Winona, MN-
The 2019-20 season for the five wrestling programs in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference has concluded with the NJCAA Wrestling National Championships and several MCAC individuals and teams have earned some impressive honors.
Rochester Community & Technical College student-athlete Auston Hall put together an impressive run in the 141 lbs. division, finishing as Runner-Up in his respective weight class, earning NJCAA All-America honors in the process. An injury in the championship bout cut short his opportunity to claim national championship status, but Hall was one of several Yellowjackets to excel in Council Bluffs this year.
As a team, RCTC finished in a third place tie overall - and the highest of non-scholarship programs - racking up 104 team points over the two-day event. Rochester qualified an MCAC-best nine wrestlers for the 2019-20 NJCAA Wrestling National Championships. To review Team Standings, Individual Champions and links to final standings for each weight class, click here or visit: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/wrest/2019-20/national_championship/index
Rochester head coach Randy Rager was tabbed the NJCAA Non-Scholarship Coach-of-the-Year, as his RCTC squad finished level with scholarship program Iowa Western, and just two places back of national champion Clackamas.
In addition, Yellowjacket Richard Hammonds, an RCTC wrestler competing in the 197 lbs. Division, earned the JOSEPH A. ROCKENBACK SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD, as presented by the NJCAA. Hammonds finished his tournament in third place at the 197 lbs. weight class.
Northland Community & Technical College saw Andre Baguma wrestle his way deep into the championship bracket at 285 lbs,; the Pioneer sophomore finished 6th place overall, an impressive conclusion to a strong Northland career. The heavyweight candidate was one of six Pioneers in Iowa.
Itasca Community College saw Austin Voss put together a strong run in the 165 lbs Division; Voss was one of six Vikings to compete in this year's National Championship under first-year coach Joe Umlauf.
Minnesota West and Ridgewater both qualified student-athletes for the NJCAA Wrestling National Championships; four MnWest Blue Jays took part in Council Bluffs and Ridgewater qualified two student-athletes.
The 2019-20 NJCAA Wrestling National Championships information, including website and live-stream details, are available at: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/wrest/2019-20/national_championship/index
For current NJCAA Wrestling Team Rankings, go to: http://www.njcaa.org/sports/wrest/polls
The NJCAA Wrestling Twitter feed is at: https://twitter.com/NJCAAWrestling
The complete NJCAA individual rankings as compiled by The Guillotine wrestling website are available by clicking here or at: https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/njcaa?
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin.
The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.
Be sure to follow our MCAC Facebook and Twitter feeds @MCACSports
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