CJ Walrath was down to two schools when it came time to choose a college.
The Notre Dame High School senior-to-be had narrowed his choices down to the University of Northern Iowa and Wyoming.
In the end, UNI checked off every box Walrath was looking for, and his relationship with head coach Doug Schwab and assistant coach Randy Pugh proved to be the deciding factor.
Walrath made it official on Wednesday, verbally committing to wrestle for UNI starting with the 2023-24 season.
Walrath, who won the Class 2A 182-pound state championship in February and helped Notre Dame-West Burlington win the Class 2A state team title, is looking forward to the next challenge.
Members of the Notre Dame-West Burlington high school wrestling team congratulate CJ Walrath
Notre Dame-West Burlington junior CJ Walrath’s major decision in the 182-pound state title match secured the Class 2A team championship for the Nikes
Matt Levins, The Hawk Eye
“Randy Pugh was coached by my high school coach, Bill Plein, when he was in high school. I really relate to Randy a lot,” Walrath said. “Randy told me he believes in a lot of the southeast Iowa boys. He was the one who brought Drew Foster to UNI and helped him win a national championship. I think that helps a lot because I am eventually going to be at the same weight (184 pounds) as Drew was. Randy is going to help me get to that next level.”
Walrath, who is ranked 14th nationally at 182, is coming off a season in which he racked up a 57-0 record, including a 12-4 major decision over Fernando Villaescusa of Gilbert in the finals. That extra point Walrath scored with the major decision helped the Nikes win the team title.
Walrath, who went 49-1 and lost to Carson Babcock in the semifinals as a sophomore, will be teammates with Babcock at UNI.
“I chatted with him quite a bit when I went on my visit,” Walrath said. “That was the first time I had talked to him since the state tournament my sophomore year. There were a lot of emotions after he beat me, but it’s better now since I got back and won a state championship this year.”
Walrath, who recently compete in the 23rd annual National Duals in Virginia Beach, also was considering Northern Illinois and North Carolina.
In the end, his relationship with Pugh, and the prospect of hunting and fishing in northern Iowa, swayed Walrath to choose UNI.
“Randy is a hunter, too, and he told me he will show me some spots around there for me to go hunting,” Walrath said. “There are some good trout streams up there, too, where I can do some fly fishing. I really feel right at home there.”
Walrath, who said he likely will compete at 174 as a freshman and move up to 184 by his second year, is glad his college decision is made. That allows him to focus on the immediate task at hand, which is winning another state championship.
“It’s good to get that commitment off my chest,” Walrath said. “I’ve been dealing with it the past year. It started off pretty fun, but then I started getting calls and texts every day from coaches and it was starting to get old. I told myself that I wanted to make the decision after the national duals. t feels like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
“I can’t wait to get up there and get started. I’ll go up there and probably get my butt kicked the first couple years, but that will make me better. I’ll have guys like Parker (Keckeisen), Drew Foster and Taylor Lujan to work out with and help me get better. They said one of the reasons they like me is because I am coachable. I can’t wait to get up there and get started.”
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
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