Johnson, All-American While Finishing 8th

12/1/12 - Crimson Wave wrestler Eric Johnson ended his national run tonight at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships held at the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

Johnson took 8th place overall making him the Crimson Wave’s first ever All-American Wrestler.  In Johnson’s opening match of the day he fell to Allen Scruggs of Campbellsville University by decision 4-2 after trailing by only a point going into the third period.  This loss sent Johnson to the seventh place match.

In Johnson’s final match he fell behind early, 7-3 after the first period to Kyle Soderblum from William Penn University.    With a slow start in periods two and three Johnson fell to Soderblum by major decision 16-3 ending his tournament run.

Johnson’s All-American performance landed him 16-11 overall this season.  "It was a great feeling to go out and represent my school and my teammates by performing well," Johnson said. "A huge thanks goes to my coach, teammates, and family for their support."

Johnson Performs Well to Start Nationals

3/1/13 - Crimson Wave wrestler Eric Johnson started his quest for a national title this morning at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships held at the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

Johnson opened the tournament against the 12th ranked Mike Brown from Oklahoma City University.   After trailing 3-1 for most of the match, Johnson grabbed a take down with 10 seconds left in regulation to tie the match at 3 apiece.    Johnson stayed strong for the final 10 seconds and sent the match into overtime.  In the overtime period Johnson wasted little time as he grabbed his second take down of the match for the win. 

The win over Brown sends Johnson up against 7th ranked John Sievart from Morningside University.  After a failed move to start the match against Sievart, Johnson was pinned in the first seconds of play sending him to the bottom side of the brackets.

Johnson opened the afternoon session of the tournament against Dylan Lemery from the University of Great Falls.  This match Johnson was in the driver’s seat as he grabbed a pin of his own just 48 seconds into the first period. 

In Johnson’s final match of the day he took a major decision over Jacob Bradford from Lindsey Wilson University 11-7.  This victory gave Johnson a 3-1 record on the day.

Johnson will return to action tomorrow morning when he faces Allen Scruggs from Campbellsville University.

Johnson Starts Quest For National Title Friday

2/28/13 - Crimson Wave sophomore wrestler Eric Johnson (Highland, IN) will start his journey towards a national championship Friday as he takes the mats at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships held at the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

Johnson currently 13-8 overall this season qualified at the NAIA East Regional in Laurinburg, NC as a wildcard at 197 lbs.  Johnson will open the national championships facing Mike Brown of Oklahoma City University who stands at 30-9 overall this season. 

This will be Johnson’s second appearance at the NAIA National Wrestling Championships, as he competed in 2012 championships at 184 lbs.  Johnson lost his first two matches last season taking an early exit from the 2012 tournament.