Peter Kuster goes 2-1 on first day of NCAA-II tournament, earns All-American honors

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa– Drury’s Peter Kuster went 2-1 on the first day of competition at the NCAA-II Wrestling Championships at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The senior will compete tomorrow in a consolation bracket in the 141-pound division needing to win to stay alive in the tournament.
 
Kuster, seeded fifth at 141 pounds, opened his fourth career NCAA-II National Tournament with a 5-1 win over Dean Noble out of Western Colorado, 5-1. He then had to drop into the consolation bracket after being shut out by fourth-seeded Christian Small of Lake Erie, 3-0. Kuster stayed alive, though, with a 2-1 victory against Newberry’s Josh Blatt.
 
By advancing to Saturday’s round, Kuster is assured of no worse than eighth place and NCAA-II All-American status. It is the second All-American honor for Kuster, who finished seventh at nationals last year.
 
Kuster reached 100 career wins on Friday, becoming the first Panther to reach that total throughout a Drury career. Former Panther Blake Clevenger won 100 bouts with that total combining wins at Drury with victories at his previous college.
 
Saturday, Kuster (20-4) will face Tate Murty (29-7) of Upper Iowa to open consolation rounds.
 
Drury sent two others to the national tournament, marking the first time in program history the Panthers have advanced three to nationals.
 
Caden Howard lost his opening round match in the 125-weight class by Technical Fall to fourth-seeded Shane Corrigan of Wisconsin Parkside, 17-2, then dropped a 9-3 decision to Jose Diaz from Gannon in the consolation round. Howard finished the season with a record of 19-10
 
Will Kuster was edged twice in his two bouts in the 165-pound division. The sophomore from Jefferson City was one point short against the number two seed, Alex Farenchak of Gannon, 6-5 in the first round. He then dropped a 14-12 decision against Mike Vernagallo of Mount Olive. Kuster ended the year 21-7.
 
Semifinals and wrestlebacks start at 11 am on Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
Drury Results at the NCAA-II Championships  
125
Champ. Round 1 – Shane Corrigan (Wisconsin-Parkside) 32-7 won by tech fall over Caden Howard (Drury) 19-10 (TF-1.5 5:00 (17-2))
Cons. Round 1 – Jose Diaz (Gannon) 12-10 won by decision over Caden Howard (Drury) 19-10 (Dec 9-3)
 
141
Champ. Round 1 – Peter Kuster (Drury) 19-4 won by decision over Dean Noble (Western Colorado) 17-12 (Dec 5-1)
Quarterfinal – Christian Small (Lake Erie) 25-2 won by decision over Peter Kuster (Drury) 19-4 (Dec 3-0)
Cons. Round 2 – Peter Kuster (Drury) 20-4 won by decision over Josh Blatt (Newberry) 14-9 (Dec 2-1)
 
165
Champ. Round 1 – Alex Farenchak (Gannon) 12-1 won by decision over Will Kuster (Drury) 21-7 (Dec 6-5)
Cons. Round 1 – Mike Vernagallo (Mount Olive) 22-6 won by decision over Will Kuster (Drury) 21-7 (Dec 14-12)
 
 
#allweDUiswin
 

This article is provided by Drury University Athletics
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