Midwest Region Championship | Event Website
Elmhurst College
Saturday, March 2nd, 9:00 AM

d3wrestle.com Rankings | NWCA Team Rankings

12 Teams – Full List

Ranked Teams: #2 Elmhurst, #4 Whitewater, #5 La Crosse, #9 Stevens Point, #12 Olivet, #29 Wabash

d3wrestle.com Top Ten Individuals (Returning AA in Bold)
125 – #9 Preston (Trine), #10 Balsiger (La Crosse)
133 – #2 Fitzenreider (North Central), #3 Bullard (Elmhurst)
141 –  #1 Sheley (La Crosse), #3 Earley (Elmhurst), #5 Fredricksen (Whitewater), #7 Kust (Stevens Point)
149 –  #7 Pederson (Olivet), #9 Strausbaugh (Wabash)
157 – #1 Larson (Trine), #5 Savenok (Wheaton), #10 Lefever (Wabash)
165 – #6 Schulte (Stevens Point), #7 Myers (Olivet)
174 – #5 Balderas (Elmhurst), #6 Conat (Stevens Point), #9 O’Brien (La Crosse), #10 Pieper (Trine)
184 – #1 Rau (Elmhurst), #8 Holm (Olivet), #10 Dunlap (Whitewater)
197 – #4 Benefiel (Elmhurst), #5 Wozniak (Stevens Point), #8 Siefert (Whitewater)
285 – #5 Mayer (La Crosse), #9 Edgren (Whitewater), #10 Robinson (Alma)

Lastly, we have the Midwest Region. It is definitely the toughest region of the six in 2013 with six ranked teams, four of which are in the top ten. Some of the tougher teams that could have been in the West Region are instead here, making this a great tournament. Elmhurst has put together a great season and will host the event. They have five ranked wrestlers and a few others just outside the rankings at weight where they could also qualify. Not far behind is WIAC champ Whitewater and their four ranked wrestlers and #4 ranked team. La Crosse comes in at #5 and will also challenge with their three returning All-Americans. Rounding out the top ten teams is Stevens Point with four ranked wrestlers of their own. #12 Olivet and #29 Wabash have some ranked wrestlers as well and round out the top teams.

Every weight class is tough, but a few stand out. 141 has the #1 ranked Sheley as well as #3 Earley, #5 Fredricksen, and #7 Kust. At least one of those guys will have his season end tomorrow. The same is true at 174 with #5 Balderas, #6 Conat, #9 O’Brien, and #10 Pieper. It does not get much easier after that, as there are four other weights with three top ten wrestlers and none with less than two. #1 ranked Larson of Trine is looking for his first title at 157 as is #1 Rau of Elmhurst at 184. #2 Fitzenreider and #3 Bullard could meet in the 133 final for what could also be an NCAA semifinal preview. Fitzenreider won 6-5 in their meeting just over a week ago.

Other intriguing entries include #7 Pederson of Olivet at 149 who has a win over #1 Silvestri this season, #4 Mike Benefiel of Elmhurst who could be rounding into the form that made him the #6 recruit in the country his senior year of high school, and #3 Earley of Elmhurst who has been outstanding (and undefeated) since dropping to 141 after last season at 149.

Mideast Region Championship | Event Website
Ohio Northern University

Saturday, March 2nd, 9:00 AM
16 Teams – *Baldwin Wallace will not send entries this season

d3wrestle.com Rankings | NWCA Team Rankings

Ranked Teams: #15 York, #19 Messiah, #26 Ohio Northern

d3wrestle.com Top Ten Individuals (Returning AA in Bold)

125 – NONE
133 – NONE
141 – #6 Black (Mount St. Josephs) *#7 from last ranking Loht (Messiah) is entered
149 – #8 Pisani (York)
157 – #8 Gott (John Carroll)
165 – NONE
174 – #1 Kwiat (Ohio Northern)
184 – #6 Thomson (Messiah) *#10 from last ranking Lowry (Thiel) is back at 184
197 – #9 Landis (Elizabethtown)
285 – #8 Wilkinson (Brockport)

Ohio Northen will play host to the most geographically diverse regional tournament with teams coming from central and western PA, all over Ohio and western NY. The team race presents a lot of parity that may be more interesting than would be perceived at first glance. York and Messiah would appear to be set to contend for the team title, however both teams lost recent dual meets to unranked Elizabethtown College. In addition Mount Union could put together a strong tournament to be in the mix for the team title.

There could be a number of intriguing matchups and seeding could play a very important role as a number there have been a lot of inconclusive head to head matchups within this region throughout the year. Depth is the key at this region as most weights will have 6-8 wrestlers with a legitimate chance to finish in the top three and punch their ticket to the National tournament.

