Garrett top 8 at wrestling Oly trials

Wildcats earn NCAA Degree Completion Award

Nahshon Garrett finished in the top eight of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team trials at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas over the weekend.

Garrett, a Chico High alumnus and national champion in wrestling at Cornell, lost 12-2 to Nick Lee of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.

Garrett was competing at 65 kg/143.5 lbs for the South East Regional Training Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.

On Friday, the first day of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team trials, Garrett lost 10-2 to Anthony Ashnault of the NJRTC.

Garrett had a 2-1 lead with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the match before Ashnault staged a comeback late, securing a step out, a takedown, and three turns to create the decisive result.

Garrett returns to action in the winter, when he will seek a spot on the world team at 61 kg/134.5 lbs.

Chico State athletes earn NCAA Degree Completion awards

Chico State athletes Joshua Curls and Wyatt Baxter have been named winners of the NCAA Division II Degree Completion Award for 2021-2022, the athletic department announced in a press release.

The pair are two of three studentathletes of the California Collegiate Athletic Association to win the award that is worth $7,000. The award was given to 75 athletes to help them finish their degrees.

Curls, a player on the Chico State men’s basketball team, plans to graduate in spring 2022. Curls is a member of the Chico State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a recipient of the National Basketball Coaches Association Honors Court award and earned CCAA all-academic awards.

“It’s an honor to be the recipient of this NCAA Completion Award,” Curls said in the release. “This past year has been very difficult for a multitude of reasons, and it’s nice to be recognized for my hard work on the court and in the classroom. I want to thank Shannon Hall for thinking so highly of me and making the nomination. She, along with my coaches and