Entering the 2025 NCAA DII Wrestling Champions last March, UNK heavyweight Crew Howard entered No. 1 and unbeaten. Despite being favored, Howard lost his first match and went to the consolation back side of the bracket.
The loss did not stop Howard from supporting his teammates and rattling off four straight wins to finish as an All-American for the second time.
“(Howard) wasn’t down in the dumps because he was losing and was on the backside, and I was still on the front side,” said Jackson Kinsella, Howard’s teammate and roommate. “He was there cheering everybody along.”
Dalton Jensen, UNK wrestling coach, said Howard is a student in the sport and super disciplined in all aspects of his life.
“(Howard is) in here religiously every morning, including after the national tournament every year,” Jensen said. “You’d think he’d come in and maybe take a week or two off, but you know, we get back from nationals, and he’s same routine, getting out of here and getting a workout in by 6 a.m.”
Growing up in Clarinda, Iowa, a town of 5,000 people, Howard always loved wrestling. Although he never won a state title and had multiple offers to play football in college, his work ethic caught the attention of UNK and he committed to wrestle in Nebraska.
“(Howard) just kind of really hit huge strides in his first two years of college,” Jensen said. “He was kind of All-American ready by his second year, but sat behind Lee Herrington. We kind of almost had to make the call on who was going to start.”
The growth became evident for Howard thanks to his training partner and work ethic.
“I think I really owe a lot to (Herrington) because, you know, he made me tougher,” Howard said. “He taught me so many things skill-wise, and then having a great partner like that is really important for your development. You can’t really grow unless you have someone who can push you every day.”
After losing his first match of the year in November, Howard had a conversation with Jensen that shifted his mindset for his final season of collegiate wrestling.
“In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a lot more fun wrestling, just kind of letting my offense flow and being an entertaining wrestler,” Howard said. “It just makes it so much more enjoyable for me rather than being overly concerned with winning and losing.”
Now there is one last opportunity for Howard, once again ranked No. 1, to reach the top of the podium as the team approaches Super Region VI on Saturday in Colorado to qualify for the championships two weeks later.
“Things can get hard, especially at this point in the season,” Howard said. “Everyone’s maybe a little banged up, not feeling the best. Sometimes the season gets long and practices get hard. But just having an attitude of being so grateful to be here, getting to play a sport that I love and I get to go to wrestling with my friends every day.”
Howard’s strong work ethic is also seen in his studies with a 4.0 GPA and as the only three-time MIAA “A Game” Scholar-Athlete in the award’s history, which honors success on and of the mat.
“I’ve never seen someone be so focused and so dedicated to what they want to do,” Kinsella said. “I don’t think anyone on this team has put in as much time as he has these last five years.”
Howard’s choice to wrestle at UNK has had a lasting effect not only on him, but on the program and his teammates.
“We needed this guy,” Kinsella said. “I needed him. This guy’s been my best friend for four years now. There are definitely times my freshman year, I don’t think if he would have been here keeping me going, I might have hung (it) up.”
