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2015 Coach of the Year

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Keller

The 2015 d3wrestle.com Coach of the Year is Eric Keller of Wartburg. Coming off a string of four straight NCAA Championships, Keller was tasked with building a competitive team from a group that returned just 3 of the 103.5 points the Knights scored at the 2014 NCAA Championships. The team began the season unranked for the first time in recent memory, but quickly climbed the rankings as the season progressed. It took time for Wartburg to assert itself as a top team, and the Knights dropped an early season dual to La Crosse. That would be the last loss for Wartburg this season, as the new starting lineup began to perform, and the team finished with an 18-1 record, running their conference dual meet winning streak to 181.

By the end of the season, the Wartburg lineup consisted of one returning starter from 2014, one freshman, two transfers, and six wrestlers who were backups the year before. This group included Andrew Steiert, the #1 seed at 165 at the NCAA Championships, and Brandon Welter, the #4 seed at 174 at the NCAA Championships. Both were starters for the first time this year, and both had wrestled 149 in 2014. The current 149, the only NCAA Champion for the Knights, is Kenny Martin, a junior college transfer who did not place in the 2014 NJCAA Championships.

Wartburg began the postseason with a 40 point win in the Central Region and brought nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, all of whom were seeded. Only 133 lbs. starter Connor Campo was a starter the year before, and he had gone 0-2 at the Championships. The team entered the tournament ranked #1 but finished second following an unexpected championship run from Augsburg. Wartburg had eight All-Americans and a pair of finalists. Coach Keller took a lineup with zero returning NCAA points to a runner-up finish, and he is the 2015 d3wrestle.com Coach of the Year.

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


2015 All-Freshmen Team & Freshman of the Year

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Update – An earlier version of this post had a weight class error that has now been corrected

The 2015 d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year is Matthew Grossmann of Wilkes University. Grossmann won the 133 lbs. weight class at the 2015 NCAA Championships in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Grossmann picked up falls in both of his opening matches, including a victory over #4 seed Connor Campo of Wartburg. He defeated the top seed Nate Giorgio of Coast Guard in the semifinals before dispatching unseeded Chad Bartschenfeld of Augsburg 4-3 in the championship bout.

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania, native had six losses on the year and was in a fight to even own the starting spot at Wilkes, but his improvement throughout the season culminated in the national title. After taking a loss at the MAC Championships on January 24th, Grossmann had his hand raised in every subsequent match, including the finals of the East Region and in a 5-1 dual win over 2014 NCAA runner-up Alex Gomez of Ithaca. He was 2nd in the Monarch Invitational, 2nd at Petrofes, 2nd at the Wilkes Open, 1st at the Will Abele Invitational, and 2nd in the MAC.

In high school, Grossmann was a two time Pennsylvania AAA placewinner with a career record of 136-31 for Manheim Township High School. Read on for the full d3wrestle.com All-Freshmen Team.

2015 d3wrestle.com All-Freshmen Team (records are taken from Trackwrestling)

125 – Jakob Stageberg, Concordia-Moorhead, NCAA Qualifier, 27-13
133 – Matthew Grossmann, Wilkes, NCAA Champion, 36-6
141 – Kaz Onoo, Wartburg, 4th Central Region, 23-10
141 – Nashid Barrow, Buena Vista, NCAA Qualifier, 25-9
149 – Josh Evans, Wilkes, NCAA Qualifier, 21-14
157 – Gable Frandsen, Augsburg, NCAA Qualifier, 18-14
165 – Nick Velez, Ithaca, NCAA Qualifier, 33-11
174 – AJ Kowal, Stevens, 4th East Region, 30-4
184 – Ben Swarr, Messiah, NCAA Qualifier, 18-3
197 – Kyle Koser, Messiah, 5th Mideast Region, 37-14
285 – James Bethel, Oneonta, 4th NCAA, 39-6

2015 Results for the 2014 All-Freshmen Team

125 – Lucas Malmberg, Messiah – NCAA Runner-Up, Mideast champion
133 – Dustin Weinmann, La Crosse – 19-8, WIAC Runner-Up
141 – Charlie Banaszak, Chicago – did not wrestle
149 – Nick Drendel, Dubuque – did not wrestle
157 – Larry Cannon, Messiah – 4th Mideast Region
165 – Stephen Aiello, Wheaton – NCAA Qualifier
174 – Carlos Toribio, Ithaca – 5th Northeast Region at 184
184 – Riley Lefever, Wabash – NCAA Champion, Midwest champion
197 – Hunter Ayen, Springfield – NCAA Qualifier
285 – Zachery Roseberry, Delaware Valley – NCAA 3rd, East champion


2015 Picks Game Results Post

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2015_NCAA_DIII
Please post your team results as a comment to this post. In order to help you calculate your score, the link below will take you to a list of the team points scored by every wrestler who scored in the tournament. If a wrestler is not on the list, he scored zero team points at the tournament. List your team results using the format below, using the same name and email address as in your initial entry. I made picks before the tournament as well, so the example team below is my team.

2015 NCAA Team Points

IF YOU DO NOT PRECISELY FOLLOW THE FORMAT SHOWN BELOW YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Once a sufficient time has passed, the winner will be verified and contacted to receive the prize.

The format is as follows: weight, seed, last name, team, points

125, US, Stageberg, Concordia-Moorehead, 0.5
133, US, Bartschenfeld, Augsburg, 15
141, 1, Loht, Messiah, 15.5
149, 3, Fava, Delaware Valley, 16
157, 5, DeWitt, Loras, 14.5
165, 8, Velez, Ithaca, 1
174, 4, Welter, Wartburg, 2.5
184, 7, Peterson, Wartburg, 16
197, 6, Roman, Wartburg, 9
285, 2, Longendyke, Augsburg, 24.5
Total 114.5

Photos from the 2015 NCAA Championships

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Click below for all of the d3wrestle.com photos from the 2015 NCAA Championships. There is a gallery for podium photos, and then there is a gallery for each of the ten weight classes. All of the semifinals and finals are in the galleries, as are many other matches. Each photo is identified with the weight class and the names and schools of each wrestler.

