A pair of former area wrestling standouts earned their way onto the podium at the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional Friday and Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and will be competing at the national tournament in two weeks.
Martin County West graduate Blake Jagodzinske, a junior at Augsburg University, placed second at 157 pounds and advances to the NCAA Division III National Championships in La Crosse March 15-16.
Jackson County Central grad Kie Anderson, a sophomore at Concordia College, finished seventh at 125 pounds.
Jagodzinske, ranked fifth in the country, earned his first national tournament berth.
He went 3-1, winning by fall, a major decision and a 10-7 decision to reach the finals, where lost an 8-3 decision to defending national champion Nolan Hertel of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Jagodzinske has a 16-6 record for the season with seven pins, a technical fall and four major decisions. He is 60-14 in his college career.
He’ll have no problem finding a practice partner for nationals as for the fifth time since 2003, the Auggies qualified wrestlers in all 10 weight classes for the national tournament.
Augsburg, the defending national champion, won the team title with 216.5 points, with Wisconsin-La Crosse second with 188.5.
Anderson got a late start to his season due to injury, joining the Concordia lineup in January. He went 3-2 at 125 pounds in the regional to find a spot on the podium.
After a first-round bye, he won by fall in the second round before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion. That put Anderson in the consolation bracket, where he would win another match by fall, lose to the wrestler who finished fifth and then won the seventh-place match.
Anderson finishes the season with a 9-5 record. The Cobbers were sixth in the team standings.
Here are the complete tournament results for Jagodzinske and Anderson:
157: Blake Jagodzinske, Augsburg, 2nd
First round: Bye
Second round: Pinned Daniel Thaler (Wheaton, Ill.) :50
Quarterfinals: Maj. dec. David Cushman (Wisconsin-Platteville) 8-0
Semifinals: Dec. Drew Vlasnik (University of Chicago) 10-7
Championship: Lost to Nolan Hertel (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 8-3
125: Kie Anderson, Concordia, 7th
First round: Bye
Second round: Pinned JP Culver (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) :55
Quarterfinals: Lost to Jalen Dunson (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 17-2 4:54
Consolation Round 4: Pinned Devin Gore (Concordia, Wis.) 1:31
Consolation Round 5: Lost to Jake Hamulak (University of Chicago) 5:00
7th place: Pinned Zane Ely (Aurora University) 2:04