Not since 2006 has a Gator been named an All-American wrestler, but with plenty of purple and gold representatives this year, four to be exact, their hopes of ending the two-year hiatus are looking good.

Curtis Schurkamp, consist-ently ranked in the top five in the 125-pound division, believes not only that SF State will have an All-American (top eight finish at nationals), but he also has a chance at being a national champion
.
“They don’t wrestle the people we wrestle,” said Schurkamp, referring to the tough non-con-ference schedule the Gators go through every year. “My mind and my body feel good. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to win it all.”

Schurkamp, along with heavyweight Steve Franklin, senior Alecxis Lara and true freshman Josh Nolan, will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this Thursday to represent the Gators at the Division II National Wrestling Championships starting March 14.

Schurkamp and Franklin each punched their ticket for Iowa by finishing in second place in their respective weight class at the West Regionals. Lara finished in fourth place in the 184-pound weight class and Nolan was the fourth-place finisher in the 149-pound weight class to punch his ticket for nationals.

Each wrestler points to SF State’s non-conference schedule, which annually features many Division I opponents, as the reason they feel so confident going to Iowa. Coach Lars Jensen said the tough competition is the best way to prepare his wrestlers for the best Division II has to offer.

“We wrestle the best guys in the country,” Lara said. “All these guys in my weight class have better records, but they don’t wrestle anybody. They wrestle local caliber people. We wrestle D-I schools. It’s a huge confidence booster.”

Lara, who finished 7-12 on the season, said his poor record is partly because of the competition he had to face in addition to the numerous injuries he sustained throughout the year.

His injuries, including a high ankle sprain, an elbow sprain and two sprained joints in each shoulder, caused him to miss all four tournaments as well as several early matches. Luckily for Lara, he was able to heal just in time for the regionals.

“I peaked at the right time,” Lara said. “Overtime in the final match in my senior year. To qualify, it was one of the best feelings ever.”

Nolan, who became the fifth true freshman to ever make it to nationals from SF State, also peaked at the right time and was able to take out his competitors, in both the fifth place and fourth place match, to get to nationals.

According to Jensen, this is the largest numbers of players to qualify for nationals since 2004. He is also excited for next year, as three out of the four qualifiers will be returning.

For Schurkamp, being named to the all-conference isn’t even a nice consolation, as he and his teammates are only after the big prize: a ring.

“It’s cool I guess, but for me it would mean diddley,” Schurkamp said. “Our goal is to be a national champion. That’s what we’ve been working so hard for.”