2015 d3wrestle.com Championships Gallery

2015 Academic Awards

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Daniel Del Gallo of Southern Maine is the 2015 Elite 89 Award winner

2015 NWCA Scholar All-Americans | 2015 NWCA Top 30 Scholar Teams

To qualify as an NWCA Scholar All-American, a wrestler must be in at least his second semester at a school. His GPA must be at least 3.2 and he must meet at least one of the following wrestling criteria:

1. 2015 NCAA Qualifier with a record above .500
2. Regional top 6 AND greater than .500 record AND competed in 50% or greater of a teams’s schedule
3. Record above 0.670 AND competed in 50% or greater of a team’s schedule

The team GPA is calculated as an average of the top ten students on each team. At least six of the ten athletes chosen must have competed in the NCAA qualifying tournament, and the other athletes must have competed in at least 50% of the team’s scheduled contests.

In order to be eligible for any academic awards, the school and coach must be active NWCA members in good standing with current membership dues.

Lastly, the NCAA also presents the Elite 89 Award at each of its 89 championship events. The Elite 89 Award is given to the athlete with the highest GPA competing at the final championship site in each sport. The 2015 Elite 89 Award winner for Division III Wrestling is sophomore Daniel Del Gallo of the University of Southern Maine.


 

NWCA Announces All-Academic Teams and Individuals for 2014-2015 Season
by Jon McGovern (President of the NCAA III National Wrestling Coaches Association)
March 22nd, 2015

Hershey, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced its annual NCAA Division III All-Academic Top 30 Teams and Individual Academic All-Americans for the 2014-2015 wrestling season during the NCAA III Championships in Hershey PA.

Kings College was honored as the nation’s top academic wrestling program with a 3.59 team GPA. The runner-up in this year’s team competition was Olivet College. Following their top team finish last season with a 3.64 team GPA and #1 NWCA Academic Scholar Team finish in 2014, Olivet Head Coach Brandon Brissette’s squad once again delivered a strong performance with a 3.58 team GPA in 2015.

Rounding out the Top 10 Academic Scholar teams was the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (3.54) in 3rd, Alma College (3.52) in 4th, Wabash College (3.51) in 5th, Concordia-Moorhead (3.5) in 6th, University of Chicago (3.49) in 7th, Norwich University (3.48) in 8th, Luther College (3.46) in 9th, and St. Johns (3.45) in 10th.

There were 159 NCAA III Wrestlers that earned NWCA Academic All-American honors. Alma College had the most individuals on the list as eight of their student-athletes earned NWCA Academic All-American honors. Wabash College and UW Whitewater finished second in totals with 6 student-athletes each earning NWCA Academic Scholar honors.

The student-athletes earning the highest GPA were Reed Van Anrooy from Luther College with a 4.0 GPA majoring in Biology and Daniel Del Gallo from Southern Maine with a 4.0 GPA majoring in Philosophy and Sociology. Cody Lovejoy from Ohio Northern finished with the 3rd highest GPA with a 3.99 GPA in Pharmacy. Dan Del Gallo of Southern Maine was also selected as the 2015 Elite 89 Award winner.

“The NWCA All-Academic Team and Individual Team is one of the best acknowledgements that we can give to our coaches and athletes at the end of a physically grueling season” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “These young men have proved that they are not only talented competitors but are leaders in the classroom as well. The NWCA Board of Directors and staff look forward to watching these student-athletes continue their success at the collegiate level and eventually as the leaders of the future once they earn their college degrees.

For a list of the Top 30 teams, click here: https://www.d3wrestle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015-NWCA-Top-30-Scholar-Teams.pdf

For a list of the individual Academic All-Americans click here: https://www.d3wrestle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015-NWCA-Scholar-All-Americans.pdf

About the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)
The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a non-profit organization for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on developing coaches who work in academic environments. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling. The three core competencies of the NWCA are: coaching development, student-athlete welfare, and promotion of wrestling.

2015 Championship Data

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Region Performance

Region  All-Americans  Team Points  Champions
Central 18 217 2
East 15 203 2
Midwest 15 205.5 2
Mideast 14 185.5 1
Northeast 11 147 1
West 7 121.5 2

Three Year Totals 2013-2015 (since the regional system was in place)

Region  All-Americans   % of total AA   Team Points   % of total Points 
Central 46 19.167 611.5 19.106
East 41 17.083 542.5 16.950
Midwest 50 20.833 675 21.090
Mideast 40 16.667 503.5 15.732
Northeast 39 16.250 489 15.279
West 24 10.000 379 11.842

