PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – Cael Vanderhorst, a 2021 Covington graduate and a senior at Ohio Northern University, was awarded a prestigious honor at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Saturday.

Cael put himself in position for this accomplishment after advancing to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships after finishing runner-up in the 149 pound weight class in the Regional IV Tournament two weeks ago. Him and his brother, Chase Vanderhorst, both earned Scholar All-Americans by finishing in the top-six of their weight classes at the regional and recording 4.0 GPAs academically.

The prestigious honor Cael won in the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship is the Elite 90 Award, which is rewarded to a student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average that qualifies for the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships. Vanderhorst earned this award and is just the second wrestler in Ohio Northern history to win the honor, joining Cody Lovejoy (2015).

This amazing accomplishment for Cael was the perfect conclusion to his great college wrestling career where he closed out his senior season with a 29-11 record and a career record of 77-26.

Cael’s entire wrestling career has been outstanding as he was a four-time state qualifier and three-time state placer in high school and a national qualifier in college.