—Photo courtesy of Wartburg University Pocahontas Area graduate Aaron Wernimont was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Div. III Hall of Fame.

The late Aaron Wernimont will add the title of Hall of Famer to his incredible resume this summer.

But for those that knew the Pocahontas native, he has always been more than that.

Wernimont, who passed away in 2012 at 26 years old, will be one of five inductees into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Div. III Hall of Fame for 2020.

A state champion for the Indians, Wernimont went on to have a standout career at Wartburg College. He collected two NCAA championships, won his last 80 matches and finished with 150 career wins in all, which ranks second on the school’s career list.

“When folks outside of the PAC community hear the name Aaron Wernimont, most probably associate Aaron with being an outstanding wrestler,” said PAC athletic director Brandon Ruffridge. “But to those of us around here, we all knew Aaron was so much more than wrestling. He was an extremely smart young man with many talents beyond wrestling. Once you got to know Aaron, you couldn’t help but love the kid.

“We’ll never know how many people’s lives Aaron made an impact on, but I will tell you it’s many and one of them just happened to grow up in my house. If you were to ask my oldest son, Shea, which wrestler has had the biggest influence on him, he would tell you it’s Aaron. Not only does he strive to be the wrestler that Aaron was, he does his best to ‘make each day count’ on and off the mat, which was how Aaron lived his life.”

Wernimont helped the Knights to back-to-back NCAA Div. III team titles in 2008 and ’09, earning three academic All-American honors along the way. He was a three-time All-American on the mats.

Eight years ago, Wernimont passed away following a sudden illness. He received Wartburg’s Young Alumni Award posthumously in 2017, and had the Aaron Wernimont Inspiration Fund established in his honor.

“Aaron was an amazing person, just like his family,” former Wartburg teammate Justin McClintock said. “He was a great wrestler, but an even better person. He was so positive and always that person that could put a smile on your face.”

Wernimont, the son of Dan and Leah Wernimont, was a four-time medalist in high school for Pocahontas Area. He finished with 158 career wins. He had two brothers, Nick and Chris, and two sisters, Tasha and Carley.

Following his graduation from Wartburg, Wernimont married Kahri Heinemann in 2011. Wernimont was attending optometry school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. when he suddenly passed away.

All five honorees will be inducted during the 2020 NWCA Convention held at the Seminole Hard Rock and Hotel Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on Aug. 1.