CoSIDA Academic All-District teams announced

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May 13, 2016

The College Sports Information Directors of America has announced the 2016 Academic All-District At-Large teams. Teams have been announced for each of the eight districts, and wrestling is included in the at-large sports. Athletes from this group will be further narrowed down to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team later this summer. The nine Division III wrestlers honored include the following:

District 1
Daniel Del Gallo, Southern Maine

District 3
John Messinger, NYU

District 4
Nolan Barger, Lycoming
Brandon Conrad, Lycoming
Ben Swarr, Messiah

District 7
Jesse Gunter, Baldwin Wallace
Riley Lefever, Wabash

District 8
Lance Evans, Wartburg
Drew Van Anrooy, Luther

Averett University to begin competition in 2017

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May 12, 2016

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Averett University in Danville, Virginia, will begin competition in wrestling in the 2017-2018 season. The small college of around 850 students is adding a wrestling team along with men’s and women’s lacrosse teams thanks to an anonymous donation that will kickstart all three programs. Averett sits on the border with North Carolina and is about an hour north of Greensboro. Averett will be the fourth team in the USA South conference to add wrestling following Ferrum, Huntingdon, and Greensboro. Read on for more.

Averett to add men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s wrestling; programs will start play in 2017-18

DANVILLE, Va. — Through the support of an anonymous donor, Averett University is proud to announce the addition of three NCAA Division III varsity athletics programs — men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse and men’s wrestling. All three are scheduled to begin play during the 2017-18 academic year.

Averett is launching its 14th, 15th and 16th varsity programs, respectively, as part of the university’s “Averett 2020” strategic plan to increase enrollment and expand the geographic diversity of its student population. The three programs are expected to generate 90 new students within four years, which will assist Averett in its aspiration for 1,100 traditional students.

“It is an exciting time at Averett University as we drive strategic growth centered on our students’ success and their enhanced experience,” said Dr. Tiffany M. Franks, President of Averett University. “We are so very appreciative of this most generous gift that will help us achieve new levels of athletic and academic excellence. Adding these sports will help us to diversify our enrollment pipelines by attracting prospective students from geographical regions outside of Averett’s traditionally targeted territories.”

The initial phase of each sport’s implementation timeline includes an immediate national search for the hiring of a head coach, development strategies and student-athlete recruitment. A portion of the $500,000 gift will fund the startup of these three programs. The announcement marks the first addition of varsity sports at Averett since women’s lacrosse, which was offered for five seasons, initially began play in the 2002-03 academic year.

Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports nationally. At least 17 NCAA schools will begin men’s lacrosse programs over the next two academic years, including 12 at the Division III level. On the women’s side, 23 schools have announced the creation of lacrosse programs, including nine in Division III.

Wrestling has also seen growth at the Division III level. Six men’s wrestling programs are scheduled to begin play in 2016-17, with three non-NCAA programs scheduled to transition to Division III in the next three years.

“Through the addition of these three programs, Averett Athletics’ expansion is an integral part of the university’s strategic growth,” said Director of Athletics Meg Stevens. “To establish the proper foundation for sports expansion, we have thoughtfully and carefully positioned ourselves well through our comprehensive planning. We’ve done our research, and these are three in-demand sports that perfectly fit our university profile.”

In 2015-16, seven USA South institutions competed in women’s lacrosse, which is sponsored by the league. Although not sponsored by USA South, five conference schools currently offer men’s lacrosse and three field men’s wrestling programs. Starting in 2017-18, the USA South is scheduled to have enough participating schools to sponsor men’s lacrosse. Brevard College and Pfeiffer University, which have men’s and women’s lacrosse and are transitioning to Division III, will join the USA South during the 2017-18 academic calendar, the same time Averett’s programs will begin play.

