At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Jeff Rusher is a pretty imposing sight at middle linebacker for the Chadron State (Neb.) College football team.
At 6-2 and a chiseled 197 pounds, Rusher is a much more intimidating sight for opponents who have to battle him on the wrestling mat.
“Jeff is a great athlete,” Chadron State wrestling coach Scott Ritzen said. “He is very quick, very strong and extremely flexible. He has all the athleticism you can ask for.”
Rusher, a starter for the Chadron State football team that is off to a 4-1 start and is ranked in the nation’s top 20, will be one of the favorites to win a Division II national championship in wrestling this season.
“My only goal is to win a national title,” Rusher said. “I would like to go undefeated and obviously if I do that I will reach my goal. It would be awesome to go unbeaten and win a national championship.”
Rusher nearly won a national title last year before dropping a heartbreaking 7-5 overtime decision to top-ranked Chad Wallace of Nebraska-Omaha in the national semifinals. Rusher came back to place third.
“Jeff is really going to be motivated this year,” Ritzen said. “He had a really bad taste in his mouth after that loss to Wallace. Jeff did everything he could to win that match. He had nothing to be ashamed of.”


• The rest of this story appears in the Annual College Preview issue of Wrestling International Newsmagazine. To subscribe to Wrestling International Magazine, call 1-888-305-0606 or by e-mail at info@win-magazine.com. W.I.N. publishes 12 times per year for an annual second class mailing rate of $29.95. The first-class subscription rate is $47.95.