The 2023 d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year is Thomas Monn of McDaniel College. Monn finished in 6th place at 149 lbs. at the NCAA Championships, one of just three freshmen to place in the top six in the tournament. Monn started his career for the Green Terror with a championship at the Messiah Invitational and proceeded to win his first 33 matches in a row up through his Mideast Regional championship. In between, he was victorious in the Elizabethtown Invitational, Dr. Kenneth Ober Memorial Invitational, and the Centennial Conference Championships. He was named the Centennial Conference Wrestler of the Year and Rookie of the Year, becoming the first wrestler to ever win both awards in the same season.
Monn opened the NCAA Championships as the #3 seed where he picked up his 34th consecutive win. After dropping his quarterfinal match to the eventual runner-up Javen Estrada of North Central, he won his round of 12 matchup to become McDaniel’s 14th All-American (10th individual) and first-ever freshman placewinner. On Saturday morning, he defeated Upper Midwest champion Charlie Stuhl of Augsburg to get to the consolation semifinals. He lost his last two matches to end up 6th on the podium, completing his season with a 36-3 record.
Monn came to McDaniel from Washington County Technical High School in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, where he won a pair of Maryland state titles as a sophomore and senior and placed 6th as a freshman. His junior season was wiped out along with the rest of Maryland public high school wrestling by the COVID-19 pandemic. Congratulations to Thomas Monn, the 2023 d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year.