A native of Brooten, Minn.,
former UND wrestler Kris Presler came to UND after graduating with
highest honors from Willmar Community College in 1988. He ended his UND
career as one of the most accomplished student-athletes ever to compete
at UND.
Presler was a two-time All-American wrestler at 142 pounds who
finished his career with an 89-34-3 record on the mat. At the time he
finished his career, he ranked seventh on UND's all-time wrestling
victory list, and he shard UND's quickest fall mark of 17 seconds.
As a
senior, Presler was 34-9-1 and qualified for the NCAA Division II
national tournament. A knee injury ended his dreams of a title, but he
still finished eighth and earned All-America honors.
Presler was 27-12-1
as a junior, when he finished second in the nation in his weight class.
Even more impressive than Presler's athletic accomplishments were his
academic accomplishments. Presler earned an A in every college course he
took, finishing with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He graduated
Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in applied math in 1990 and
earned his master's degree in math from UND in 1992.
Presler earned two
NCAA postgraduate scholarships and was the GTE-CoSIDA Academic
All-America College Division At-Large Athlete of the Year.
While a
senior wrestler, Presler attended graduate school at UND and earned a
perfect 4.0 grade point average. In 1990, he earned an applied
mathematics degree in just three years.
The winner of the 1991 Stan
Marshall Award as the NCC male honor athlete, Presler won numerous
academic honors during his athletic career and he was one of two
finalists from North Dakota for a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in
1992.
