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Yetzer Named NCAA Div. III Rookie Coach of the Year

By Virginia Wrestling, 04/07/14, 10:30AM EDT

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Following Saturday night's championship finals at the 2014 NCAA Division III Wrestling Tournament, the NCAA announced its post-season awards and Ferrum College's Nate Yetzer was named Div. III Rookie Coach of the Year. The award is one of five presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Yetzer was one of three coaches honored as Rookie Coach of the Year this season, including Marques Gales of Trinity (Conn.) College and Efrain Ayala of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. One of Ayala's wrestlers, Nazar Kulchytskyy, was named Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Tournament.

Yetzer led Ferrum to a 6-3 overall record in its first season as a varsity program. The Panthers placed third at the 2014 Virgina Duals, won the 2014 Builder Invitational at the Apprentice School, and placed 10th of 17 teams at the 2014 NCAA Div. III East Regional March 2 at King's College.

One of Yetzer's wrestlers, 141--pounder Logan Meister, placed third at the East Regional and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Meister went 1-2 at the championships and closed the season with an impressive 22-11 record, including five pins. Teammate Robert Cunningham, just barely missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament when he finished fourth at the East Regional. Cunningham closed the year at 21-8 with six pins, competing at 125 pounds.

National Wrestling Coaches Association Awards
Outstanding Wrestler: Nazar Kulchytskyy (UW-Oshkosh), 157 lbs
Most Falls in Least Amount of Time: Jacob Lowry (Thiel), 197 lbs – 2 falls (1:53)
Coach of the Year: Brian Brunk (Messiah)
Rookie Coach of the Year: Efrain Ayala (UW-Oshkosh), Marques Gales (Trinity), Nate Yetzer (Ferrum)
Assistant Coach of the Year: Domineak Commodore (Messiah)

NCAA Season Awards
Elite 89 Award: Cody Lovejoy (Ohio Northern), 285 lbs
Most Dominant: Nazar Kulchytskyy (UW-Oshkosh), 157 lbs
Most Falls: Thomas Reyhons (Augustana), 184 lbs – 25 falls
Most Tech Falls: Shane Siefert (UW-Whitewater), 197 lbs – 11 tech falls