2015 All-Americans (unseeded in italics; 23 total)

125 165
1 Fuenffinger Augsburg 1 Sewera Coe
2 Malmberg Messiah 2 Schneider La Crosse
3 Bewak Johns Hopkins 3 Barger Lycoming
4 Gunter Baldwin Wallace 4 Guidi Waynesburg
5 Agnitsch Wartburg 5 Hensel Augsburg
6 Rea Wilkes 6 Steiert Wartburg
7 Page Central 7 Farmer Wabash
8 Amato WPI 8 Bader Hunter
133 174
1 Grossman Wilkes 1 Lefever Wabash
2 Bartschenfeld Augsburg 2 Zotollo TCNJ
3 Obert Luther 3 Thomson Messiah
4 Gomez Ithaca 4 Harrington Coe
5 Giorgio Coast Guard 5 Cain RIT
6 Pike NYU 6 Gardner Concordia-Moorhead
7 Haynes Delaware Valley 7 Chase Baldwin Wallace
8 Campo Wartburg 8 Newman Whitewater
141 184
1 Palmer Hunter 1 Lefever Wabash
2 Van Anrooy Luther 2 Peterson Wartburg
3 Loht Messiah 3 Olsen Wheaton
4 Jones NYU 4 Chorzepa Williams
5 Steger Loras 5 Dowdley Heidelberg
6 Binion North Central 6 Carlson La Crosse
7 Adcock Whitewater 7 Sheehan NYU
8 Ferinde Johnson & Wales 8 Beckwith Cortland
149 197
1 Martin Wartburg 1 Giaramita Cortland
2 Fava Delaware Valley 2 Siefert Whitewater
3 Mayville RIT 3 Twohey La Crosse
4 Arnold Ursinus 4 Karns Delaware Valley
5 Perkin Whitewater 5 Horner Coe
6 Mirman John Carroll 6 Roman Wartburg
7 Keeter Augsburg 7 Hechsel Augsburg
8 Lohr Waynesburg 8 Seabold Central
157 285
1 Carr Washington & Jefferson 1 Longendyke Augsburg
2 Lefever Wabash 2 Jean-Jacques Rhode Island
3 Lopez Williams 3 Roseberry Delaware Valley
4 DeWitt Loras 4 Bethel Oneonta
5 Wagenhoffer Wartburg 5 Nagle Wartburg
6 Collins Ithaca 6 Maresh Alma
7 Garrison Mount Union 7 Edgren Whitewater
8 Mancella TCNJ 8 Herman Luther

Class listing of 2015 NCAA Qualifiers (thanks to Caleb Williams for compiling)

2015 Finals Recap

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Podium Photos for Download | Final Brackets

125 – Mike Fuenffinger (Augsburg) major decision Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) 15-2

125 Fuenffinger vs Malmberg

It was a rematch of the 2014 finals that everyone expected. Coming in as the top two seeds, neither wrestler had lost in Division III this season. Fuenffinger opened up the scoring with an ankle pick off an underhook. He scored several times with that attack in last year’s finals and got a couple in 2015 as well. He proceeded to get a tight waist tilt for two and opened up an early lead. Fuenffinger has tremendous pressure on top that made it hard for Malmberg to get to his feet. Malmberg was able to get some escapes, but Fuenffinger was just too much, scoring on several counter shots and even turning a double into some back points late in the match to add a 15-2 win to the major decision he had in last year’s final.

133 – Matthew Grossman (Wilkes) decision Chad Bartschenfeld (Augsburg) 4-3

133 Grossman vs Bartschenfeld

Freshman Matthew Grossman took on unseeded Chad Bartschenfeld in a surprise final. Each had knocked off a top two seed to get here. Grossman went to high school just 30 miles from the Giant Center and had a big crowd cheering him on. Bartschenfeld struck first with a single that started low but ended up with a body lock for the takedown. Grossman escaped immediately to end the scoring in the first. Bartschenfeld was in on a number of left handed single leg shots, but was unable to finish after the first takedown. Near the end of the second period, Grossman countered a shot with an underhook ankle pick and rode the Auggie out to finish the period and take a 4-2 lead. Grossman rode tough in the third, but Bartschenfeld escaped just soon enough to avoid giving up riding time, but he could not score late, giving Grossman and Wilkes head coach Jon Laudenslager their first NCAA Championships.

141 – CJ Palmer (Hunter) decision Drew Van Anrooy (Luther) 4-2 SV2

141 Palmer vs Van Anrooy

Palmer and Van Anrooy met early last season while Palmer was at Clackamas Community College and Van Anrooy was at Oregon State. Van Anrooy took that match, but Palmer prevailed here. The first period was uneventful, save for Palmer taking several blood timeouts. Things picked up in the second with Palmer on the bottom. Van Anrooy delivered a series of hard mat returns, with one or two delivered maybe a bit after the whistle. Palmer nearly took injury time but soldiered on and got a very late escape to take the lead. Palmer showed his mat return skills in the third and rode off the riding time before Van Anrooy could escape and send it to a scoreless sudden victory. Van Anrooy rode Palmer out in his half but picked up his third caution when Palmer was on top. In the second sudden victory period, Palmer hit a slide by to a single leg shot that resulted in a big scramble. Palmer was awarded the takedown, Luther challenged, but the call was upheld.

149 – Kenny Martin (Wartburg) decision Vinny Fava (Delaware Valley) 8-3

149 Martin vs Fava

Martin started off with a quick reattack shot that dropped Fava to a hip, but the Aggie popped right up to his feet. Two was awarded and challenged, but the call held up. As a result of the challenge, Fava had to get his first escape twice, which he did with no trouble. Martin did a great job turning Fava’s shots into his points, countering several shots for takedowns, including a second score in the first to end the period up 4-1. After a single escape in the second period, Martin scored his third takedown in a similar manner to the second. Fava escaped this time, but the clock wound down, and Martin got a riding time point for the final margin, giving Wartburg their sole 2015 champion.

157 – Nick Carr (Washington & Jefferson) decision Reece Lefever (Wabash) 6-2

157 Carr vs Lefever

Carr was a finalist at 165 last year and came into the finals undefeated on the season. Lefever was a three time All-American and the #2 seed. Lefever countered a big double from Carr to stay neutral in the first, but he could only hold him off for so long in this match. Lefever nearly slipped behind Carr while defending a hi-c, but Carr recovered his angle and finished with a lift for the first takedown. His second score came on a similar shot but a cleaner finish near the edge. Lefever expertly stopped a third takedown with a split on the boundary line. Carr was visibly tired heading into the third, but he parried Lefever’s attempts and even made a few of his own to finish out a win in his second trip to the finals.

