2016 Mideast Regional Preview
2016 Mideast Regional
Saturday & Sunday, February 27 & 28
Lamade Gymnasium – Lycoming College – Event Website
d3wrestle.com Rankings
Teams
Baldwin Wallace, Brockport, Case Western, Elizabethtown, Heidelberg, John Carroll, Lycoming, Messiah, Mount Union, Muskingum, Oswego, RIT, Scranton, Thiel, Washington & Jefferson, Waynesburg, Wilkes, York
Top Ten Ranked Individuals – 2015 All-Americans in bold
125 – #1 Malmberg (Messiah), #2 Fleck (Wilkes)
133 – #3 Gunter (Baldwin Wallace)
141 – #9 Kihn (Heidelberg)
149 – #1 Mirman (John Carroll), #5 Lansberry (Lycoming)
157 – #6 Cannon (Messiah)
165 – #2 Barger (Lycoming)
174 – #4 Swarr (Messiah), #7 Chase (Baldwin Wallace), #10 Blanco (Washington & Jefferson)
184 – #3 Thomson (Messiah), #5 Palmeri (Brockport), #7 Diesel (Wilkes)
197 – #8 Koser (Messiah), #10 Smith (Oswego)
285 – #8 Tristram (Brockport)
Top 30 Teams (d3wrestle.com list)
#2 Messiah
#17 Baldwin Wallace, Wilkes (tie)
#21 Lycoming
#23 John Carroll
#28 Brockport
Messiah has finished 3rd and 6th the past two years for the two best finishes in school history. This year, they hope to take at least one step higher as a team with hopes of making a run at Wartburg for the title. Lucas Malmberg and Josh Thomson have anchored the team with Malmberg finishing 2nd in each of his first two years and Thomson going 3rd, 4th, 3rd in his first three. Both will be contenders for the championship this year with Swarr, Koser, and Cannon giving the Falcons numerous All-American contenders. Baldwin Wallace and regional newcomer Wilkes will also send strong teams to the regional. Jesse Gunter has moved up to 133 for BW and will be in contention for a championship, while Garrett Chase can improve on last year’s 7th place finish. Wilkes is missing 2015 NCAA Champion Grossmann, but the return of #2 ranked Michael Fleck at 125 has softened the blow.
Malmberg lost in the 2014 and 2015 finals to Augsburg’s Mike Fuenffinger, but he will not have that obstacle in his way this year. Malmberg was headlocked by Chicago’s Richter at Wheaton for his only DIII loss this season and his only non-Fuenffinger DIII loss since he was a freshman.#2 ranked Nolan Barger at 165 is undefeated so far this year after placing third a year ago. He has 11 falls this year with eight of them happening in the first period. Top ranked Dan Mirman of John Carroll returned tot he lineup at 149 for the second semester after competing unattached for the first half of the season. He has been an All-American twice and hopes to go out on top in Cedar Rapids.
An important part of NCAA tournament team success is doing well in the regional. Getting as many guys as possible to the tournament gives teams more opportunities to score points and gives more leeway if someone does not perform up to expectations. 23 of the 80 All-Americans last year were unseeded, proving the value of just punching a ticket to Iowa. If a team like Messiah, or any other top contender, wants to secure a team trophy, getting the unranked wrestlers through is nearly as important as having top wrestlers meet expectations. If guys like Walsh (141), Hojnacki (165), and Wright (285) can have a good weekend, then perhaps they can score a few points for Messiah in Iowa that will make the difference.