INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA national wrestling committee announced on Monday that Southwest Minnesota State senior wrestler Jackson Ryan was selected as a wild-card to compete at the upcoming NCAA Championships in St. Louis on March 12-13.

Ryan, a 197-pounder from Inver Grove Heights, placed third at the NCAA Super Region V Tournament on Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D.

Due to COVID-19, this year’s national qualifiers from each region were trimmed to two per weight class and several wild-card selections. The NCAA allocated a total of 132 individual qualifiers from the six regions in 2021.

Ryan will be joined at the championship by teammate Caden Steffen, who officially placed third at 184 pounds on Saturday night. A sophomore from Zumbrota, Steffen won the true-second place match, but per NCAA rules, the true second-place match was for NCAA Championship qualification purposes only.

Ryan, who entered last weekend’s regional ranked No. 2 in the region and No. 10 nationally, won his first match to before losing in the championship semifinals. He then won two straight matches in the consolation bracket, including earning a 9-2 victory in the third-place match.

Ryan, who qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championship, will enter this year’s championship with an 8-1 record, while Steffen has a record of 8-3.

The 2021 NCAA Championship will be held at America’s Convention Center Complex in St. Louis. The preliminaries and first round matches will begin at 12 p.m. on March 12.

— Content courtesy

of SMSU Athletic

Communications