Council Bluffs, Iowa - 

Freshman Christian Kirchner and sophomore Timothy Thurman will represent Northland Community & Technical Collage at the NJCAA National Wrestling Championships this weekend in Council Bluffs, Iowa.     The two-day tournament will be held Friday and Saturday, March 3-4 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.     

Kirchner qualified for the national tournament with a second place finish at the North Plains District Tournament on Feb. 19 at Northland. Kirchner was seeded second going into the tournament but he quickly found himself on the backside of the bracket after losing by fall to Rochester's Jackson McCormick in the semifinal round. He bounced back with a win by fall over returning Region 13 runner-up Tristian Lang of Ridgewater, and he punched his ticket to nationals with an 18-5 major decision over Johnny Colon of Itasca in the true second match.     

Thurman was seeded fourth at 157 pounds and he wrestled above seed with a third place finish. Thurman got pinned by top-seeded Landon Gode of Rochester in the semifinals, but he kept his season alive with win by fall over Seth Cobb of Itasca in the third place match, and he nearly pinned Ridgewater's Taedon Nichols in the true second match. Thurman was selected as a wildcard entran following the tournament.     

A total of 16 wrestlers are seeded at each weight class at the NJCAA Championships. Kirchner is seeded 14th at 133 pounds and will open the tournament with a rematch against Colon of Itasca. Thurman is unseeded at 157 pounds and he was drawn in against fourth seeded Jayden Luttrell of Western Wyoming.