165 – Farai Sewera (Coe) decision Tyler Schneider (La Crosse) 9-4

165 Sewera vs Schneider

Sewera started the tournament wearing a mask, but was not wearing it at all on Saturday. Schneider reached the final with a sudden victory win over the top seed in the semifinals. Sewera got the scoring started with an underhook single to the right side. Schneider had a lot of trouble penetrating Sewera’s defense in a match contested almost entirely on the feet. Sewera got two other takedowns countering hi-c attempts from Schneider. The last in particular was shot across Sewera’s body, giving him a good angle for a counterattack when Schneider did not get the leg. A final desperation attempt from Schneider set up Sewera’s final double leg to give the final margin of 9-4.

174 – Conner Lefever (Wabash) decision Zach Zotollo (The College of New Jersey) 5-4

174 Lefever vs Zotollo

It was a matchup of the #1 and #3 seeds as the second Lefever finalist took the mat against the three time All-American Zotollo. Lefever started the scoring with a single leg that he finished on the edge. Lefever was able to get consistent penetration with that shot throughout the match. Zotollo did a good job stringing his attacks together and was able to chase the ankle of a turned-around Lefever and ride out the period to take a lead into the third period. After some back and forth action, Lefever scored again with the single to go up by one with short time left. The referee started a five second count a couple of times but never got all the way there. The match ended with Zotollo throwing Lefever toward his back with a crotch lift, and the final whistle sounded with Lefever upside down holding a leg. TCNJ challenged for a stall call that would send it to overtime, but the no-call was upheld.

184 – Riley Lefever (Wabash) decision Devin Peterson (Wartburg) 5-3

184 Lefever vs Peterson

Lefever was a freshman NCAA Champion last year, while Peterson was once the top recruit at his weight class in the country. The first two periods were mainly Peterson in on a few shots and Lefever showing great hips to stop some tough double legs. As the second half of the final period approached, it was looking like we were headed to overtime, but Peterson struck first with a takedown to get the lead and put Lefever’s repeat hopes in jeopardy. After a quick escape, it was Lefever’s turn to commit to an attack and secure his second title in as many years.

197 – Joe Giaramita (Cortland) decision Shane Siefert (Whitewater) 6-4 SV

197 Giaramita vs Siefert

Siefert was expected to be here after a runner-up finish last year and his #2 seed. Giaramita was the #4 seed who pinned the top seed off a reversal in the semifinals. Siefert had a lot of trouble dealing with Giaramita’s left handed shots throughout the match. A wild scramble was all for naught early in the first, and the period ended scoreless. Siefert hit a tight waist tilt for two at the beginning of the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the final period. Giaramita hit another lefty hi-c off the whistle and stopped Siefert’s chin whip attempt to knot things up. The match almost ended in regulation when Siefert drove through a front headlock cross ankle pick, but the initial takedown call was both waved off and confirmed by a review as no points. Overtime saw one more left handed shot from Giaramita followed by a stifled roll through attempt to make the Cortland wrestler a national champion.

285 – Donny Longendyke (Augsburg) decision Terrance Jean-Jacques (Rhode Island) 1-0

285 Longendyke vs Jean-Jacques

These wrestlers met for the first time in the 2011 Dapper Dan Classic with Jean-Jacques representing Pennsylvania and Longendyke representing the USA. Longendyke won that matchup and would do so again here in Hershey. Jean-Jacques was the aggressor, getting in on some good doubles. Longendyke was able to stuff every shot in this match. Neither wrestler was able to solve the defense of the other on the feet, so it was decided on the mat. Longendyke escaped early, but Jean-Jaccques chose neutral, leaving him in need of a takedown in the third period to win or force overtime. He was unable to do either and finished the match extended on a single as Augsburg got its second champ to go along with an unexpected team championship.

NCAA Day 2 Results/Video Links

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2015_NCAA_DIII

2015 NCAA Championships Live Results | d3wrestle.com 2015 NCAA Championships Home Page

Saturday Live Stream

Saturday Schedule
Saturday March 14th – 10:00am – Session III – Semifinals, consolation quarterfinals, consolation semifinals, 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches

Saturday March 14th – 6:30pm – Parade of All-Amerians
Saturday March 14th– 7:00pm– Championship Finals

Semifinals Matchups
125 – Fuenffinger (Augsburg) vs. Rea (Wilkes); Malmberg (Messiah) vs. Gunter (Baldwin Wallace)
133 – Giorgia (Coast Guard) vs. Grossman (Wilkes); Bartschenfeld (Augsburg) vs. Obert (Luther)
141 – Loht (Messiah) vs. Palmer (Hunter); Van Anrooy (Luther) vs. Steger (Loras)
149 – Mirman (John Carroll) vs. Martin (Wartburg); Arnold (Ursinus) vs. Fava (Delaware Valley)
157 – Carr (Washington & Jefferson) vs. DeWitt (Loras); Lefever (Wabash) vs. Lopez (Williams)
165 – Steiert (Wartburg) vs. Schneider (La Crosse); Sewera (Coe) vs. Guidi (Waynesburg)
174 – Lefever (Wabash) vs. Gardner (Concordia-Moorhead); Harrington (Coe) vs. Zotollo (TCNJ)
184 – Lefever (Wabash) vs. Dowdley (Heidelberg); Peterson (Wartburg) vs. Carlson (La Crosse)
197 – Twohey (La Crosse) vs. Giaramita (Cortland); Siefert (Whitewater) vs. Horner (Coe)
285 – Jean-Jacques (Rhode Island) vs. Nagle (Wartburg); Longendyke (Augsburg) vs. Bethel (Oneonta)

