Peter Kuster finishes 4th at NCAA-II Championship; best finish ever by a DU wrestler at nationals

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa– Drury wrestler Peter Kuster finished fourth in the 141-pound division at the NCAA-II National Championship held at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday. His placement marks the best finish ever by a Drury wrestler at the national championship.
 
The senior from Jefferson City went 4-2 in the tournament. He advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday, but lost in the field of eight to move to the consolation round.
 
After avoiding elimination Friday night, Kuster won two consolation rounds on Saturday. He picked up a 5-3 win over Tate Murtry from Upper Iowa, then won by Fall in 1:52 over Belmont Abbey’s John Carayiannis. Kuster lost his third place bout to Central Oklahoma’s Nate Keim, the same wrestler he faced in the SuperRegional championship three weeks ago.
 
Kuster ended the season 22-5 and finished his career with more than 100 wins, four national tournament appearances, and two All-American awards. He finished seventh in the NCAA-II Tournament last year.
 
This season marked the sixth year Drury has sent wrestlers to the NCAA-II Tournament and was the first time the Panthers had three advance to nationals as Will Kuster (165 pounds) and Kaden Howard (125 pounds) also reached the NCAA-II Tournament. Both were eliminated on Friday.
 
Kuster is Drury’s first two-time All-American. Jared Rennick earned All-American honors in 2021 with an eighth-place finish in the heavyweight class.
 
Drury Results at the NCAA-II Championships  
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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)
Cons. Round 3 – Peter Kuster (Drury) 22-5 won by decision over Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) 29-9 (Dec 5-3)
Cons. Semi – Peter Kuster (Drury) 22-5 won by Fall over John Carayiannis (Belmont Abbey) 15-7 (Fall 1:52)
3rd Place Match – Nate Keim (Central Oklahoma) 28-7 won by Fall over Peter Kuster (Drury) 22-5 (Fall 4:18)
 
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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