The Wayne State wrestlers placed tenth at nationals in Allen, Texas, last Wednesday through Friday.

Casey Glassgow became an All-American, placing seventh at the dual.

The Wildcats’ showing at nationals was their best ever, topping last season’s performance. The Wildcats scored 48 points with 11 wrestlers competing.

“I was very proud of the team. We had four wrestlers make it to the round of 16. We were all very excited,” Coach Greg Vander Weil said.

Freshman Glassgow had a great tournament, according to Coach Vander Weil.

“Getting to the podium as a freshman is a great achievement. Casey really put in the work to get to this point, and everyone is very proud of him,” Vander Weil said.

Glassgow transferred to Wayne from Chadron State at semester. Vander Weil is very pleased with the way he has put everything together to become an All-American.

“It is pretty exciting becoming an All-American as a freshman. I placed with all upperclassman. It took a lot of hard work with ups and downs along the way, but I grew as a person and a wrestler,” Glassgow said.

Devin Rupp was one match away from making it onto the podium. Rupp picked up a shoulder injury right before the match he lost, but he didn’t make any excuses. He still thought he could get the job done.

Former All-American Jon Williams finished up his record breaking career here at Wayne State. Williams has rewritten the record books, according to Vander Weil.

“Records never were a big thing for me. I just wanted to do what I love to do, which is wrestling. But when you work hard at something and get pushed by great coaches, the records come,” Williams said.

Williams came to Wayne to throw javelin on the track team. Vander Weil heard he was a wrestler and contacted him about joining the team.

This turned out to be a great idea.

Williams would go on to become a four-time national qualifier and an All-American.

Gaining that honor was a goal Williams had strived for since he was a freshman.

“Knowing Jon these four years and being able to watch him grow as a man and a wrestler has been very special to me. He is a great young man and I am happy for all the records he has broken. He deserves all he gets,” Vander Weil said.