Team Scores After Day 1

Place Team Points All-Americans
1. Wartburg 58 8
2. Augsburg 56.5 6
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater 41 5
4. Wabash 36.5 4
5. Delaware Valley 29.5 4
6. Wisconsin-La Crosse 28.5 3
7. Luther 26 3
8. Coe 25 3
9. Messiah 24.5 3
10. Wilkes 21.5 2
All-Americans by Region
Central 18
East 15
Midwest 15
Mideast 14
Northeast 11
West 7


NCAA Championships Live Results/Video Link

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2015_NCAA_DIII

2015 NCAA Championships Live Results | Pre-Tournament Brackets

d3wrestle.com 2015 NCAA Championships Home Page | Digital Program from the NCAA

Weight Class Previews
125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157
165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285

Tournament Schedule
Friday March 13th – 11:00am – Session I
Friday March 13th – 6:00pm – Session II
Saturday March 14th – 10:00am – Session III
Saturday March 14th – 7:00pm – Session IV – Championship Finals

Friday Live Stream | Saturday Live Stream



2015 NCAA Preview: 285 lbs.

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Cody Lovejoy is one of two undefeated wrestlers in the 285 bracket

 

2014 Champion: James Buss, Loras

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (2) Longendyke Augsburg
West 2 Davis Concordia-Moorhead
West 3 Karkula Eau Claire
Central 1 (4) Nagle Wartburg
Central 2 Seaman Augustana
Central 3 Herman Luther
Midwest 1 (3) Green Trine
Midwest 2 (8) Edgren Whitewater
Midwest 3 Maresh Alma
Mideast 1 (1) Lovejoy Ohio Northern
Mideast 2 (9) Tristram Brockport
Mideast 3 (10) Majoy Heidelberg
East 1 (5) Roseberry Delaware Valley
East 2 Florek Stevens
East 3 Peleg Ursinus
Northeast 1 (6) Bethel Oneonta
Northeast 2 (7) Jean-Jacques Rhode Island
Northeast 3 Foster Roger Williams

Cody Lovejoy improved from 0-2 in 2013 to 7th place last year to a number one ranking in 2015. This year, he is 42-0 with 26 falls and wins over previous All-Americans Mack Green of Trine and Anthony Edgren of Whitewater. He has also won the NCAA’s Elite 89 Award each of the past two seasons for having the highest GPA of all NCAA Qualifiers. With only one other returning All-American from 2014 in the bracket (Green), Lovejoy could be in position to bring home a title for the Polar Bears. It will not be easy, especially with Augsburg’s Donny Longendyke on the other side of the bracket. Longendyke is a tranfer from Nebraska who is also undefeated as a member of the Auggies. He was once the top ranked 285 lbs. high school recruit and has been dominant this semester, including a major decision over #4 Nagle of Wartburg.

Another Division I transfer is Terrance Jean-Jacques of Rhode Island College. Jean-Jacques wrestled for Iowa before making his way closer to home in New England. He has been in the NCAA Most Dominant standing for much of the season, though his schedule has not matched the other top contenders in difficulty. His only loss this year came in the regional final to Oneonta freshman James Bethel. Zach Roseberry of Delaware Valley was 4th last season, Matan Peleg is a two time qualifier for Ursinus, and Conner Herman of Luther last appeared in the tournament in 2012 before returning this season.


2015 NCAA Preview: 197 lbs.

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Action Photo
Eric Twohey is having great success after moving up from 184 this year

2014 Champion: Alex Coolidge, Cornell

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (9) Hechsel Augsburg
West 2 (10) Michaelis St. John’s
West 3 Pike Concordia-Moorhead
Central 1 (6) Roman Wartburg
Central 2 (7) Seabold Central
Central 3 (8) Horner Coe
Midwest 1 (1) Twohey La Crosse
Midwest 2 (2) Siefert Whitewater
Midwest 3 Groeneveld Alma
Mideast 1 Secor Lycoming
Mideast 2 Gaydosh John Carroll
Mideast 3 Olson Mount Union
East 1 (3) Karns Delaware Valley
East 2 Fisher USMMA
East 3 Leer TCNJ
Northeast 1 (4) Giaramita Cortland
Northeast 2 (5) Welch Roger Williams
Northeast 3 Ayen Springfield

As February began, it looked like everything was going according to the preseason script. Returning runner-up Shane Siefert of Whitewater had rolled through the rest of Division III, including an 8-3 victory in January over Eric Twohey of La Crosse. Then, at the WIAC tournament, Twohey turned that result around with an overtime takedown to defeat Siefert. Two weeks later, he defeated Siefert again, cementing his hold on the top spot in the rankings. Twohey only has that one loss to Siefert this season, and is poised to be much higher on the podium this year than his 8th place finish at 184 last season. Siefert will have to come through the bottom half of the bracket to get a fourth match with Twohey, but he has shown the ability to put points on the board in bunches. Karns of Delaware Valley, and Giaramita of Cortland were both All-Americans last season, and will not be easy outs for either of the top two seeds. Neither has lost in Division III this season.

Roman from Wartburg has been wrestling as well as anyone lately. He had early losses to Horner of Coe and Watson of Loras, but came back to beat both later on. He has not lost since an early December dual meet against Twohey. Maybe he will have a chance to avenge that loss as well. Other previous All-Americans in the bracket include Horner, who beat Giaramita for 5th last season, Welch, who beat Twohey for 7th last year, and Hechsel, who was 7th in 2013. Finally, only one of the top three seeds qualified out of the Mideast region.


