Down 4-1 with a nation of Division II wrestling fans watching, Shippensburg University’s 149 pounder Cameron Throckmorton twisted out of the grasp of his opponent, gaining control for the reversal. With five seconds to go in the first period the junior landed a takedown that pinned Central Oklahoma’s Spencer Rutherford on his back, earning Throckmorton the come-from-behind victory.

It is impressive to win at a national championship in any sport, but especially in the world’s fifth most difficult, according to ESPN.com. Throckmorton did it two weeks into a battle with an illness that kept him from winning the regional championship at his weight.

The heart that the Raider’s No. 1 wrestler showcased on Saturday afternoon at the St. Louis NCAA DII National Championship Tournament illustrates the poise, preparation and heart that Shippensburg wrestling has strived for all season long.

A young team, the Raider lineup features only one senior and four juniors out of 15 wrestlers. An experienced coaching staff headed by six-year skipper Seth Bloomquist along with several nationally-ranked team members provided leadership for the up-and-coming Shippensburg squad.

“It’s great just having a group of guys behind your back that you know are always going to work,” Throckmorton said. “It is great to have Bloomquist in our corner as well; I am close with him personally and it gives me a bit of comfort to have him around with all the experience he brings to the table.”

“Experience really helped us get to where we are at,” Throckmorton continued. “We sent one freshman, and it will help him a lot to get this experience early on, but for myself and Jalal, we’ve each been to nationals, myself two years ago and Paige last year. The freshman group really stepped it up as the year progressed. They got a lot tougher, and they got used to wrestling at a college level. They have been able to pull out some big wins for us.”

Four wrestlers competed at nationals this year, the most for Shippensburg since 2007. The match highlighted a gutsy season for the Raiders during which the team compiled an 8-14 team record. The squad peaked at the right time however, and finished seventh in the region two weeks before its trip to St. Louis.

“Qualifying four for the national tournament is a very good number considering how young we are,” Shippensburg coach Seth Bloomquist said. “We tried to give a lot of our wrestlers experience so they could establish themselves in their weight class. It gave them time to learn a little bit about college wrestling and develop as athletes in the four months before the regional tournament.”

Throckmorton, who ranked No. 1 in the region at 149 pounds, lost his second matchup to Belmont Abbey’s Scott Bosak. He closed out his season with a team-best 22-3 record.

Sophomore Jalal Paige, 197 pounds, made his second-straight visit to nationals on Friday, a year removed from an 11-9 campaign that extended the Raider’s streak of national competition to 12 seasons. Paige closed out his 2014-15 season with a 12-11 record after dropping a 4-1 decision and a fall at 2:07 in the hardest set of matchups on paper for any Raider.

Sophomore Karl Lightner and freshman Mike Springer also represented Shippensburg at the tournament, each battling hard but losing two straight and facing elimination. Lightner closed out his season at 16-10 after making his first trip to nationals at 133 pounds. Springer defied all odds at the regional tournament, pinning four opponents to punch his ticket to St. Louis at 157 pounds. He closed out the season with a 17-13 record and a team-high eight pins.

“Mike Springer should be very happy making nationals in his first year, especially after he had to transition to a higher weight class from high school to college,” Bloomquist said. “He had a huge day at regionals; he peaked at the right time for us.”

The future is bright for the Raiders squad, which saw seven teammates reach the second day of competition at regionals and boasts 14 first-year wrestlers that plan to return for a second go next season. Bloomquist expressed optimism for the future of his young squad and was impressed at the number of national qualifiers his young team produced.

“Preparation for this began the first day of practice,” Bloomquist said prior to the national tournament. “When we began the season we each set goals for our expectations and what each wrestler wanted to achieve. All of them wanted to make the national tournament, and all that hard work comes down to this.”

It was a brilliant campaign for such a young team, and one of the best lineups for Raider wrestling since 2007. One thing is certain, however, and that’s that Shippensburg wrestling is on the rise.

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