2016 NCAA Preview: 165 lbs.
Farai Sewera will defend his title at 165 lbs.
2015 Champion: Farai Sewera, Coe
2016 Field
| Central 1 | Sewera | Coe |
| Central 2 | Michael | Wartburg |
| Central 3 | Vandall | Central (IA) |
| East 1 | Herring | The College of New Jersey |
| East 2 | Navickas | Stevens Institute Of Technology |
| East 3 | Schweiger | Delaware Valley University |
| Mideast 1 | Hojnacki | Messiah |
| Mideast 2 | Barger | Lycoming |
| Mideast 3 | Banko | Heidelberg |
| Midwest 1 | Hermsen | Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
| Midwest 2 | Gerszewski | Wisconsin-Whitewater |
| Midwest 3 | Brummett | Wabash |
| Northeast 1 | Velez | Ithaca |
| Northeast 2 | Golner | Roger Williams |
| Northeast 3 | Garripoli | Williams College |
| West 1 | Hensel | Augsburg |
| West 2 | Erickson | St. Johns (MN) |
| West 3 | Sladek | Concordia-Moorhead |
Farai Sewera of Coe survived a field that saw half the seeds fail to place, and he exceeded his #2 seed to win the championship. He has put together another very good season with no DIII losses and a regional championship over the eventual second seed at this tournament. He has not wrestled that many matches, and he sits at an overall record of 19-1. He defeated Wartburg’s Nick Michael in overtime, and Michael could be his stiffest test if he plans to repeat. Michael was in a battle with last year’s #1 seed Andrew Steiert for the starting spot at Wartburg, but a late season injury settled the matter, and Michael hopes to see Sewera again in the finals.
Nolan Barger of Lycoming is the next highest returner at this weight after a third place finish in Hershey. He was undefeated on the year until losing to Messiah’s Hojnacki in the Mideast final. If he returns to form in Iowa, he cannot be counted out. West champion Hensel of Augsburg should also not be overlooked. He notched four falls on his way to a 5th place finish last year, providing a nice chunk of team points that helped Augsburg to an upset win in the team standings. Despite several losses to wrestlers in the field, Hensel should not be overlooked by anyone in the tournament.