2015 NCAA Preview: 184 lbs.

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Riley Lefever is one of three defending NCAA Champions in this tournament

 

2014 Champion: Riley Lefever, Wabash

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 Teigen Augsburg
West 2 Cole Platteville
West 3 Rieckhoff Eau Claire
Central 1 (5) Peterson Wartburg
Central 2 Sheldon Coe
Central 3 (7) DeVilbiss Luther
Midwest 1 (1) Lefever Wabash
Midwest 2 (10) Olsen Wheaton
Midwest 3 Carlson La Crosse
Mideast 1 (6) Swarr Messiah
Mideast 2 (8) Palmeri Brockport
Mideast 3 (9) Dowdley Heidelberg
East 1 Sheehan NYU
East 2 Manganaro Ursinus
East 3 Gabriel Delaware Valley
Northeast 1 (2) Deupree Southern Maine
Northeast 2 (3) Beckwith Cortland
Northeast 3 (4) Chorzepa Williams

Riley Lefever stormed through Division III last year, putting together an undefeated freshman season. Two years in, he still has not lost to a Division III opponent and comes into the tournament as a heavy favorite to repeat. Just two DIII wrestlers, Olsen from Wheaton and Peterson from Wartburg, have managed to hold Lefever to a decision this season. With over 20 falls this year, Lefever is the class of this weight. Everyone else has been beating up on each other, with a trio of Northeast region wrestlers taking the next three spots in the rankings. Chorzepa of Williams was 3rd here last season after entering the tournament unseeded. His only DIII loss this year is to Beckwith, who in turn dropped the regional final to two time qualifier Deupree. One to watch for, however, is Devin Peterson of Wartburg. The one time #1 ranked 195 lbs. recruit in the country found his way to Wartburg for the second semester. He won the Central region and has the talent to perform here.

Ben Swarr of Messiah missed the first half of the season with an injury, but he has come back strong to win the Mideast. He has just one loss to Olsen at the Wheaton semifinals and has wins over Dowdley, Palmeri, and Gabriel. If he gets on the podium, Messiah will have had a freshman All-American three years in a row (Thomson and Malmberg are the others). There are six returning qualifiers at this weight, plus three others who qualified here last year but are at other weights in 2015. Teigen of Augsburg, DeVilbiss of Luther, and Sheldon of Coe are the three yet to be mentioned who qualified in 2o14. Sheldon was an All-American, while the others are seeking their first award. Olsen and Sheehan of NYU were in the tournament in 2013, with Olsen placing 7th. Carlson was the U.S. representative at last summer’s FILA Junior World Greco-Roman Championships.


2015 NCAA Preview: 174 lbs.

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Conner Lefever
Conner Lefever hopes to become the third Lefever to stand on the podium this weekend

 

2014 Champion: Landon Williams, Wartburg

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (10) Martin Augsburg
West 2 Gardner Concordia-Moorhead
West 3 Mergener Concordia Wisconsin
Central 1 (6) Hamm Cornell
Central 2 (4) Welter Wartburg
Central 3 (8) Harrington Coe
Midwest 1 (1) Lefever Wabash
Midwest 2 (5) Newman Whitewater
Midwest 3 (9) Allen Olivet
Mideast 1 (2) Thomson Messiah
Mideast 2 (7) Chase Baldwin Wallace
Mideast 3 Cain RIT
East 1 (3) Zotollo TCNJ
East 2 Sibblies Centenary
East 3 Diesel Wilkes
Northeast 1 Ressler Roger Williams
Northeast 2 Shermot Coast Guard
Northeast 3 Sblendorio Wesleyan

Conner Lefever joins brothers Reece and Riley in the tournament for the second year in a row. The other two have been All-Americans, and Conner enters the tournament as the top seed hoping to not only get on the podium for the first time, but become a national champion in his own right. He has not lost to a Division III opponent this season and has wins over the ranked Welter, Newman, and Allen. Sorting out the bracket after that is a chore, as nobody has made it through unscathed. Two time All-Amerian Josh Thomson of Messiah won the Mideast regional, getting his third win in a row over Chase of Baldwin Wallace after losing to him early in the season. He dropped a wild 14-13 match to Whitewater’s Newman at Wheaton, but defeated fellow two time All-American Zach Zotollo of TCNJ in a dual meet late in the year. The loss to Thomson is Zotollo’s only blemish in a short season where he only has wrestled 21 times.

Jordan Newman of Whitewater and Brandon Welter of Wartburg could challenge for a spot in the finals as well. Newman has the win over Thomson, but he has injury defaulted during the finals of both the WIAC tournament and the Midwest Regional. Welter defeated Newman and has split with both Gardner and Hamm, losing to Hamm in the Central final. Hamm has had a bit of an uneven season, but comes in on a nine match winning streak with wins over Welter and Harrington in the last month. Augsburg’s Martin only got in the lineup when Hensel dropped to 165, but went on to win the West region. Sibblies of Centenary dropped to 174 for the second semester and turned an early season 10-3 loss to Kowal from Stevens into an overtime decision win to qualify for the second year in a row.


2015 NCAA Preview: 165 lbs.

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Andrew Steiert is making the most of his opportunity after teammate and NCAA Champion Cole Welter graduated

2014 Champion: Cole Welter (Wartburg)

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (4) Krogstad Concordia-Moorhead
West 2 Fucile Lakeland
West 3 Hensel Augsburg
Central 1 (1) Steiert Wartburg
Central 2 (2) Sewera Coe
Central 3 Letney Luther
Midwest 1 (3) Schneider La Crosse
Midwest 2 (10) Aiello Wheaton
Midwest 3 Farmer Wabash
Mideast 1 (6) Barger Lycoming
Mideast 2 (7) Gott John Carroll
Mideast 3 Guidi Waynesburg
East 1 Caserta Stevens
East 2 (9) Bader Hunter
East 3 Horan Delaware Valley
Northeast 1 (5) Foley Springfield
Northeast 2 (8) Velez Ithaca
Northeast 3 Colom Roger Williams

The weight cleared out considerably after last season with only the 6th and 7th place finishers Dylan Foley of Springfield and Stephen Aiello of Wheaton returning. Neither is considered a top title threat, but their experience last year should count. The top guy right now is Andrew Steiert of Wartburg. He seized hold of the starting spot and reversed an earlier loss to #2 Sewera of Coe to head into the tournament as a nominal favorite. Sewera has been right on the cusp of major success for most of his career, picking up big wins from the very beginning. He will be a top contender for the title in Hershey. Tyler Schneider of La Crosse is right there with these top two. He has losses to Sewera and Letney from Luther, but has beaten a quarter of those remaining including two wins against Aiello.

