2016 NCAA Preview: 197 lbs.
Joe Giaramita will defend his title for Cortland this weekend
2015 Champion: Joe Giaramita, Cortland
2016 Field
| Central 1 | Roman | Wartburg |
| Central 2 | Watson | Loras |
| Central 3 | Seabold | Central (IA) |
| East 1 | Melendez | Hunter |
| East 2 | Fisher | Merchant Marine |
| East 3 | Udott | Centenary (NJ) |
| Mideast 1 | Fernandez | Elizabethtown |
| Mideast 2 | Maclellan | Baldwin Wallace |
| Mideast 3 | Koser | Messiah |
| Midwest 1 | Arthur | Adrian |
| Midwest 2 | Jakes | Alma College |
| Midwest 3 | Swider | Wheaton (IL) |
| Northeast 1 | Welch | Roger Williams |
| Northeast 2 | Giaramita | SUNY-Cortland |
| Northeast 3 | Carrillo | Wesleyan (CT) |
| West 1 | Baumgartner | Concordia (WI) |
| West 2 | Hortop | Augsburg |
| West 3 | Terres | Lakeland |
A pair of undefeated (in DIII) wrestlers headline the 197 lbs. weight class. David Welch of Roger Williams is looking to close out his career on top. He was 7th at 184 in 2014 and lost in the round of 12 last season. This year he has wins over Joe Giaramita, the defending champion, and Gerard Roman, one of the other returning All-Americans. Freshman Angus Arthur is also undefeated for the first year Adrian program. He has a strong high school pedigree and has yet to be defeated in college. Giaramita should not be overlooked, however. He won the weight last year out of the 4th seed, upsetting two time finalist Shane Siefert in the championship match.
Matt Seabold of Central placed 8th last year to close out the returning All-Americans. His only loss on the year was in the regional quarterfinal which he avenged in the 3rd place match. The only national qualifier he wrestled this year is Watson of Loras. Jamie Jakes of Alma is up two weights from last year and was an NCAA qualifier at 174 a few seasons ago. Michael Swider of Wheaton is the son of the Wheaton football coach and has only lost to Jakes and Arthur in half a season of work. Kyle Koser of Messiah was in the top ten of the rankings. He was upset in the regional by Maclellan, with whom he has split this season.