The return of women’s lacrosse and the addition of men’s lacrosse also coincide with Averett’s new facilities. Construction of the $5.5 million Frank R. Campbell Stadium is scheduled to be completed this summer and will be the home to the university’s lacrosse programs, as well as football and soccer. In 2014, the venue received upgrades of lights and state-of-the-art field turf to Daly Field. The wrestling program will compete in the E. Stuart James Grant Center, which is one of the top Division III gyms in the southeast.

Whitney named freshman of the year in New York

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May 11, 2016

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Cortland wrestler Austin Whitney was named Freshman of the Year by the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Coaches Association. Whitney placed 4th at the Northeast Region at 149 lbs. and compiled a 34-9 record on the way to being named Empire Conference Freshman of the Year and earning a place on the d3wrestle.com All-Freshman Team. Whitney becomes the third Red Dragon to win the award after Brian Bistis in 2011 and Mike Bucci in 1996. Read on for the full awards release.

New York State Collegiate Wrestling Coaches Association
2015-2016 End of the Year Awards

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

Nahshon Garrett (Cornell University) Senior, 37-0 record @ 133 pounds
NCAA Division I National Champion, 1st place EIWA & Outstanding Wrestler Award, 1st place Southern Scuffle, 1st place Vegas Invitational, 1st place Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, 1st place NYS Championships and EIWA Wrestler of the Year

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Austin Whitney (SUNY Cortland) 34-9 record @ 149 pounds
4th place NCAA Northeast Regional, 1st place King’s College Invitational, 1st place Roger Williams University Invitational, 4th place NYS Championships, Empire Conference Freshman of the Year, d3wrestle.com 149 lbs. Freshman of the Year, ECWC All-Academic Team and NWCA DIII Scholar All-American

COACH OF THE YEAR

Keith Maute (Niagara County Community College) 7-3 dual meet record
10th place NJCAA Championships, 2nd place NJCAA Region III/Northeast District I Championships, 13th place NYS Championships, NJCAA Region III/Northeast District I Coach of the Year, 4 NJCAA All-Americans

Rau goes 1-1 at final qualifier, will not wrestle in Rio

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May 6, 2016

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Update 9:46am – Jesse Thielke won 17-8 in the semifinals to secure his spot at the Rio Olympics

Joe Rau won his opening match at the last chance Olympic qualifier in Istanbul but fell in the next round against Honduras. Rau gave up an early arm drag takedown that his opponent converted to a trapped arm gut wrench that ended the match quickly via an 8-0 score. Rau would have needed to make the finals at his 98kg weight class to qualify for the Olympic games. As it stands now, he has exhausted his opportunities to qualify and will not compete in Rio this summer.

RaVaughn Perkins also missed out on qualifying at 66kg, while Jesse Thielke will soon compete in the semifinals at 59kg with an Olympic berth on the line. Kelsey Campbell and Tamyra Mensah will compete in women’s freestyle tomorrow, while Frank Molinaro will compete in freestyle on Sunday.

Results:
Round 1 – Joe Rau (USA) 9-0 over Narek Setaghyan (Spain)
Round 2 – Kevin Mejia Castillo (Honduras) 8-0 over Joe Rau (USA)

Rau to compete at last chance qualifier

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May 5, 2016

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The final Olympic qualifying tournament begins tomorrow in Istanbul, Turkey, in the three Olympic styles of wrestling. Former Elmhurst wrestler Joe Rau will compete in his attempt to secure a spot in the 98kg bracket at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In order for Rau to qualify, he will need to make the finals in his weight class. There is no true second match, so a loss before the finals will keep him, and the five other American wrestlers who have yet to qualify, out of the Olympic Games.

There are 22 wrestlers in Rau’s bracket, and he will need to win four matches in a row to qualify for Rio. Rau will compete on Friday beginning at 10:00am Eastern European Time which is 3:00am Eastern Time.

Other US Olympic Trials champions competing this week are Frank Molinaro (65kg Freestyle), Jesse Thielke (59kg Greco), RaVaughn Perkins (66kg Greco), Kelsey Campbell (58kg Women), and Tamyra Mensah (69kg Women).