Nolan Barger of Lycoming is worth keeping an eye on this weekend. He has avenged many of his losses from earlier in the year, knocked some expected qualifiers out of the championship bracket at the regional, and gave two time national qualifier Terner Gott of John Carroll just his second loss of the year in the Mideast final. Nick Velez of Ithaca comes into the tournament with nine losses, but he has defeated five of the wrestlers in the bracket during his freshman season. CJ Caserta has over 40 wins and is getting hot at the right time. He has won 16 in a row and won the East region over the top seeded Bader with a 5-1 decision. All in all, 165 is a very deep weight with a lot of potential placewinners.


2015 NCAA Preview: 157 lbs.

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Nick Carr
Nick Carr was a surprise finalist at 165 last year, but nobody will be surprised if he repeats the feat at 157

2014 Champion: Nazar Kulchyskyy, Oshkosh

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (10) Elmer St. Olaf
West 2 Cousins Concordia-Moorhead
West 3 Frandsen Augsburg
Central 1 (6) DeWitt Loras
Central 2 (8) Wagenhoffer Wartburg
Central 3 Van Anrooy Luther
Midwest 1 (2) Lefever Wabash
Midwest 2 (7) Gerszewski Whitewater
Midwest 3 Brewer Alma
Mideast 1 (1) Carr Washington & Jefferson
Mideast 2 (3) Garrison Mount Union
Mideast 3 Byham Thiel
East 1 (5) Jasinski Ursinus
East 2 Mancella TCNJ
East 3 (9) Polizzi Stevens
Northeast 1 (4) Lopez Williams
Northeast 2 Collins Ithaca
Northeast 3 Herzog Roger Williams

Nick Carr transferred into Washington & Jefferson halfway through last season. With returning All-American Josh Etzel entrenched at 157, Carr moved up to 165, and though he was clearly undersized, his talent took him all the way to a runner-up finish after a surprising 6-5 win over the top seed in the semifinals. Back at a more natural weight, Carr has run the table this year to be a wire-to-wire top ranked wrestler. His top challenger is two time All-American Reece Lefever, the lightest of the three Lefevers in the tournament. Reece  has avenged his only Division III loss and is very experienced at the national level. Not to be overlooked, however, is Jorge Lopez of Williams who defeated Lefever in the consolation finals last year. He is also a two-time placewinner who carries just one loss into the tournament.

Jon Garrison of Mount Union only wrestled the second semester this year, but managed over 25 matches in one semester of work. Last year’s sixth place finisher, he lost to 2014 All-American Jasinski of Ursinus in his first competition and then to the top-ranked Carr in the regional final. Jasinski defeated Polizzi of Stevens in their first matchup but lost the next two. A fourth match failed to happen when TCNJ’s Mancella upset Polizzi in the regional semis. The two losses to Polizzi are Jasinski’s only defeats this season. Polizzi was the #2 seed in 2013 but failed to place, and then he missed out on qualifying last season. This year he has the two wins over Jasinski, along with a loss, losses to Lopez and Mancella, and wins over Gerszewski, Herzog, and Frandsen.


2015 Picks Game

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NCAA_2015

2015 NCAA Division III Championships Brackets

Here are the rules.

1. Each player will select ten wrestlers, one from each weight class. You may select no more than one of a seed. For example, if you select #3 seed Jeremy Border at 133, you may not select the #3 seed at any other weight class. Players will also select two non-seeded wrestlers for a total of ten.

2. You do not have to select a wrestler from each of the eight seeds. If you do not select a certain seed, you can replace that choice with an additional non-seeded wrestler. You still must choose a wrestler, and only one wrestler, at each weight class.

3. You must select ten wrestlers. Follow the format of the example team at the bottom of this post. Weight – Name, School, Seed. Difficult to decipher entries will be deleted.

4. Your team’s score will be the combined team points scored by your ten wrestlers. You can get this information from the Trackwrestling live brackets (link to be posted later in the results entry). To find a wrestler’s team points scored, click the link at the top right labeled “Teams.” From there, you will see a list of teams. Click a team’s score to see the team points scored by each of their wrestlers in the tournament. The column labeled “Total Points” will have the information you need. Collect the points for all of your wrestlers, add them up, and post your result in the comments section of a post to appear after the conclusion of the tournament. Posting your results as a comment on the post you are reading now will result in disqualification.

5. Post your team of ten wrestlers as a comment on this post. Use a real email address with your entry so you can be contacted about your prize in case you are the winner. Entries must be posted before 11:59PM Eastern time on Thursday March 12th. Good luck!

