Traverso earns ‘All-American’ at national wrestling contest

By Maegan Murray, WSU Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. – Joseph Traverso, a student at Washington State University Tri-Cities, took home sixth place and earned WSU’s only All-American designation at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championships this month in Kissimmee, Fla.

“I’m happy with earning All-American, especially coming into a tournament like that,” he said. “I felt in shape. I don’t think there was a single person on the mat that had better cardio than me. Mentally, I also think I broke some of the guys that I wrestled with.”

Traverso, who competed in the 174-pound weight class, had a bye his first match, won his second, lost his third, won the next four and lost his last two. His last match ended in triple overtime.

“There were a few things I could have done better those last two matches,” he said. “Starting off, I would attack, hit the guy’s head, but I’d be moving slow and all of the sudden he had me caught. I played it safe and got messed up because of it.”

As an All-American, Traverso received a medal and a watch engraved with the NCWA All-American designation.

Other WSU wrestlers to compete in the national tournament included:
– Robert Mendoza, senior – 149 pounds (WSU Tri-Cities)
– Jerdon Helgeson, junior – 149 pounds
– Zach Volk, freshman – 157 pounds
– Bailey Poitra, junior – 165 pounds
– Jason Nicholson, junior, 174 pounds
– Xavier Henderson, junior, 235 pounds

Volk was the only other wrestler to qualify for the second day of national competition, but he lost a close battle during his second match that day, eliminating him from the tournament.

Freshman Hunter Haney, 133 pounds, qualified for the national tournament but could not compete due to a minor injury sustained during the northwest regional tournament last month.

Coach Kevin Poitra said he is proud of the performance of his team, citing the hard work and extensive preparation required and accomplished by all his athletes; however, he said there is room to improve for next season.

“We won the Division II team national championship last year,” he said. “Our goal this year was to be in the top three as a team. We didn’t accomplish our goal. We were 20th as a team. The team worked hard all year and I saw some improvement, but there needs to be a lot more improvement to get back on top.”