2016 NCAA Preview: 285 lbs.
Donny Longendyke is a heavy favorite to repeat at 28
2015 Champion: Donny Longendyke, Augsburg
2016 Field
| Central 1 | Evans | Wartburg |
| Central 2 | Herman | Luther |
| Central 3 | Buss | Millikin University |
| East 1 | Roseberry | Delaware Valley University |
| East 2 | Triandafilou | Gettysburg |
| East 3 | Maher | Stevens Institute Of Technology |
| Mideast 1 | Wright | Messiah |
| Mideast 2 | Porter | John Carroll |
| Mideast 3 | Spencer | York (PA) |
| Midwest 1 | Maresh | Alma College |
| Midwest 2 | Judge | Olivet |
| Midwest 3 | Broze | Wisconsin-La Crosse |
| Northeast 1 | Benedict | Springfield |
| Northeast 2 | Glinko | Ithaca |
| Northeast 3 | Foster | Roger Williams |
| West 1 | Longendyke | Augsburg |
| West 2 | Gibson | St. Olaf |
| West 3 | Johnson | Wisconsin-Platteville |
Donny Longendyke won the championship at 285 lbs. last year and picked up right where he left off this year. He has not had a close match with a DIII opponent this year and is currently second in the Most Dominant standings. He has an excellent chance to win his second title and take home the Most Dominant award as well. He has not, however, wrestled any of the rest of the top three this year. Both two time All-American Zachary Roseberry and Wartburg’s Lance Evans are also undefeated against Division III opponents this year. Additionally, the 6th place finisher Maresh of Alma and 8th place finisher Herman of Luther are in the weight as well.
A name to watch is James Buss of Millikin. Buss was last seen wrestling for Loras in 2014 where he denied Chad Johnson his third straight NCAA Championship. Buss missed last season but came back partway through this year. He won the Wheaton tournament but lost to Herman in the Central region semifinals. Two other seeds to keep an eye on are Paul Triandafilou of Gettysburg and Kyle Foster of Roger Williams. Foster qualified last year but was unable to compete. Triandafilou was the regional runner-up as a freshman and won his first 21 matches in a row to start his career.