UT Club Wrestling pinned itself into history last month.
Tennessee’s men’s team finished with two All-American wrestlers and placed 24 out of the 96 teams at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) National Championship in Bossier City, Louisiana.
All-American is a title given to wrestlers who place in the top eight in the national tournament. Competing in their respective weight divisions, sophomore Spencer Kon and graduate student Owen Zuckerman both placed seventh, at 174 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively.
Kon and Zuckerman’s All-American finishes are Tennessee’s third and fourth NCWA All-Americans of all time — following David Ellis (174) and Matt Thompson (133), who placed in 2004.
“Reflecting on the national tournament has made me realize how much our team has grown this year. The community we’ve formed on campus translates to greater achievement on the mat,” Robert Huber, the club’s president, said. “Having our first All-Americans in over 20 years is the result of multiple years of hard work from the entire team. It was so rewarding to experience the team’s success first hand while coaching at nationals.”
As club wrestling continues to grow and find success, training for this national tournament was no easy task. The team practices three days a week on fundamentals and positions as well as cardio to get them in the best possible shape for match day.
“The conference tournament was two weeks before the national tournament, and that didn’t go as well as the nationals did,” Kon said. “I got fourth place at conference, but then after conference, we got back and trained a little bit harder and worked on things I needed to, and then we ended up doing really good at nationals.”
The community and family aspect of this team is one of the reasons that they succeed. After Kon pinned his opponent, the crowd as well as his teammates exploded.
“The camaraderie is really what pulls it together. We have fun here at the practices, the tournaments are a whole environment, and the team is what makes it all worth it. It was a good time,” Zuckerman said.
Zuckerman, also named an All-American, didn’t fold under pressure of being in a large stadium atmosphere.
“It was a little intimidating at first. There were a lot of teams there, and a huge arena environment. But I didn’t let that get to me. I just went in with one goal — to wrestle well — and came out with the results I wanted,” Zuckerman said.
Beyond the season’s success, UT Club Wrestling also hosted their first home dual meet since 2019, adding to the growth this program has experienced. UT wrestled against teams from Alabama and TSU.
“They’re all exceptionally motivated young men and women. They’re all contributing, they’re all helping each other, and everyone has different attributes,” wrestling coach and associate professor Joe Smith said. “One of our student leaders leads by example. We have other folks who are more vocal, and I think it’s really important, because they’re engaging people who might be interested.”
The strong leadership and individual success that this season has experienced is just the beginning. As they prepare and strengthen for next season, UT Club Wrestling is excited for new opportunities.
“I’ve been telling the wrestlers, they’re the show. I’m just along for the ride. But I think if anyone has a wrestling background and is interested, we have people from all levels, and there’s a lot of opportunity there,” Smith said. “I hope we can build on that (success), but also build on numbers. Even though it’s an individual sport, you don’t have that without success in the room and a bunch of people for them to work with. So even though those are individual accolades, they’re very reflective of the group of people that have been working on the mat.”
