CSC wrestler Brock Thumm ends season as national finalist

CSC’s Brock Thumm, 141-pound, redshirt junior of Watervleit, Michigan, finishes 1-2, Friday, at the NCAA Division II Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, making it the 50th straight year that CSC has sent a wrestler to the national tournament.
Thumm’s journey to nationals was unconventional compared to most. His chances of finishing the season were diminished after he was hospitalized with an infection and kidney issues. He ended up missing the last two home duals in late January against New Highlands and Adams State.
“It was definitely a tough road, but once we got healthy and got past everything, we knew what we were capable of,” Thumm said. “We had goals set that we came into the season with, and we just wanted to achieve those.”
After two and a half weeks recovering from his illness, Thumm pushed to wrestle on Feb. 3 in the RMAC Championships, where he came in as the number two seed. He said he did not think that he was personally ready to compete at a high level again and his thoughts were confirmed when he lost both matches, 5-4 to Colorado School of Mine’s Lukas Erickson, 141-pound, junior of Holladay, Utah, and 18-3 to California Baptist University’s Andrew Schulte, 141-pound, senior of Corona, California.
“When he was going through his situation and being in the hospital for four days, he was behind. NCAA regulates what we can do in terms of hours, but he did a lot on his own and in trying to get his conditioning back and get his weight back down,” Head Coach Brett Hunter said.
Thumm did not wrestle again until the NCAA Division II Regionals in Las Vegas, New Mexico, but his hard work showed when he rose to second place and advanced to the championship tournament as a No. 2 seed.
In the first round, Thumm wrestled Newberry College’s Isiah Royal, 141-pound, sophomore of Guyton, Georgia. Thumm “just couldn’t really get to his legs” and lost the round 5-3.
Thumm won the second match by first period pin against Minnesota State University Moorehead’s Zach Scott, 141-pound, junior of Holdingford, Minnesota.
In his third and final match, Thumm lost 4-3 against University of Indianapolis’s Nick Crume, 141-pound, redshirt senior of Jimtown, Indiana.
“The third round was interesting because they kept messing up the score,” Thumm said. “I should’ve glanced back over [to check the score], but I was just too in my own little world during that match.”
“There is obviously disappointment on his end and on my end, but I think he is good enough to be an All-American and a National Champion. He was seconds away from being an all american this year,” Hunter said. “I think moving forward, it was great for him to get some exposure and get some experience at that level. He will understand what exactly he needs to do in technique, strength and conditioning and taking care of his weight. If he does that he will be tough to beat next year.”
With the wrestling season officially over, Hunter, Thumm and the rest of the CSC wrestling team are preparing for next year. Thumm believes the team could be in the top 10 next year with both national qualifiers and All-American competitors.
“We redshirted some top-in guys this year and we will have some freshmen that will be tough next year. We will definitely be a lot better than we were last year and our biggest focus right now is having enough depth to compete in the RMAC and in the regional tournament,” Hunter said.