By Boots Gifford
The Montana State-Northern Lights have signed California standout, Kurt Lorenz, to wrestle for the defending NAIA national champions, said coach David Ray.
Were very fortunate to pick up someone of his caliber this time of year, Ray said of the grappler who will compete at 133 pounds. Thats a weight we were really looking to fill and he may not even redshirt.
Lorenz is a native of Gilroy, Calif., and is a graduate of Oak Grove High School in San Jose.
Named senior athlete of the year at his high school, Lorenz holds a 199-20 overall prep record. He went 46-8 as a freshman, 49-4 as a sophomore, 54-1 as a junior, and closed out his prep career at 50-5 as a senior.
A two-time California state placer, Lorenz was third his junior year and seventh his senior season. He went on to place eighth at the high school national tournament after graduation.
Hes proven he can compete at any level, Ray said. (Lorenz is) a two-time state placer out of California where they have one division out of 2,000 high schools. Hes proven he can do it.
Lorenz is a strong upper body wrestler, Ray noted. Upper body is his forte, but hes good on his feet. He has a variety of offense and defense. He can still attack the legs and be very effective there, too.
Though Lorenz was courted by several NCAA Division I and other NAIA schools, Ray said he selected Northern above the rest because he liked the heritage and saw the commitment here and the level of competition we wrestle at.
Lorenz will focus on general studies his first year at Northern. He is the son of Gary and Sharon Lorenz of Gilroy, Calif.