Update – here is Rau’s bracket. He will open with Spain and would then take on the winner of Honduras and Finland. Rau has beaten the Honduran wrestler before, but has never wrestled the entry from Finland.

Arthur finishes 6th in freestyle

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May 2, 2016

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Angus Arthur of Adrian College followed his runner-up finish in Greco-Roman at the UWW Junior Nationals with a 6th place finish in freestyle. Arthur made the semifinals at 96kg where he dropped a 11-1 match against the eventual champion Jacob Seely of Northern Colorado. He then defaulted down to 6th place. Brandon Arteaga of Whitewater also competed at 74kg and lost both of his matches.

Quarterfinal – Arthur wins 14-13 over Chase Singletary (Flo subscription required)

Semifinal – Arthur loses 11-1 to Jacob Seely (Flo subscription required)

Arthur makes UWW Junior Greco national finals

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April 29, 2016

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Angus Arthur, an All-American from Adrian College and the d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year, was the runner-up at the UWW Junior National Greco-Roman finals yesterday in Las Vegas. Arthur picked up a pair of tech falls at 96kg to make the best of three finals against G’Angleo Hancock. Hancock won both matches over Arthur to make the Junior World team at 96kg. Hancock recently finished third in both the US Senior Nationals and the Olympic Trials at 98kg.

Arthur is also set to compete in today’s freestyle tournament at 96kg, as is Brandon Arteaga of Whitewater.

Some of Arthur’s matches (Flo subscription required)

Angus Arthur 8-0 over Donovan Doyle (semifinals)

G’Angelo Hancock vs Angus Arthur (Finals match 1)

G’Angelo Hancock vs Angus Arthur (Finals match 2)

Rau drops opening match, has one more chance to qualify

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April 22, 2016

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Former Elmhurst wrestler and 2016 Olympic Trials champion Joe Rau competed Friday in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Mongolia. The top three finishers at each weight would qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Rau traveled to the event becaus the United States had not yet qualified at 98kg. Rau took on Fredrik Schoen of Sweden in his first bout. Rau had previously defeated Schoen last summer at the Grand Prix of Spain but was unable to repeat his victory in Mongolia. Schoen won 4-1 in the opening round of the tournament. Rau could have wrestled back if Schoen had made the finals, but he was defeated in the semifinals. Schoen did come back to place 3rd and qualify for the Olympics.

Rau will next travel to Istanbul and compete May 6-8 for a final chance to make the Olympics. Rau will need to make the finals of that event to qualify the weight. The U.S. still needs to qualify at 59kg, 66kg, and 98kg in Greco-Roman. Only countries that have not yet qualified at a weight can enter this tournament. At Rau’s weight of 98kg, Belarus, Georgia, and Sweden all secured spots with their performances today.

98 kg Qualified Wrestlers

Competition	Places	Qualified wrestlers
2015 World Championships	6	Artur Aleksanyan (ARM) Ghasem Rezaei (IRI) Islam Magomedov (RUS) Dimitriy Timchenko (UKR) Elis Guri (BUL) Alin Alexuc-Ciurariu (ROU)
Pan American Qualification Tournament	2	Yasmany Lugo (CUB) Luillys Pérez (VEN)
Asian Qualification Tournament	2	Xiao Di (CHN) Hardeep Singh (IND)
African & Oceania Qualification Tournament	2	Hamdy El-Said (EGY) Hamza Haloui (ALG)
European Qualification Tournament	2	Ardo Arusaar (EST) Ádám Varga (HUN)
1st World Qualification Tournament	3	Aliaksandr Hrabovik (BLR) Revazi Nadareishvili (GEO) Fredrik Schöm (SWE)
2nd World Qualification Tournament	2	May 6-8, 2016 in Istanbul
Invitational / Host Nation	0	—
Total	19

Williams leaves Adrian, returns to MSU

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April 19, 2016

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Chris Williams has resigned his position at Adrian in order to return to Michigan State to be an assistant coach. Williams had previously been a Michigan State assistant from 2005-2013. He was named head coach at Adrian in 2014 when the school reinstated its wrestling program. He spent one year recruiting, and this past season was the first year of competition for the Bulldogs. Freshman Angus Arthur placed 4th at 197 to give the team an All-American in its first year back on the mats. Arthur was also named d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year for the 2015-2016 season.

