Nurrideen Ahmad-Statts to Wrestle for the NCWA National Title!
Williamson freshman 174 lb. wrestler Nurrideen Ahmad-Statts did it again! He upset #3 seed Matthew Riehle from Hillsdale College by a score of 2-1 in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association semifinals to advance to tomorrow afternoon's national 174 lb. final. His opponent will be #1 seed Ledger Petracek from Menlo University who defeated the #13 seed in his semifinal match by a score of 13-5.
Nurrideen gave up a first period point to trail 1-0, but eventually tied things up at 1-1. He managed to ride his opponent the entire second period giving him riding time advantage. Try as he may to take Nurrideen down, Riehle simply could not the rest of the way and the riding time was the difference, as it was the deciding point to give him the 2-1 victory.
Nurrideen becomes the fourth Williamson wrestler to wrestle in a national final. In 2000, 141 lb. Phil Carbonetta 0W1 wrestled for the NJCAA national title, while Talon Pisarchuk 2W4 wrestled for the NCWA national title at 174 lbs. in 2023 and 184 lbs. in 2024. Nurrideen will seek to make history by becoming the first Williamson wrestler to win a national title.
Williamson currently stands at an amazing 22nd place in the team standings out of 85 teams!
Win, lose or draw in the final, Williamson could not be prouder of the job he has done. What an incredible honor!
In addition to what he has done, a huge shout out goes the Williamson coaching staff for the unbelievable job they have done, not just at this tournament, but with the entire program. Williamson could not be more thankful for head coach Ron Frank and assistants Joe Silvestri and Paul Louth and all they have done. They are to be congratulated and thanked to the max.
