CORALVILLE, Iowa – Cade DeVos reached the finals of the 74-kilogram division in freestyle competition, leading a contingent of South Dakota State wrestlers over the weekend at the 2021 UWW Junior Nationals.
Wrestling under the banner of the Jackrabbit Wrestling Club, DeVos reeled off five consecutive victories to set up a best-of-three championship series against Keegan O’Toole of the Tiger Style Wrestling Club. A native of Altoona, Iowa, DeVos won his first three matches by a combined 33-2 before defeating Derek Fields of the Arsenal Wrestling Club, 10-0, in the quarterfinals.
DeVos advanced to the finals with another 10-0 victory over Clayton Ulrey from the Southeast Regional Training Center, but was swept in the championship series by O’Toole by scores of 11-1 (4:43) and 8-0.
Also reaching the semifinals in his weight class from 70-kilogram wrestler Jack Thomsen. A native of La Porte City, Iowa, Thomsen dropped a 10-0 (1:42) decision to Bryce Andonian of the Southeast Regional Training Center. Thomsen won each of his first four matches, including a 3-2 victory over Cameron Picklo of the Oklahoma Regional Training Center in the quarterfinals.
Cade King advanced to the quarterfinals of the 79-kilogram division, winning two matches before dropping a 11-0 (4:34) bout to Manuel Rojas of Michigan.
Caleb Gross also wrestled in the junior freestyle competition and posted a 1-1 record at 65 kilograms.
In senior freestyle competition, former Jackrabbit standout Nate Rotert advanced to the finals of the 97-kilogram weight class. Rotert began his run to the championship by upsetting second-seeded Erik Hinckley of Kansas, 10-0 (0:51) in the opening round, followed by a 10-0 win against Ben Hughes of the Southern Oregon RTC.
Rotert scored a 10-6 decision over Isaac Trumble of the TMWC/Wolfpack Wrestling Club in the semifinals before falling, 10-0 (1:39), in the championship match against fourth-seeded Austin Schafer of the New York Athletic Club.
Another former Jackrabbit, Luke Zilverberg, added an eighth-place finish at 74 kilograms in the senior division.
