a third place finish at the Big 12 Championships, and qualified for the NCAA National Championship Tournament. He lost in the opening round 4-3 to Arizona State's Jason Tsirtsis (the 2014 NCAA National Champ), and ended up only one match away from placing.
Other D1 wrestlers from Montana Include Billings West's Koby Reyes and Havre's Parker Filius at Purdue, Bozeman's Keavon Buckley at Arizona State, Forsyth's Luke Weber at Nebraska, and Sawyer Degen at NDSU.
Billings Senior's Luke Paine of Wyoming and Charlo's Jacen Peterson of Arizona State were also contributors for D1 wrestling teams.
Do you think Montana State should have a wrestling team?