Blue Raiders shoot up to a fourth place finish at nationals after being 15th in 2011.
COLUMBIA, Ky. -- With three individuals reaching the national wrestling finals to help Lindsey Wilson finish a program-best fourth at the NAIA National Championships, the Blue Raiders' season comes in at No. 8 on the Top-22 Moments of 2011-12.
Keith Klink was the runner up at 133 pounds and Ian Stephens finished second at 174 pounds, while Charlie Pingleton captured the program's first national championship at 157 pounds, beating Nik Turner from Oklahoma City 3-2.
In all, five Lindsey Wilson wrestlers were named NAIA All-Americans with top-eight individual finishes. In addition to the three finalists, the list includes DaMonte Riley and Isaac Thomas.
As a team, the Blue Raiders used a national champion, two second-place finishes, a third-place finish and one wrestler in seventh to finish fourth in the team standings with 96.5 points, topping the previous year's 15th-place finish.
More about No. 8…
Lindsey Wilson has completed just three seasons of wrestling and the program already has a national title and jumped into the top-five of the standings at nationals.
Blue Raiders were ranked fourth in the Postseason NAIA Coaches' Top-20 Poll.
Lindsey Wilson finished the dual season with a 7-5 record, while making top-five finishes at the Ohio Northern Open and Missouri Valley Invite.
Finished as the runner-up at the Mid-South Conference Tournament and took fourth place at the NAIA Regional Championships.