A Central College senior is preparing to compete among the best wrestlers in the nation next week.

Chase Petty, a three-time state qualifier at Pella High School, qualified for the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Tournament.

Petty tells KRLS Sports this season was a matter of four years of hard work–as he wasn’t in the starting lineup in his first three seasons, and didn’t catch fire in the 133 pound weight class until halfway through the current campaign.

“The point I realized I could do it…I stepped on the mat against Ozarks, wrestling a kid named Nathaniel Rankin, he’s a returning [national] qualifier at 133 and beat him in overtime, and I was like, ‘alright, I think it’s time, I think I can do it.'”

Petty says he started the summer at 170 pounds, and learned of a potential opening at 133 — just one pound removed from the 132 weight class he dominated while at Pella High School.

The NCAA Division III Championships are scheduled for March 8-9 in Salem, Virginia. Petty will be highlighted on Monday’s Central College Radio Coaches Corner on 92.1 KRLS.