COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Thomas Holmquist can pinpoint the exact moment things started to fall into place for him as a wrestler at the collegiate level.

It came a year ago when the then-freshman and his Saint John's teammates were taking on Buena Vista (Iowa) in a non-conference dual meet in Sexton Arena.

Holmquist was facing the Beavers' junior Tyler Japp at 125 pounds - an opponent he'd beaten in overtime in a hard-fought match at the Wisconsin-Eau Claire 8-Man Battles earlier in the season. 

On this night, though, he was far more dominant - pinning Japp in just one minute and 47 seconds.

"I walked onto the mat and something different happened," Holmquist said. "I don't even know what it was exactly. But something clicked and I started believing a lot more in everything I did from then on.

"I didn't make it to the state meet my senior year in high school," the St. Thomas Academy High School graduate continued. "I was kind of distraught about that and I was doubting myself, even going into my first season here. I didn't believe in my offense or my moves at all. But once I found my groove, everything started to come to fruition."

It certainly did. Holmquist finished his freshman season 15-8 overall, including a 4-1 record against non-Division III competition. And he's picked up right where he left off this year. He currently boasts a team-best record of 13-3 heading into action at this Saturday's University of Dubuque Sokol Wrestling Showcase in Dubuque, Iowa.

"He came in last year as what I'd call a greenhorn," SJU head coach Kevin Schiltz said. "He only knew what he'd done in high school. But about midway through the season, he made the switch to wrestling like a college wrestler. He was making less mistakes, he was a lot more solid in his positions and he was finding high percentage attacks.

"This year, he started that right from the beginning. So instead of being .500 or a little less in his first 10 or 12 matches, he's already looking really strong."

Holmquist also showed enough as a team leader to be selected a team captain heading into only his sophomore season.

"That really meant a lot for (Schiltz) and my teammates to put that kind of trust in me," he said. "It's a tremendous honor and one I try to live up to every day by showing hustle, working hard and being a positive role model in the room."

Those traits were also demonstrated by Logan Thorsten '25, a team captain for the Johnnies as a senior last season, and a role model Holmquist looked to during his first season at the collegiate level.

It was Thorsten, in turn, who nominated Holmquist to be his successor.

"I took one look at him when I first got here and knew I wanted to be like him," Holmquist recalled. "He was ripped and shredded, he worked hard every day and he lifted everyone else up around him. I learned a lot just by watching the way he carried himself."

He also inherited a good portion of his work ethic from his mother Tanya, a floor manager at a medical parts manufacturer who raised both Holquist and his older brother Steven (a senior at the University of St. Thomas) as a single mother.

"She's worked so hard to give us the lives we both have," Holmquist said. "Before the rules changed, she used to work over 90 hours a week. Seeing her wake up every day at 4 a.m., come home at six that night and still be there for us was inspiring.

"It made me want to achieve big things to make her proud."

And that's exactly what the accounting major hopes to do the rest of this season.

"My goal is to keep winning matches," he said. "If I can keep building momentum, hopefully I can come into (regionals) on a roll and make it to (the Division III national meet). 

"That's my ultimate goal."