SEWARD, Neb. – An All-American on the mat, Concordia University Wrestling’s Maria Ybarra is also an All-American in the classroom. On Monday (May 17), the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) recognized Ybarra as a 2021 Scholar All-American. A native of Scottsbluff, Neb., Ybarra just completed his junior year while continuing to study computer science. Ybarra is now a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American.
In order for a student-athlete to be nominated to the Scholar All-American Team, a wrestler must be a national qualifier with a minimum of a 3.25 grade-point average or an All-American with a GPA of at least 3.0.
This past season, Ybarra went 15-3 overall and placed seventh in the 133-pound bracket at the NAIA National Championships. Ybarra has twice qualified for nationals and owns a career record of 62-25. He won the 125-pound GPAC title as a sophomore in 2020. Ybarra has garnered some form of all-conference mention in each of his three seasons.