Fans from the Cedar Valley and around the world can tune to live radio broadcasts of the national championships through two local radio stations this weekend. KWAR-FM, 89.1, and KWAY-AM, 1470, each of Waverly, will provide all of the action from The College of New Jersey. Live listen links will be available through www.go-knights.net, the Internet home of Wartburg athletics.
Knights notes: Head coach Jim Miller's squad seeks the program's fifth team national title since 1996. The Knights continued an impressive streak of finishing either first or second in the nation in 11 of the last 13 years last season by turning in a runner-up finish with 104.5 points at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn…The Orange and Black also look to continue impressive national championship strings along individual lines. Wartburg has garnered five or more All-Americans each season since 1995, had at least one All-American each year since 1988 and had at least one wrestler in a national championship match for three consecutive years…Wartburg brings in the second-highest number of national qualifiers to this weekend's meet as UW-La Crosse heads the list with 10 advancing…All nine Knights were ranked in the pre-national championships poll released by the National Wrestling Coaches Association Feb. 21. Senior 125-pounder Tyler Hubbard of Blue Springs, Mo., senior 141-pounder Dustin Hinschberger of Belle Plaine, junior 197-pounder T.J. Miller of Cedar Falls and junior heavyweight Blake Gillis of Spencer are each ranked No. 1, while sophomore 149-pounder Jacob Naig of Emmetsburg and senior 174-pounder Scott Kauffman of Emmetsburg are No. 2. Senior 184-pounder Akeem Carter of Waterloo is at No. 3 with freshman 133-pounder Zach McKray of Iowa City and senior 165-pounder Dustin Bliven of Columbus Junction ranked No. 7…Hubbard, Hinschberger, Gillis, Naig, Kauffman and Carter each seek repeat All-American efforts, and Hinschberger, Gillis and Carter are looking to return to the national championship match for the third year in a row. Hinschberger is the two-time defending national champ at 141, sporting a win string against Division III competition that extends to his sophomore season, while Carter, the two-time defending champ at 197, looks to get there at a new weight and Gillis seeks his third straight trip to the finals at heavyweight.
Fox set for Hall of Fame induction: Former three-time All-American and two-time national champion Jamal Fox is slated for induction into the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Division III Hall of Fame during the weekend of the national championships at The College of New Jersey. Fox is the second of head coach Jim Miller's wrestlers to be inducted, joining former standout Tom Smith who went in during the 2004 national championships hosted by Loras College of Dubuque.
"I hadn't really thought of myself being on the level of a Hall of Famer, but it is starting to set in," Fox, the program's all-time win leader with 166 victories, said. "I will always remember Wartburg wrestling as a place where you had every opportunity to excel, whether it came from the coaching staff or the guys going against you in practice. When you see success around you, it tends to rub off."
Currently a doctor of optometry at Groat Eye Care Associates in Greensboro, N.C., Fox was a part of four consecutive Iowa Conference team champions and the 1996 national team champions. He earned back-to-back top two finishes at nationals, placing second in 1995 and winning the title in 1996. Fox also concluded his career with three individual conference titles.
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