Peterson takes third at nationals
Hustead, Arron
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Sports
Truman wrestling continued its streak of having a single All-American selected for the sixth consecutive season.
Junior Blake Peterson placed third at the NCAA Div. II National Championship Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to earn All-American honors for the second year in a row. This was Peterson's third trip to the national tournament. Truman's only other national qualifier, senior Rob Nahlik, lost two consecutive matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
"I feel like this weekend I was the best wrestler in my bracket," Peterson said. "Unfortunately for me, I happened to run into the eventual champion in the quarterfinals instead of the finals. This is just an unfortunate byproduct of the NCAA not seeding the Div. II wrestling bracket like they do every other division."
The Bulldogs finished with a tie for 20th in the tournament with the University of Indianapolis. The team scored 16.5 points.
Peterson won five matches at the tournament, including his last four. Each of his wins was either by pin-fall or by more than four points.
"At every national tournament the competition is so good that every match could go one way or another," he said. "The difference in big tournaments like this comes down to small, pivotal points in each match."
Peterson said his previous trips to the national tournament were a major benefit.
"It was my prior experience in clutch situations and big tournaments that allowed me to come out on top in each of these small but important situations of each match," he said.
Peterson said he might not be returning to the team next season but instead is thinking of pursuing his medical career.
"Of course I would have liked to end my season and my career with a national title," he said. "It is difficult to leave
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the sport of wrestling with one year of eligibility still remaining, especially when I will be the obvious favorite at my weight class going into next season. However, for me, my future in medicine is more important than one last year of wrestling."
Junior Blake Peterson placed third at the NCAA Div. II National Championship Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to earn All-American honors for the second year in a row. This was Peterson's third trip to the national tournament. Truman's only other national qualifier, senior Rob Nahlik, lost two consecutive matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
"I feel like this weekend I was the best wrestler in my bracket," Peterson said. "Unfortunately for me, I happened to run into the eventual champion in the quarterfinals instead of the finals. This is just an unfortunate byproduct of the NCAA not seeding the Div. II wrestling bracket like they do every other division."
The Bulldogs finished with a tie for 20th in the tournament with the University of Indianapolis. The team scored 16.5 points.
Peterson won five matches at the tournament, including his last four. Each of his wins was either by pin-fall or by more than four points.
"At every national tournament the competition is so good that every match could go one way or another," he said. "The difference in big tournaments like this comes down to small, pivotal points in each match."
Peterson said his previous trips to the national tournament were a major benefit.
"It was my prior experience in clutch situations and big tournaments that allowed me to come out on top in each of these small but important situations of each match," he said.
Peterson said he might not be returning to the team next season but instead is thinking of pursuing his medical career.
"Of course I would have liked to end my season and my career with a national title," he said. "It is difficult to leave
Please see WRESTLING, Page 23
Continued from Page 17
the sport of wrestling with one year of eligibility still remaining, especially when I will be the obvious favorite at my weight class going into next season. However, for me, my future in medicine is more important than one last year of wrestling."
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