Northern State wrestler Cole Huss overcomes knee injury to become Division II All-American

After fighting through two torn lateral collateral ligaments and missing a month of the season because of COVID-19 close contacts, Cole Huss is an All-American.

The Northern State University wrestler finished fourth at 197 pounds at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in St. Louis earlier this month.

During his injuries and COVID-19 protocol wait, Huss (15-5) stayed in shape by visiting team physical trainers multiple times a day for rehabilitation, treatment and injury prevention.

“They got me back pretty quick, but I’d schedule two appointments a day and spent a few hours in there every day, probably to the point where they got sick of me being there,” he said.

Along with therapy, Huss tried to stay in shape by going to a 27/4 gym where he trained at times when nobody else was around.

More: Northern State wrestler Cole Huss places fourth at Division II national meet

That helped him prepare for his return to Northern's wrestling lineup. Huss said that the COVID-19 close contacts and injuries made it difficult for him to find a routine.

“It took some adjusting at first. I was definitely not quite in shape as I'd like to have been, but Rocky (Burkett, the Northern wrestling coach) does a great job of preparing us and pushing us harder every day,” Huss said.

He said his absence from wrestling gave him drive throughout the year that paid dividends in the postseason.

“Being away from the sport makes me want to be back in it more. So, I think the break kind of helped a little bit where it got me to the point where I was sitting there watching everyone else. I was like, ‘Man, I really wish I could be doing this right now, I want to be out there more than ever,’” Huss said. “It gave me a little bit of a mental reset and just preparing myself again for this hard stretch at the end. The goal was always there in my mind full-time and just got stronger the longer I was out.”

Going into the first practices once he was cleared to wrestle, Huss thought he was in better shape than he actually was, he said. It took a week or so before he was feeling great again.

At the beginning of the season, Huss wrestled two duals at 197 against Concordia Moorhead and Minot State, winning both. He returned to the lineup in early February for a dual against Upper Iowa.

Huss dropped just one match in the dual season, falling to the then second-ranked Noah Ryan of St. Cloud State 8-2.

In the NCAA Division II Super Region V, Huss defeated Bodie Garnier of Upper Iowa and Daniel Bishop of Augustana en route to qualifying for the national meet.

During the match against Bishop, Huss realized that a spot was on the line, something he hadn't considered before.

“It didn’t hit me at all in the match that I was wrestling for a spot at nationals until that last 20 seconds,” Huss said.

He advanced to the 197-pound championship where he fell 3-2 to St. Cloud's Ryan, but still qualified for nationals.

Huss was unranked and, he said, "unknown" heading into the national meet.

“I know a lot of people didn’t know who I was this year or didn’t give me much respect until nationals,” he said. “Even at nationals, they called me the underdog, the Cinderella story, but I had complete confidence in what me and my coaches were doing, and we knew from the minute that I got back from all that time off that I was going to be competing for an All-American spot.”

Huss and his coaches were right.

In the first round, Huss gritted out a 3-1 victory over Joel Leise of Gannon University. Then, he was tasked with trying to do something he hadn't twice earlier in the year -- defeating Ryan.

When it mattered most, Huss got a 6-4 victory to advance.

His championship run ended after a 6-3 loss to Derek Blubaugh from the University of Indianapolis in the semifinals. And in the third-place match, he was pinned by Nicholas Mason of Tiffin University.

Huss has more time left at Northern because of redshirting one season and getting an extra year because of COVID-19. He said he plans to wrestle at least one extra year.

He already has a goal for next season -- to win his weight class at the national meet.

It was a goal he set as a high school wrestler in Nebraska, but it didn't quite work out.

“I never got it, so it just fuels (me) to work twice as hard to get this national title,” Huss said.

He said the path next year will look different with the top three wrestlers in his weight class graduating.

“I know I’m right there with them, and a lot of the division is cleared out … which only helps me on my path. The goal stays the same, national champion and to get everybody else there, too,” Huss said.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Norther State wrestler Cole Huss gets fourth at NCAA DII Championships