Chris Williams Named Assistant Wrestling Coach

Jason Bovenzi named head coach at RIT

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April 13, 2016

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Jason Bovenzi has been elevated to head coach at RIT where he takes the place of Scott Stever. Bovenzi, a 2015 inductee into the Division III Hall of Fame, has been an assistant at the school for the past three seasons. He replaces Stever who was the coach of the Tigers for the past 18 seasons. Bovenzi was a two time NCAA Division III champion and three time All-American for St. Lawrence and Ithaca.

Jason Bovenzi named RIT’s Head Wrestling Coach

ROCHESTER, NY – RIT Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Lou Spiotti Jr., announced the appointment of Jason Bovenzi as Head Wrestling Coach on Wednesday, April 13.

Bovenzi spent the last three seasons as assistant wrestling coach at RIT. In 2014-15, Bovenzi played an integral role in helping RIT develop the program and guide Brad Mayville (Marion, NY/Wayne) and Tory Cain (Ontario, NY/Wayne) to All-American honors. Bovenzi replaces Scott Stever, who served as head coach at RIT for the last 18 seasons.

“Jason has all the tools and the drive to bring our program to new competitive heights,” said Spiotti. “He has an outstanding background as an elite wrestler at the collegiate level and as a coach.”

Bovenzi was a standout collegiate wrestler both at St. Lawrence University and Ithaca College, advancing to the NCAA Championship four times. He was a three-time All-American and two-time National Champion in 1993 and 1995. In his final season at Ithaca in 1994-95, Bovenzi won his second straight national title at 190 lbs., finishing with an undefeated record.

“It is a privilege to be named head coach of the RIT wrestling program,” said Bovenzi. “RIT is one of the most inspiring campuses I have been associated with. I am humbled and grateful that Lou Spiotti has entrusted me with the wrestling program at RIT. It is my intention to raise awareness in the wrestling community to the great academic and athletic opportunities that RIT offers.”

In March 2015, Bovenzi was inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame for his incredible collegiate career.

Originally from the suburb of Greece in Rochester, Bovenzi was also a standout on the mats at Greece Athena High School. He is a member of the Greece Athena and Section V Wrestling Halls of Fame.

For 17 seasons, Bovenzi served as the head varsity wrestling coach at East Rochester (1996-2002) and Pittsford (2002-2013) High Schools in the Greater Rochester Area. Bovenzi developed both fledgling programs into New York State ranked teams while coaching 36 class champions, 19 State Qualifiers, and a New York State champion. He coached the Panthers to a 159-58 record with 10 straight winning seasons and six state ranked teams.

In 2000, Bovenzi founded the Apex Wrestling Club, which has been one of the largest wrestling clubs in the state. Apex Wrestling Camps have brought in Division I, II, and III All Americans, National Champions, and legendary coaches during that time frame to assist in the development of local area wrestlers.

Bovenzi earned his bachelor’s degree in sports and leisure studies from St. Lawrence University in 1994, health education concentration degree from Ithaca College in 1995, and his master’s degree in liberal studies from The College at Brockport in 2000.

“Our student athletes will benefit greatly from Jason’s many years of experience as a teacher and a coach,” said Spiotti. “We look forward to working with him and the team to continue the rich tradition of RIT wrestling.”

Elmhurst’s Joe Rau makes Olympic Team

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April 12, 2016

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Joe Rau, a three time All-American and NCAA champion from Elmhurst College, won the Olympic Team Trials this past weekend at 98kg in Greco-Roman. Rau won a pair of shutout victories to reach the finals against Caylor Williams. Williams threw and pinned Rau in the first match, but the former Blue Jay was able to even the three match series with a 5-2 win. In the rubber match, Rau scored a late takedown to win 6-5 and win the Olympic Team Trials.

