2016 NCAA Champion – Logan Hermsen, Stevens Point
Central 1 | Ryan Vandall | Central |
Central 2 | Tristan Zurfluh | Luther |
Central 3 | Andrew Steiert | Wartburg |
East 1 | Joseph Scott | Washington & Lee |
East 2 | Nick Herring | TCNJ |
East 3 | Colin Navickas | Stevens |
Mideast 1 | Larry Cannon | Messiah |
Mideast 2 | Nolan Barger | Lycoming |
Mideast 3 | Anthony Arroyo | Baldwin Wallace |
Midwest 1 | Logan Hermsen | Stevens Point |
Midwest 2 | Connor Brummett | Wabash |
Midwest 3 | Davon Jackson | Olivet |
Northeast 1 | Stephen Jarrell | Johnson & Wales |
Northeast 2 | Nick Velez | Ithaca |
Northeast 3 | Zach Zupan | Cortland |
West 1 | Lucas Jeske | Augsburg |
West 2 | Mitchell Fucile | Lakeland |
West 3 | Teddy Erickson | St. John’s |
In a top half of a bracket where the #1 and #4 seeds both lost in the first round, Logan Hermsen came out of the #5 spot to make the finals where he prevailed in overtime against the #2 seed. He has one DIII loss this year back in November when he bumped up to 174 for a day, but he has gone undefeated since November 12th, winning four tournaments along the way. His quarterfinal opponent last year, Central’s Ryan Vandall, has gone undefeated in DIII and slots in as the #2 seed. Both of the consolation finalists from last year are back, though Nolan Barger of Lycoming and Colin Navickas of Stevens each took a loss at their respective regionals.
There are seven total All-Americans at this weight. Nick Velez of Ithaca placed 7th at this weight last year, while Messiah’s Larry Cannon and Luther’s Tristan Zurfluh were both All-Americans at 157 a year ago. Andrew Steiert was the top seed at 165 in 2015, finishing in 6th place. He is back as the 8th seed in 2017. #3 Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales is almost certain to win the DIII Tech Falls award, as he leads that category by 4. Mitchell Fucile of Lakeland qualified in 2015, missed out in 2016, and is back in 2017 for one last shot at the podium. Joseph Scott is one of two qualifiers for Washington & Lee. The school broke a 15 year qualification drought last season and now has two qualifiers for the first time since 1987.