Heavyweight Wrestler earns trip to NCAA DIII Wrestling Championship.

Cooley earned a national rank of #15 in the NCAA Division III rankings due to the fantastic season. He has won our individual championships including the SLIAC Championships where he recorded a majority decision over 2018 Cadet World Team member Jacob Kaminski. 

Austin entered the tournament as the #3 seed and found himself in a semi-final showdown with #2 seed and Nationally Ranked at #3 Mitch Williamson of Wartburg College. Cooley secured two takedowns on his way to a 8-5 victory. He fell just short in the final losing to #1 seed Walter West of Luther College 9-6. Head men’s Coach Rodriguez stated, “I’m extremely proud of Austin’s performance today and the dedication and work he has put in over the season to get him to this point, all while balancing student athlete and military obligations.”  

Cooley will have the next two weeks to prepare before heading to the National Championship which will be held in Providence, Rhode Island March 14-15th.