Ben Emrich signs with Southwest Minnesota State to wrestle

  TIPTON — Tipton senior Ben Emrich became the latest Tipton athlete to choose where he will continue his athletic career. Emrich chose the Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. He signed a national letter of intent to wrestle for the Mustangs.

  “There are not a whole lot of D2 programs in Iowa. I consider myself lucky to be able to be looked at by that level. It’s exciting,” said Emrich.

  “I have been a three-sport athlete here at Tipton. It will be different being just a wrestler, but I think that just being a wrestler will be really good. Having experience playing in other sports I think will be good to have to go in,” he said.

  Emrich finished this past season with 29 wins and was injured ending his senior season early. He qualified for state in both his sophomore and junior seasons and won over 100 matches in his career as a Tiger. Emich said that SMSU became an option at the end of his junior season. A visit to the campus led him to the belief that he would be a fit there.

  Southwest Minnesota State is in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, an NCAA Division 2 league. Schools in the conference are Augustana University, Bemidji State University, Concordia University-St. Paul, University of Mary, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Moorhead, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota-Crookston, Minot State, Northern State, St. Cloud State, The University of Sioux Falls, Upper Iowa University, Wayne State College and Winona State.

  SMSU’s head coach is Jesse Nelson. Nelson completed his 11th season as the head coach of the Mustangs this past season and is the fourth coach in program history. He was the NSIC coach of the year in the 2013-14 season and has helped 19 wrestlers become national qualifiers. The Mustangs were 7-8 in duals this year and 2-6 in NSIC dual meets.

  Emrich played football for the Tigers and guided THS this past fall from his quarterback position. Emrich was an all-district selection last fall when he passed for 720 yards and 6 TD’s and led the Tigers defense with 88 tackles and two sacks. Emrich also plays baseball for the Tigers.

  Emrich said that he is leaning towards pursuing a degree in business, but noted that could change. Emrich is the son of Stephen Emrich and Stacy Emrich.