Rau is not yet an Olympian, however. The United States has not qualified for Rio in the 98kg weight class. There are two more chances for the US to qualify. The first qualifier is in Mongolia April 22-24. Rau will need to finish in the top three at that tournament to qualify. Should he fail to do so, there is another qualifier in Turkey on May 6-8 where the US entry needs to make the finals in order to qualify. Only countries that have not qualified at a weight may enter the tournament, and each country may only enter one wrestler in a weight class.

Rau vs Williams Match 1 (Williams win by fall 1:37)

Rau vs Williams Match 3 (Rau win 6-5)

Interim tag removed from Willaert at St. John’s

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April 7, 2016

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Tony Willaert has served as the interim head coach the past two seasons at St. John’s University, and today the school announced that he would remain as the head coach in a permanent capacity. Read on for more.

JUST CALL HIM COACH: INTERIM TAG REMOVED FROM WILLAERT’S TITLE

4/7/2016 2:10:00 PM

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Tony Willaert ’11 was named the head wrestling coach at Saint John’s University, following two seasons as the interim, on Thursday, April 7.

“I am very excited and honored to be the next wrestling coach of the Saint John’s wrestling program,” Willaert said. “I would like to thank the hiring committee and (SJU athletic director) Tom Stock for giving me this opportunity. Now it’s time to get back to work and finish what we started.”

SJU has sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championships and earned four National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) All-America Scholar honors over the past two seasons with Willaert as interim. The Johnnies recorded the 17th-best GPA (3.20) in Division III en route to NWCA All-Academic team honors in 2015-16 and finished 10th the previous year.

Willaert was named the Johnnies’ interim head coach in May 2014, replacing Brandon Novak ’01, after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons.

“Tony has earned this opportunity through his hard work, solid core values and competitive spirit,” Stock said. “We believe he can return our wrestling program to national prominence.”

He compiled a 74-49 (.602) career record on the mat and was a national entrant, one of a school-record seven, as a senior at 197 pounds in 2010-11.

Willaert is also the head coach of the Central Minnesota Wrestling Club, as part of the Minnesota Storm program, and resides in nearby St. Cloud.

DIII at the Olympic Trials

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April 6, 2016

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RauWTT2014 — Joe Rau at 2014 World Team Trials

USA Wrestling has release pre-tournament rankings for this weekend’s Olympic Trials in all three styles (men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, greco-roman). The tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Both qualifiers with DIII connections are in the Greco-Roman tournament.

Joe Rau, formerly of Elmhurst College, is the top ranked wrestler at 98kg. He wrestled in the world championships at 80kg in 2014 and was the champion at the U.S. Nationals held in December. Rau was the 2013 NCAA Champion at 184 lbs. and was a three time All-American.

Donny Longendyke, a junior at Augsburg College, won the Last Chance Qualifier this past weekend at 130kg to earn a spot in the Trials. He enters the tournament as the #7 ranked wrestler at his weight class. Longendyke was the 2015 NCAA Champion at 285 lbs. and was the runner-up this year.

USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Rankings Olympic Trials Rankings

USA Wrestling Men’s Freestyle Olympic Trials Rankings

USA Wrestling Women’s Freestyle Olympic Trials Rankings

Last Chance Qualifier DIII Results

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April 4, 2016

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Greco-Roman
59kg – Mike Fuenffinger, 2x champ for Augsburg – 2-1, withdrew
85kg – Dan Olsen, All-American for Wheaton – 3rd place
85kg – Cody Nielsen, Stevens Point – 1-2
130kg – Donny Longendyke, current Augsburg wrestler and 2x finalist – first place, qualified for Olympic Trials

