NCAA qualifiers Transue, Sumner, Thompson honored by National Wrestling Coaches Association as 2020 All-Americans

By Tim Glon

| NWCA site | NWCA All-America honorees 2020 (.pdf) |

ADA — Senior Seth Transue (Plain City/Jerome), junior Cash Thompson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood) and freshman Chase Sumner (Ada) have been named All-America in Wrestling for 2020 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Transue was a First Team honoree, while Thompson and Sumner received Third Team honors.

Normally, the top eight finishers in each event earn All-America honors by the NCAA.

As this year's NCAA III Wrestling Championships were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the NWCA is giving its own All-America honors to all athletes that qualified for the championships in March.

The top eight seeds in each of the ten weight classes were given First Team honors, wrestlers who received votes in the seeding process were honored as Second Team selections and the remaining wrestlers were accorded Third Team kudos.

Transue won the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA III Central Regional Wrestling Championships this winter and was seeded seventh at the NCAA III Championships.

He was named the Central Regional Championships Most Valuable Wrestler and was a First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree.

Transue was also named a Scholar All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

He was 43-2 on the season and ended his career tied for 16th all-time in ONU history with a 96-41 career record.

Thompson was 29-7 on the season at 197 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships with a second place finish at the Central Regional Championships.

He was named Second Team All-OAC and will enter his senior season with an 84-38 career record.

Sumner was a late addition to the NCAA Championships after finishing fourth at the 149-pound weight class at the Central Regional Championships.

He received a bid just a few days prior to the championships after a Central Regional qualifier from his 149-pound weight class became injured and could not compete.

Sumner ended his rookie campaign with a 37-6 record. His 37 wins are the second-most by a freshman in ONU history.

He was also named a Scholar All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

The Polar Bears finished the 2019-20 season with a 14-8 record under 32nd-year head coach Ron Beaschler.