LCM grad wins conference tournament, qualifies for NCAA wrestling championships

Posted: March 10th 2025

Rider University's Brock Zurawski, a 2023 graduate of Lower Cape May, has qualified for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships after winning his weight class at the MAC Tournament.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Brock Zurawski took a long journey to make a short trip to the pinnacle of the Division I college wrestling world.

The Lower Cape May Regional High School graduate and Rider University sophomore ran through the Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships at 197 pounds to emerge as a champion over the weekend in Trenton.

As a conference champion, Zurawski has qualified for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, which will be held a relatively short distance from Rider’s campus at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia March 20-22. Seedings for the tournament are due to be released later this week.

Zurawski, a 2023 graduate of Lower Cape May, entered the MAC Tournament as a No. 3 seed in his weight class. He opened the tournament with an 8-0 major decision over Austin Starr of Ohio University before securing another major decision, 12-1, over Nick Nosler of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the quarterfinal round.

Zurawski then went on to beat two higher-seeded wrestlers in the final two rounds. He scored an 8-1 decision over No. 2 seed Luck Cochran of Central Michigan in the semifinal round before using a late reversal to help secure a 7-4 victory over top-seeded Tucker Hogan over Lock Haven in the championship round.

Zurawski exited the MAC Tournament at 21-11 on the season.

As a high school wrestler, Zurawski was a two-time district champion, three-time region finalist and a two-time state finalist. He won the Region 8 championship at 165 pounds as a junior.

(Photos from Rider University athletics website.)