Freestyle
57kg – Ben Vosters, current Stevens Point wrestler – 0-2
57kg – Kenneth Anderson, 3x champ for Wartburg – 1-2
57kg – Zachary Mueller, Oshkosh – 0-2
65kg – Elroy Perkin, All-American for Whitewater – 2-2
65kg – Isaac Dukes, champ for Case – 2-2
65kg – Nazar Kulchytskyy, 3x champ for Oshkosh – 2nd place
74kg – Sam Engelland, All-American for Oshkosh – 0-1, withdrew
86kg – Anthony Bonaventura, All-American for Waynesburg, current Stevens assistant, 0-2
86kg – Riley Lefever, current Wabash wrestler and 3x champ, 1-2
125kg – Chad Johnson, 2x champ for Augsburg – 1-2

2016 Wrestler of the Year

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April 1, 2016

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The 2016 d3wrestle.com Wrestler of the Year is Riley Lefever of Wabash. Lefever put together a dominant season, running the table against DIII competition for the third year in a row. The junior from Fort Wayne, Indiana, won his third consecutive NCAA Championship at 184 lbs. and was the only wrestler in the tournament to score bonus points in every match, pinning his first two opponents before putting up major decisions against 3rd place finisher AJ Kowal in the semifinals and runner-up Josh Thomson in the finals.

Lefever turned heads to kick off the season when he won the Eastern Michigan Open and defeated returning Division I 5th place finisher Kenny Courts of Ohio State in the semifinals. He rolled from there, winning titles at Concordia, Little State, North Central, John Summa, and Mid States. He then dominated the Midwest Regional with two pins and tech fall to earn his third trip to the NCAA Championships.

Lefever finished the year 44-0 with 23 falls and 10 tech falls. He won the NCAA Most Dominant award for most team points per match and finished second for most falls in the least time in DIII for the year. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championship and helped lead the Little Giants to a fourth place team finish.

Lefever is now a three time NCAA champion with a career record of 119-3. Last summer, he finished third in both the UWW Junior National Freestyle Championships and the UWW Junior World Team Trials challenge tournament at 84kg. He is currently registered to compete in tomorrow’s Last Chance Olympic Trials Qualifier at 86kg. Next season, Lefever will return with a chance to become the second ever four time NCAA Division III champion.

Previous Winners
2015 – Mike Fuenffinger, Augsburg
2014 – Nazar Kulchytskyy, Oshkosh
2013 – Nazar Kulchytskyy, Oshkosh
2012 – Byron Tate, Wartburg
2011 – Minga Batsukh, St. John’s
2010 – Clayton Rush, Coe

Olympic Trials Last Chance Qualifier

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April 1, 2016

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The Last Chance Qualifier for the Olympic Trials is taking place this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Several wrestlers with DIII connections are currently registered in both styles. Greco-Roman wrestling is currently underway with freestyle wrestling tomorow. Here is a list of wrestlers with DIII connections in the event. If anyone was missed, leave a comment.

Greco-Roman
59kg – Mike Fuenffinger, 2x champ for Augsburg
85kg – Dan Olsen, All-American for Wheaton
130kg – Donny Longendyke, current Augsburg wrestler and 2x finalist

Freestyle (from list of entries as of 1pm Eastern)
57kg – Ben Vosters, current Stevens Point wrestler
57kg – Kenneth Anderson, 3x champ for Wartburg
65kg – Elroy Perken, All-American for Whitewater
65kg – Isaac Dukes, champ for Case
65kg – Nazar Kulchytskyy, 3x champ for Oshkosh
74kg – Sam Engelland, All-American for Oshkosh
86kg – Anthony Bonaventura, All-American for Waynesburg, current Stevens assistant
86kg – Riley Lefever, current Wabash wrestler and 3x champ
125kg – Chad Johnson, 2x champ for Augsburg

US Olympic Trials Last Chance Qualifier Brackets and Results

2016 All-Freshmen Team & Freshman of the Year

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March 31, 2016

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The 2016 d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year is Angus Arthur of Adrian College. Arthur placed 4th in the NCAA Championships at 197 lbs. to give Adrian College an All-American in its first year as a resurrected program. Arthur entered the tournament as the 4th seed with an undefeated record. He picked up a pair of falls to reach the semifinals where he dropped a 3-2 decision to David Welch of Roger Williams, the eventual champion. After a 4-2 win in the consolation semifinals, Arthur fell in the 3rd place match to returning NCAA Champion Joe Giaramita of Cortland. Arthur finished the year with a 34-2 record.

