March 18, 2006

Oklahoma City, Okla. - When Daniel Thompson was a senior at a tiny high school in Howard City, Mich., he never could have dreamed that four years later, he would make history for a military school in South Carolina on college wrestling's grandest stage in Oklahoma.

But Saturday afternoon, the 165-pound senior did just that, upsetting the No. 10, 9, and 7 seeds en route to becoming The Citadel's first wrestling All-American. The senior beat Iowa's Eric Leudke 8-3 to finish in seventh place.

"It's amazing," he said afterward, shaking his head. "I'm sure there will be many more to come, but being the first feels pretty good."

Thompson came to The Citadel as a three-time state champion from Tri-County High School after a teammate signed early with the Bulldogs, and convinced him to sign as well. He talked to the coach, and came down south, and became one of three Michigan natives on the team.

As a true freshman, Thompson finished third in the Southern Conference at 157. He made it to nationals as a sophomore after winning the 157-pound SoCon title, but didn't place. Last season, injuries and weight-management issues derailed his chance for another trip to Nationals, as Thompson failed to defend his title a 157, finishing third in conference.

The disappointment of missing out fueled Thompson's drive. And the second time around, thanks to his previous experience, he was ready.

"This time I came out, I was ready I knew what to expect," he said. "I just wanted to go out there, put it all on the line."

Thompson credited his first win, a 10-4 decision over tenth-seeded Pat Pitsch of Arizona State, with laying the groundwork for his run to the All-American round.

"Momentum is a big thing here," he said. "If you get it, you can really run with it. But if you get knocked out early, it's tough to come back."

He followed his opening round win with a fall over three-time All-American Troy Letters of Lehigh before falling to defending national champion Johny Henrdicks of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals.

After dropping into the consolations, Thompson upended Illinois redshirt freshman Mike Poeta 7-6 to clinch The Citadel's first placement at the NCAA championships.

Upon beating Luedke for seventh place on Saturday, announcer Todd Hibbs informed the crowd of over 15,000 at the Ford Center exactly what Thompson had accomplished - The Citadel's first All-American.

The announcement was met with a rousing ovation.

Afterwards, he stood in a tunnel beneath the stands, dripping with sweat and still breathing hard, but smiling from ear to ear.

"The All-American round was pretty special ... I've never wrestled in front of a crowd like this before," said Thompson.

"It was awesome."