Finals Recap

A recap of the 2014 NCAA Division III Championship Finals from the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

125 Mike Fuenffinger (Augsburg) major decision 12-4 over Lucas Malmberg (Messiah)
Fuenffinger had a dominant tournament with three major decisions, the last of which came in the finals. He used a lot of forward pressure to control the pace, dropping to an ankle and finishing on both legs quickly. On top, he kept smothering pressure on the Messiah freshman, forcing him to choose neutral in the second period. In the third, Malmberg had a ray of hope when he scored a quick two near fall points to start the period, but that was all he could muster, with Fuenffinger scoring the final takedown to secure the major right at the buzzer.

133 Kenny Anderson (Wartburg) decision 4-2 in sudden victory over Alex Gomez (Ithaca)
Gomez was the aggressor in the first period, but he could not secure a takedown against the 2x champ from Wartburg. After Anderson chose down to start the second, Gomez took advantage and piled up two minutes on top to get into the third period scoreless but with a commanding advantage in riding time. In between periods, it seemed like there was some indecision in the Ithaca corner about what to choose. Gomez ultimately chose bottom against Anderson, something nobody else in the tournament did. He nearly made it pay off with a reversal early in the period, but Anderson was able to reverse him back and get rid of the riding time advantage and send the match into overtime. In sudden victory, Anderson took his first real shot of the match and blew through a double leg to win his third straight title.

141 Kaleb Loht (Messiah) decision 6-3 over Matt Adcock (Whitewater)
Loht seemed to be head and shoulders above the rest of this weight class all weekend. He pressed the action, looking to close the gap, while Adcock worked from space looking for outside doubles. Near the end of the first, Adcock took a shot that Loht countered with a throwby and rideout to end the period up 2-0. He added another takedown and was in control the whole way. Adcock scored a late takedown to tighten the score, but it was too little too late as Loht ran his record to 48-1 to lead Division III in wins for the year.

149 Ryan Prater (Elmhurst) decision 4-2 over Bobby Dierna (Cortland)
Dierna got after it early, getting in on several attacks but not finding a finish. The period ended with no score as Dierna chose the bottom position. Prater made the most of his chance on top and was able to get legs in and get two points along with two minutes of riding time to end up with a 2-0 lead after two. A quick escape gave Prater a 3-0 lead that he was able to hold. A late takedown by Dierna closed the gap, but the escape and riding time were the different for Elmhurst’s fourth ever NCAA champion.

157 Nazar Kulchytskyy (Oshkosh) win by fall in 4:20 over Dimitri Boyer (Coe)
After a scare in the semis, Kulchytskyy did not let things get that close in the finals. He got to work early, scoring a takedown and working on a tilt. All tournament long, he dominated with solid positioning and an outstanding front headlock, and this was more of the same. Midway through the second period of a match he had well in hand, he was able to convert a Boyer shot into a nearside cradle and eventually worked for a fall. Kulchytskyy ended the tournament as a three time champ, the NCAA Most Dominant wrestler, and the tournament Outstanding Wrestler.

165 Cole Welter (Wartburg) decision 5-3 over Nick Carr (Washington & Jefferson)
Carr, a late season transfer for the Presidents, had surprised many by defeating the #1 seed to get to the finals. Welter was less of a surprise coming from the #2 slot. Carr was aggressive on his feet as usual, but the first period ended in a scoreless tie. Carr rode hard in the second to pick up just over a minute of riding time. Carr, recognizing his size disadvantage to the taller and bigger Welter, chose neutral to hang on to the riding time advantage. Eventually, Welter was too much and scored a couple of takedowns to take a 5-1 lead. Carr reversed Welter near the end, but Welter gave Wartburg a second champion.

174 Landon Williams (Wartburg) win by fall in 2:46 over Anthony Bonaventura (Waynesburg)
Williams was the top seed and undefeated against DIII competition. Bonaventura was unseeded, but had defeated the #2 and #3 seeds to become the most unexpected finalist of the evening. His good fortune ran out against the 2013 champion Williams. A early takedown and three sets of back points made it 8-0 very quickly for Williams. He went for one more tilt and was able to pin Bonavantura shortly before the first period expired to win his second title and end the night for the Knights as they salted away with their fourth straight title.

184 Riley Lefever (Wabash) decision 3-1 in sudden victory over Brian Broderick (TCNJ)
After the excitement of the previous match, things slowed down quite a bit in the 184 match. Neither wrestler made too many attempts, just trading escapes in each period. In overtime, Broderick took a shot near the edge that Lefever countered. As Broderick came up, Lefever dropped to a leg. Broderick looked like he was going to be able to fight it off and escape out of bounds, but Lefever stayed on it and was able to work to secure the other leg to end the match without slipping out of bounds. Lefever finished his freshman year undefeated.

197 Alex Coolidge (Cornell) decision 6-5 over Shane Siefert (Whitewater)
Siefert jumped on Coolidge and scored a takedown just 12 seconds into the match to take an early lead. A quick reversal and escape had the score 3-2 with both wrestlers on their feet and less than 30 seconds gone in the match. 3-3 heading into the third period, Siefert was the one with the reversal followed by an escape to take a 5-4 lead into the last minute of the match. Coolidge got in on Siefert’s leg with under 30 seconds to go and was able to secure the takedown. Siefert nearly escaped, but Coolidge was able to hang on for dear life and ride out the clock to take the one point win in front of the hometown crowd.

285 James Buss (Loras) decision 4-1 over Ryan Fank (Wartburg)
What a tournament for the sophomore from Loras. Buss scored the upset of the tournament in the semifinals, beating Augsburg’s Chad Johnson 7-5. Johnson was three years removed from his last DIII loss at the time. All that win did was get Buss into the finals against Fank. Fank had defeated Buss in both of their previous meetings this year, but Buss was obviously in the midst of a great run. Buss was able to convert a Fank shot into a takedown and rideout to finish the first period up 2-0. Fank scored a quick escape and the second period ended with Buss up by one. Buss chose neutral against the rangy Fank, and with not much time left, Fank took a shot that Buss was able to stop. He was nearly behind when you could see Fank visibly give up, knowing that no matter what happened in that situation, it was not his night.