March 4, 2008

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Three Carson-Newman wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cedar Falls Iowa, March 13-15 with strong finishes at Midwest Regional over the weekend.

Top-seeded Kody Pierson (Cincinnati, Ohio) qualified by finishing fourth at 125 pounds.

Pierson, a sophomore, beat Caleb Hulse of Central Missouri State 4-1 in the winner's bracket, then beat Indianapolis' Jimmy Nichols 8-3 and Ashland's Brandon Davis in the deciding match to qualify.

Pierson has qualified for the national tournament in both of his seasons at Mossy Creek.

Twin-brother Kent, at 133 pounds, also qualified, beating Dan Keller of Truman University 9-2.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-native also beat SIU-Edwardsville's Tommy Hill 8-5. The junior fell 5-2 to defending National Champion Shane Perkey of Indianapolis University. This is the second time Pierson has qualified.

Sophomore Tom Minwell qualified in the heavyweight division, beating Ashland's Ray Kent 8-3.

The Clarksville, Tennessee native pinned former All-American Travis Clark of Findlay, before giving up a 10-2 decision to top-ranked Dustin Finn of Central Oklahoma.

Coach Don Elia's Eagles will travel to Iowa Wednesday, March 12th to wrestle Thursday-Saturday.

This marks the 30th consecutive year that Carson-Newman has had wrestlers advance to the National Championship. 81 Eagles have earned "All-American" honors at the tournament. 25 C-N wrestlers have won National Championships.