Team Posting Format Example for Entries (Weight – Name, School, Seed)
125 – Fuenffinger, Augsburg, 1
133 – Gomez, Ithaca, 2
141 – Bergeron, Concordia-Moorhead, 3
149 – Martin, Wartburg, 4
157 – DeWitt, Loras, 5
165 – Barger, Lycoming, 6
174 – Harrington, Coe, 7
184 – Palmeri, Brockport, 8
197 – Groeneveld, Alma, unseeded
285 – Karkula, Eau Claire, unseeded

Here is a helpful table

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
125 Fuenffinger Malmberg Gunter Rea Kramer Bewak Agnitsch Ferguson
133 Giorgio Gomez Border Campo Grossman Obert Flynn Pruett
141 Loht Van Anrooy Bergeron Jones Palmer Steger Adcock Barrow
149 Mirman Arnold Fava Martin Lohr Savenok Mayville Perkin
157 Carr Lefever Lopez Garrison Dewitt Jasinski Wagenhoffer Polizzi
165 Steiert Sewera Foley Schneider Krogstad Barger Gott Velez
174 Lefever Thomson Zotollo Welter Newman Hamm Harrington Chase
184 Lefever Deupree Beckwith Chorzepa DeVilbiss Swarr Peterson Palmeri
197 Twohey Siefert Karns Giaramita Welch Roman Seabold Hechsel
285 Lovejoy Longendyke Green Nagle Roseberry Bethel Edgren Jean-Jacques

2015 NCAA Championships Brackets

5

NCAA_2015

2015 NCAA Championships Brackets

Tuesday 9:52am – Brackets are now corrected to 2015 and also are on the NCAA website


2015 NCAA Preview: 149 lbs.

1
Daniel Mirman was close to the finals last year and aims to improve on his 6th place finish

2014 Champion: Ryan Prater, Elmhurst

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (10) Keeter Augsburg
West 2 Bohm Platteville
West 3 Kostik Concordia-Moorhead
Central 1 (2) Martin Wartburg
Central 2 Gray Luther
Central 3 (9) Engle Cornell
Midwest 1 (6) Savenok Wheaton
Midwest 2 Segal North Central
Midwest 3 (8) Perkin Whitewater
Mideast 1 (1) Mirman John Carroll
Mideast 2 (5) Lohr Waynesburg
Mideast 3 (7) Mayville RIT
East 1 (3) Arnold Ursinus
East 2 (4) Fava Delaware Valley
East 3 Evans Wilkes
Northeast 1 Gaffney Ithaca
Northeast 2 Del Gallo Southern Maine
Northeast 3 Garripoli Williams

This is the first weight without a returning finalist, though the 3rd, 5th, and 6th place finishers are all back in 2015. Vinny Fava finished 3rd last season and was undefeated on the year until dropping an overtime decision to the undefeated Arnold of Ursinus. Mirman of John Carroll lost in overtime in last year’s semifinals before falling to 6th place. Perkin split with Mirman at the NCAA Championships, winning the back half in the 5th place match. New to the weight and the NCAA this year is Martin of Wartburg. Martin wrestled for Clackamas Community College last season and is part of the lightning fast rebuild done by Wartburg in their quest for a fifth consecutive team championship. He has one Division III loss to a wrestler who did not qualify and has a win over Perkin this season.

Though just three of last year’s All-Americans return at this weight, Mark Savenok of Wheaton was an All-American at 157 last season. He dropped to 149 less than two weeks before the regional and came out on top in the Midwest. Augsburg’s Will Keeter was an All-American at 141 in 2012 but has not been back on the podium since. Josh Evans of Wilkes transferred from Eastern Michigan to Wilkes halfway through the year before qualifying out of the East. Daniel Del Gallo of Southern Maine became the seventh individual from his school to qualify, while Mayville (RIT), Lohr (Waynesburg), and Engle (Cornell) are all making return trips in search of their first All-American awards.

Update 3/9 – Luke Lohr was a 2013 All-American, placing 7th


2015 NCAA Preview: 141 lbs.

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Kaleb Loht is undefeated and looking for title #2

2014 Champion: Kaleb Loht, Messiah

2015 Field (with rankings)

West 1 (5) Bergeron Concordia-Moorhead
West 2 (8) Henle St. John’s
West 3 Hamer Augsburg
Central 1 (2) Van Anrooy Luther
Central 2 (9) Barrow Buena Vista
Central 3 (6) Steger Loras
Midwest 1 (7) Adcock Whitewater
Midwest 2 (10) See La Crosse
Midwest 3 Binion North Central
Mideast 1 (1) Loht Messiah
Mideast 2 Roby Mount Union
Mideast 3 Decatur Baldwin Wallace
East 1 (3) Jones NYU
East 2 Drummond McDaniel
East 3 (4) Palmer Hunter
Northeast 1 Berry Cortland
Northeast 2 Ferinde Johnson & Wales
Northeast 3 Savoca Williams

Messiah’s Kaleb Loht has not lost to a Division III opponent since the 2013 regional tournament. Since then, he has put together a 48-1 championship season in 2014 along with this year’s 38-0 record that includes victories over seven wrestlers in the field including a pin in a rematch of the NCAA finals against Adcock of Whitewater. Van Anrooy of Luther, Palmer of Hunter, and Jones of NYU will each be looking to deny Loht a second championship, and all three are transfers from other divisions. Jones is a two time Division III All-American who started his career at Iowa State. He avenged a pair of earlier losses to NJCAA transfer Palmer of Hunter with an overtime win at the regional. Van Anrooy came to Luther from Oregon State where he wrestled 133 last season. Palmer and Van Anrooy actually faced off the very first week of the 2013-2014 season at the Mike Clock Open where Van Anrooy took a 5-3 decision in the finals.

Like 125 and 133, there are four returning All-Americans at this weight. Ferinde of Johnson & Wales joins Loht, Adcock, and Jones after his 5th place finish last year. He will have a tough road ahead of him to beat that finish in 2015, especially after dropping the regional final to 7th seeded Berry of Cortland. Jacoby Bergeron of Concordia-Moorhead is currently undefeated against Division III competition, and that includes wins over returning placewinners Adcock and Ferinde. Nick Steger of Loras has a single loss (in the regional semi to Barrow) on the season. Last year, he suffered a season-ending injury while wrestling Loht, and he is also in the hunt to find a spot on the podium.