During the season, Arthur won the Ohio Northern Invitational, North Central Invitational, NUWAY College Open, Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational, Mid States Invitational, and the Midwest Region.

Prior to joining the newly reborn Adrian team, Arthur was a two time Michigan state champion for Saint John’s High School and a member of the 2013 FILA Cadet world teams in freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Read on for the rest of the All-Freshmen team. The goal is to recognize true freshmen when possible.

2016 d3wrestle.com All-Freshmen Team

125 – Jacob Forsman, Norwich, 26-10, 5th Northeast Region
133 – Romeo Riley, Alma, 8th NCAA, 1st Midwest Region
141 – Brendon Seyfried, Williams, NCAA Qualifier, 2nd Northeast Region
149 – Austin Whitney, Cortland, 34-9, 4th Northeast Region
157 – Brandon Arteaga, Whitewater, NCAA Qualifier, 3rd Midwest Region
165 – Anthony Arroyo, 24-9, 5th Mideast Region
174 – Garrett Beaman, St. Olaf, 7th NCAA, 1st West Region
184 – Austin Cook, La Crosse, 6th NCAA, 2nd Midwest Region
197 – Angus Arthur, Adrian, 4th NCAA, 1st Midwest Region
285 – Paul Triandafilou, Gettysburg, 5th NCAA, 2nd East Region

2016 Results for 2015 Freshmen Team
125 – Jakob Stageberg, Concordia-Moorhead, 6th NCAA, 1st West Region
133 – Matthew Grossmann, Wilkes, 7-1, did not finish season
141 – Kaz Onoo, Wartburg, 18-3, top 8 Central Region
141 – Nashid Barrow, Buena Vista, 19-11, 5th Central Region
149 – Josh Evans, Wilkes, 25-9, top 8 Mideast Region
157 – Gable Frandsen, Augsburg, 3-1, wrestled in one event
165 – Nick Velez, Ithaca, 7th NCAA, 1st Northeast Region
174 – AJ Kowal, Stevens, 3rd NCAA, 1st East Region (at 184)
184 – Ben Swarr, Messiah, NCAA Champion, 2nd Mideast Region (at 174)
197 – Kyle Koser, Messiah, NCAA Qualifier, 3rd Mideast Region
285 – James Bethel, Oneonta, did not wrestle

Ice Hour Episode 9: Bryan Brunk

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March 31, 2016

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Subscribe to this show via: iTunes | Android | RSS

Episode 9 of The Ice Hour, a Division III wrestling podcast visits with Messiah College head wrestling coach Bryan Brunk.

Brunk was voted the NWCA Division III Coach of the Year and the d3wrestle.com Coach of the Year after leading the Falcons to a second-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids. Messiah picked up two more program-bests, two champions for the first time in school history and six All-Americans for the first time.

Brunk talks about the culture of the program, a mid-tenure regime change that turned the team on its head and some great stories amongst his past wrestlers.

The Ice Hour is proudly sponsored by My House Sports Gear.

2016 Coach of the Year

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March 30, 2016

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The 2016 d3wrestle.com Coach of the Year is Bryan Brunk of Messiah College. Brunk led the Falcons to their best ever finish at the NCAA Championships where they took 2nd place and scored 100 points. Messiah had a record seven national qualifiers, six All-Americans, three finalists, and two NCAA Champions in Lucas Malmberg at 125 and Ben Swarr at 174. Messiah won the Mideast Regional for the third consecutive year and finished with an 18-2 dual meet record along with team titles at the Messiah Invitational, Petrofes Invitational, and MAC Championships.

