2016 Midwest Regional Preview
2016 Midwest Regional
Saturday, February 27
Wabash College – Event Website
d3wrestle.com Rankings
Teams
Adrian, Alma, Chicago, Elmhurst, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, North Central, Ohio Northern, Olivet, Trine, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Whitewater, Wabash, Wheaton
Top Ten Ranked Individuals – 2015 All-Americans in bold
125 – #3 Weinmann (La Crosse), #4 Vosters (Stevens Point)
133 -#6 Weinmann (La Crosse)
141 – #3 Adcock (Whitewater), #4 Nehls (Elmhurst), #5 See (La Crosse), #6 Kust (Stevens Point), Binion (North Central)
149 – #3 Santi (Elmhurst)
157 – #7 Bova (Wabash), #8 Fekete (Wheaton), #9 Tardy (North Central)
165 – #6 Gerszewski (Whitewater), #8 Hermsen (Stevens Point)
174 – #5 Schneider (La Crosse), #6 Farmer (Wabash)
184 – #1 Lefever (Wabash)
197 – #5 Arthur (Adrian), #6 Jakes (Alma), #7 Swider (Wheaton)
285 – #3 Maresh (Alma)
Top 30 Teams (d3wrestle.com list)
#3 La Crosse
#8 Wabash
#11 Stevens Point
#13 Whitewater
#17 Alma, Elmhurst (tie)
#25 Wheaton
La Crosse again brings a strong team into what is always a very strong regional. The third ranked Eagles have four top ten ranked individuals including returning NCAA runner-up Tyler Schneider. Four other wrestlers appear in the Contenders section of the latest rankings, giving the team a lot of balance and a chance for a large number of qualifiers with a good performance on Saturday. Wabash lost a pair of national finalists in Reece and Conner Lefever, but Riley is back at 184 and looking for a third championship in as many years. His performance will be bolstered by a number of talented teammates including returning All-American Ethan Farmer at 174.
Riley Lefever is the only returning NCAA champion in the region, and he has yet to be defeated by a Division III wrestler in his career. Earlier this season, he topped Division I 5th place finisher Kenny Courts on his way to the championship at the Eastern Michigan Open. Tyler Schneider of La Crosse was an NCAA runner-up at 165 last year but has moved up the 174 this season, as has the other 165 All-American from a year ago Ethan Farmer. Matt Adcock of Whitewater was the NCAA runner-up in 2014 but finished 7th last year.
141 lbs. is one of the toughest in any region this year, as there are four top ten ranked individuals, including 2014 133 lbs. All-American (for Whitewater) Jimmy Nehls of Elmhurst as well as unranked Layten Binion of North Central who finished 6th last season. Only three can qualify, so someone in the top ten is staying home. We could see all three of the Weinmann brothers from La Crosse at the NCAA Championships this year. Ryan and Dustin are ranked 3rd and 6th at 125 and 133, while Derek is in the Contenders list at 165. They will struggle to match the Lefevers getting three brothers in the finals last year, but having all three at the tournament would give the Eagles a boost.