Drury junior Peter Kuster received an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Division II wrestling national championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday at America's Convention Center in St. Louis.
Kuster (Jefferson City High School) took third place at 141 pounds in the Region IV Super Regional on Feb. 28 at Edmond, Okla., ending the regional with a 3-1 record.
After receiving a first-round bye, Kuster won by technical fall (18-3) in the quarterfinals against Ouachita Baptist's Jessie Hodge. Kuster then dropped his first match of the season, a 5-4 decision to McKendree's Devin Schwartzkopf, who finished runner-up at 141 and received an automatic bid to the national championships.
In the wrestlebacks, Kuster won again by technical fall (16-0) against Newman's Tyler Lawley in the semifinals, then won the third-place match with a 6-2 decision against Central Oklahoma's Nate Keim.
The top-two seeds in Region IV received automatic bids to the national championships. Kuster had to wait a few hours to learn he received one of the three at-large bids in the 141 bracket.
Kuster, who will head to St. Louis with an 8-1 record, will face Joey Bianchini of St. Cloud State in the first round. Bianchini (8-0) received the No. 3 seed and won the Region V Super Regional. Kuster's second match of the 13-wrestler bracket will be against either Schwartzkopf, the No. 6 seed, or Coker's Zachary Van Alst.
Kuster is now a two-time qualifier for the national championships. However, last season's championships in Sioux Falls, S.D., were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Kuster is currently ranked No. 5 at 141 in Division II by InterMat.
Also competing at the Super Regional was Drury freshman Will Kuster (Jefferson City High School), who posted a 1-2 record at 165.
After losing by fall in the first round to McKendree's Cory Peterson - who went on to win the regional title - Kuster won by technical fall (23-8) against Central Missouri's Emmett Kunts, the first win of his collegiate career.
Kuster then lost a 9-8 decision to Fort Hays State's Cody Hicks to end his season with a 1-5 record.