In addition to Malmberg and Swarr, Larry Cannon (4th at 157), Jeff Hojnacki (6th at 165), Josh Thomson (2nd at 184), and Jason Wright (6th at 285) all became All-Americans while Kyle Koser (197) qualified for the championships. Thomson became a four time All-American with a 2nd place finish at 184 lbs. and finishes his career as the all-time wins leader in Messiah College history.

Brunk, now in his 13th season at Messiah, was named the Mideast Region Coach of the Year, MAC Coach of the year, and NWCA Division III Coach of the Year. It was the second NWCA award for Brunk, as he also was named Coach of the Year in 2014.

Previous Winners
2015 – Eric Keller, Wartburg
2014 – Tim Fader, Whitewater
2013 – Steve Marianetti, Elmhurst
2012 – Jim Miller & Eric Keller, Wartburg
2011 – Mark Hawald, Mount Union
2010 – Dave Malecek, La Crosse

Keystone College begins wrestling next season

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March 24, 2016

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Keystone College, school of about 1,400 just northwest of Scranton, Pennsylvania, has announced plans to compete in wrestling for the 2016-2017 season. The school most recently fielded a wrestling team in 1991 when the school was a junior college. Keystone became a four year college in 1998 and is currently an NCAA Division III school. Steven Mytych, a former wrestler at Drexel University and coach at Bloomsburg University and Wyoming Seminary, has been tabbed as the coach of the resurrected program. Read on for the official announcement.

Keystone To Reintroduce NCAA Wrestling in 2016-17

Steven Mytych, former Drexel standout, will lead Giants

La Plume, Pa. – Keystone College is returning to its proud athletic roots by reintroducing wrestling as its newest intercollegiate sport, college officials announced today.

In the 1960s through the 1980s, Keystone was known for being one of the best small college wrestling programs in the nation. Known at the time as Keystone Junior College, the program produced some of the top wrestlers in the country under legendary head coach the late Larry Fornicola.

Now a four-year baccalaureate and master’s degree college, Keystone will compete in collegiate wrestling as an independent in NCAA Division III beginning in the 2016-2017 season. Wrestling will be Keystone’s 20th varsity sport.

The college has hired Steven Mytych, a former Drexel University wrestling standout who had been serving as assistant wrestling coach at both Bloomsburg University and Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School in Kingston.

“We are absolutely delighted to reintroduce collegiate wrestling at Keystone,” said Athletic Director Dr. Matthew Grimaldi. “As many area sports fans remember, Keystone wrestling was respected as one of the nation’s best programs thanks to the tremendous efforts of Larry Fornicola and his excellent teams. Now, it’s time to bring wrestling back to campus for a new generation of student-athletes. We can’t wait to get started.”

As a Division III independent, Keystone will be eligible to schedule a wide-variety of opponents, including the possibility of competition with other regional Division III schools such as Wilkes University and King’s College.

Wrestling was discontinued at Keystone following the 1990-91 season due to a lack of similarly sized colleges competing in the sport at the time. Coach Fornicola led Keystone wrestling from 1965 through 1990 and was inducted into the National Junior College Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980. Among many other accomplishments, he was a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Honoree, recognizing his years of dedication to the sport. He is a member of the Keystone College Hall of Fame.

Under his guidance, Keystone produced such outstanding student athletes as National Junior College Athletic Association national champions Dick Keefe (1967), Neil Duncan (1970) and Bill Kmetz (1973).

“I am so thrilled that wrestling is back at Keystone,” said Mrs. Bernie Fornicola, a Keystone graduate and wife of the late Coach Fornicola. “I have such wonderful memories of the past and now many more young people will have the opportunity to find out just how great it is to be a student and wrestler at Keystone College.”

Keystone offers more than 40 undergraduate and graduate degree options in liberal arts and science based programs in business, communications, education, fine arts, natural science, environmental resource management, geology and social sciences. Located 15 minutes from Scranton, Pa. and two hours from New York City and Philadelphia, Keystone is known for small class sizes and individual attention focused on student success through internships, research, and community involvement.

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