April 1, 2008: Tooele-Transcript Bulletin

Wrestler from Erda Wins National Championship
by Mark Watson

Erda's Michael Kummer is a new sports hero on the campus of the University of Great Falls, Mont.

Earlier this month the college senior achieved something never accomplished in the history of the school -- he became the first athlete to win an individual national championship in the school's 65 years of athletics.

Kummer battled his way to a national title in the 184-pound class at the NAIA National College Wrestling Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, in early March. In three days he won five consecutive matches, including a semi-final win in overtime over the defending national champion.

"It was an amazing feeling to win a national championship. It was a goal I had since I got here. It was definitely an exclamation point to my career," Kummer said on Monday.

Kummer already had placed in the top four spots at the national tournament his first three years in college.

Michael is the son of Troy and Anita Kummer, who moved their family to Erda in 2004 from Reno, Nev., when Troy accepted a job in Salt Lake City. During that same year, Michael started college in Montana after winning accolades for his athletic prowess in football and wrestling at Reno High School.

Kummer returned to the state where he spent his early years growing up. As a college freshman he became one of the original members of the first wrestling team at the University of Great Falls.

"I was excited about a brand new program and wanted to see where I could take it," Kummer said.

"We're originally from Montana and lived in a small area. When I was in fifth grade they started a little guys wrestling program. It was called Sun River Valley Little Tiger Wrestling and drew kids from four little towns. I actually took to it pretty well. I liked the fact that it was an individual sport and you pretty much got out of it what you put into it," he said.

He describes his wrestling style as somewhat laid back and not overly aggressive. "I always tried to wrestle smarter, not harder," he said.

For three years during summers, Kummer would return to his house in Erda and spend some time at Tooele High School working with his brothers and THS wrestling coaches Gary Coffman and Dean Wilson.

"I really liked doing that and only wish I would have gone in and wrestled more with those guys," Kummer said.

Michael's younger brother Brandon graduated from THS in 2006 and his younger brother Glen just completed a successful sophomore season as a wrestler at Tooele.

The Tooele Buffaloes could have used Michael Kummer in both football and wrestling. In 2003, Reno High won the 4A state football championship with Kummer as an outside linebacker and captain. He won the Nevada state championship in wrestling his senior year in the 160-pound class and during his three previous years was the region champion.

Looking back he said his high school coaches at Reno had the most impact on his wrestling career.

"Coaches Jeff Tomac and Steve Howe probably helped me the most," Kummer said.

"He's the most humble hard worker you'll ever meet," coach Howe said about Kummer. "He would ask us what to do and then times that by two."

Tomac agreed.

"Mike moved out here from Great Falls as a scrawny freshman at 112 pounds and became a year-round wrestler. He was just a tough kid who sucked in everything you taught him," Tomac said.

His overall record in college was 123-33. For most of the year he wrestled at 174, but moved up a weight to 184 to help his team at nationals. Although Great Falls is an NAIA school, Kummer wrestled a tough schedule, at times going up against Division I schools.

"Every once and a while you would find opponents in NAIA who were not that strong, but the Division I kids are all pretty solid. Matches would be decided by one or two points," Kummer said.

At the national championships he won all his matches by decisions 5-1, 6-4. 7-2, 6-4 and 4-3.

"My toughest match was the semi-final against Jack Stevensen of Morningside College (Iowa) which went into overtime," he said.

With eight seconds left in the overtime, Kummer scored a dramatic two-point takedown on the edge of the mat to win 6-4.

"In the finals I ended up getting reversed and was down 3-1, but finally got an escape and then a takedown to win 4-3," Kummer said.

"I won't wrestle competitively again, but I want to continue to be involved in wrestling as a coach," he said.

Kummer wraps up his college career as a three-time Academic All-American, four-time Wrestling All-American and a national championship. He will graduate in May with a degree in business and paralegal studies and plans to pursue an MBA and then attend law school.