2017 NCAA Preview: 174 lbs.
Ben Swarr won his title in overtime last season
2016 NCAA Champion – Ben Swarr, Messiah
| Central 1 | Eric DeVos | Wartburg |
| Central 2 | Mike Maksimovic | Cornell |
| Central 3 | Javier Reyes | Luther |
| East 1 | Ben Schweiger | Delaware Valley |
| East 2 | Dan Kilroy | TCNJ |
| East 3 | John Messinger | NYU |
| Mideast 1 | Ben Swarr | Messiah |
| Mideast 2 | Tory Cain | RIT |
| Mideast 3 | Sonnieboy Blanco | Washington & Jefferson |
| Midwest 1 | Richard Carlson | La Crosse |
| Midwest 2 | Logan Walkup | Wheaton |
| Midwest 3 | Darden Schurg | Wabash |
| Northeast 1 | Jaison White | Ithaca |
| Northeast 2 | Michael LaBell | Johnson & Wales |
| Northeast 3 | Colin Barber | Cortland |
| West 1 | Jon Goetz | Platteville |
| West 2 | Mason Mergener | Concordia Wisconsin |
| West 3 | Jake Johnson | Concordia-Moorhead |
Last year’s finalists look to be on a collision course for another matchup on Saturday night. Ben Swarr of Messiah came from the 7th seed to win with a takedown in the final seconds over Eric DeVos of Wartburg. Both are undefeated at the weight in DIII, though Swarr has wrestled nearly three times as many matches as DeVos this year, and has defeated the #3 and #5 seeds this season. The other 2016 All-American in the bracket, Sonnieboy Blanco of Washington & Jefferson, is seeded 7th with a 37-2 record. Both of his losses are to wrestlers in the bracket, included the unseeded Darden Schurg of Wabash.
Two wrestlers who did not compete at all last year were 2015 All-Americans that are seeded here. #3 Richard Carlson of La Crosse was 6th in 2015 at 184, while Tory Cain of RIT was 5th in 2015 at this weight. John Messinger (NYU), Jon Goetz (Platteville), Javier Reyes (Luther), and Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead) are all returning qualifiers at this weight who failed to place last year, while Logan Walkup of Wheaton qualified at 184 before dropping to 174 in January.