Linfield University wrestling coach Frank Johnson announced Tuesday the successful recruitment and enrollment of former Cornell University and Arizona State commit Jonathon Fagen.
 
Fagen, a native of Fruitland, Idaho, began taking classes at Linfield when spring semester began earlier this month. He is expected to be an important building block for the fast-growing Linfield wrestling program.
 
Expected to compete at the 184-pound weight class, Fagen was a member of the Cornell wrestling team during the 2019-20 season. Injuries and illness put a two-year pause on his college sports career before resurfacing at Arizona State University for the 2022-23 season.
 
In between, he was a member of the USA's Junior Greco Roman wrestling team, traveling as far away as Russia to represent the United States in international competition.
 
A marketing major with 95 college credits already to his name, Fagen has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
 
He has watched with interest the growth of the Linfield wrestling program under Johnson and assistant coach Alyssa Lampe's leadership, especially noting how impressed he is with his new teammates.
 
"I really enjoy the culture that Frank Johnson and Alyssa Lampe have created here at Linfield. It's a very supportive and family-like environment," he said. "Coming into the program, it's been cool to see the senior captains, Jakob Jarvis and Riley Omonaka, lead the team. The wrestlers in the upper weight classes – Divenson Willis, Jacob Barnes, Jack Parrott and Julian Ortiz – have really made it fun to train. Everyone has been very welcoming."
 
The Linfield's men's and women's wrestling squads are in their second full season as varsity entities. The Wildcats spent a developmental year as a club program in 2021-22.
 
The Linfield men's squad is preparing to compete at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regionals Championships Friday and Saturday in Stevens Point, Wis.
 
Sophomore Alice Rickett is scheduled to represent the Linfield women's team at the NCWWC National Championships, March 8 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.