In addition to those wrestlers currently ranked in the top 10, several wrestlers have produced stellar seasons and should be poised to make a run at the podium in Iowa provided they make it through the region. Those wrestlers include: Schneider (125-Heidelberg) with wins on the year over wrestlers listed in the top 10, former All American Crown (133-Waynesburg), Loht (141-Messiah) who is 30-2 on the season, Mirman (149-John Carroll) listed as d3wrestle.com’s top contender with a win over former National runner-up Keeter from Augsburg, undefeated Lowry (184-Thiel) and a very talented Meaney (184-Elizabethtown), former National Qualifier Lovins (197-Heidelberg), and a very athletic big man in Elizabethtown’s heavyweight Jeremy Rieth.

West Region Championship | Event Website
Augsburg College
Saturday March 2nd, 9:00AM

12 Teams – Scroll to page middle

d3wrestle.com Rankings | NWCA Team Rankings

Ranked Teams: #18 St. John’s, #20 Augsburg, #21 Concordia-Moorhead,

d3wrestle.com Top Ten Individuals (Returning AA in Bold)
125 – #6 Fuenffinger (Augsburg), #8 Ambrocio (CUW)
133 – none
141 – none
149 – #6 Sanders (CUW)
157 – none
165 – #2 Kulchytskyy (Oshkosh)
174 – #8 Schiferl (Oshkosh)
184 – #4 Hagan (St. John’s)
197 – none
285 – #1 Johnson (Augsburg), #6 Bouressa (Concordia-Moorhead)

When the regions were drawn up last spring, some pointed to the West Region as one that may be lacking in strength compared to some of the others, and the 2013 season has proven that to be the case. St. John’s is the top ranked team, coming in at #18, but they are closely followed by #20 Augsburg and #21 Concordia-Moorhead. The Johnnies are a solid team led by #4 Hagan at 184, but he is their only top ten wrestler. Surrounding him in the lineup are solid contenders Willaert and Michaelis to give St. John’s a strong upper weight core. Augsburg is down a bit from the lofty heights that have seen them win ten NCAA championships in the past two decades, but they do have the nation’s top heavyweight in defending champ Chad Johnson. Mike Fuenffinger is solidly at #6 at 125 to give the Auggies nice bookends in the lineup. Concordia has 2011 All-American Bouressa at #6 at 285 along with a good top to bottom lineup.

125 and 285 are the only weights with multiple ranked wrestlers and 285 is the only weight with multiple returning All-Americans. Bouressa has only lost to Johnson in DIII this year and should join the defending champ in a return trip to the NCAA Championships. Johnson has not been too heavily challenged this year in DIII, except in that tight 3-2 match with Bouressa. Another wrestler to watch here is Nazar Kulchytskyy at 165. He was the champ at 157 last year and has put together a great season moving up a weight to lead the NCAA DIII Most Dominant standings and having the most falls in DIII. His teammate Schiferl at 174 should also be in the mix in Cedar Rapids after just missing the podium in 2012.

Concordia University Wisconsin also has a pair of talented athletes looking to make a mark. Ambrocio was a match away from placing last year at 125, while Sanders has put together a 33-3 season as he looks to prove he is more than just a backflip video. St. Olaf does not have any ranked wrestlers, but they have a few who are right on the precipice and will be in the mix to qualify for the tournament.

Northeast Region Championship | Event Website
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Saturday & Sunday, March 2-3, 11:00AM & 10:00AM

18 Teams – Full List

d3wrestle.com Rankings | NWCA Team Rankings

Ranked Teams: #3 Cortland, #10 Springfield, #11 Wesleyan, #13 Ithaca, #27 Johnson & Wales

d3wrestle.com Top Ten Individuals (Returning AA in Bold)
125 – #1 Giorgio (USCGA), #3 Gomez (Ithaca)
133 – #4 Gomez (Ithaca)
141 – #2 Grippi (Springfield), #4 Antista (Williams), #8 Bistis (Cortland)
149 – #4 Dierna (Cortland), #5 Tobochnik (Wesleyan)
157 – #6 Brenon (Ithaca), #7 Sterling (Cortland)
165 – #5 Longo (Springfield), #9 Crowell (Roger Williams)
174 – #2 Doliscar (Ithaca), #4 Puca (Cortland)
184 – #7 Beckwith (Cortland)
197 – #1 Myhrberg (Cortland)
285 – none

The Northeast Region is mostly what the old NEWA used to be, but there are some important changes with the additions of national contenders Cortland and Ithaca along with another pair of former Empire schools in Oneonta and Oswego. Cortland leads the way with one of their best teams in recent memory. They finished 4th at the National Duals and set a school record with 18 dual meet wins this year. They have six top ten wrestlers. Coming in strong at the bottom of the top ten are a pair of New England teams in #10 Springfield and #11 Wesleyan. Springfield won the New England duals, edging Wesleyan 19-18. Wesleyan moved up the rankings with a 6th place finish at the National Duals and has a solid team with a few guys just outside the rankings, including 2012 All-American Jefferson Ajayi at 184. Ithaca comes in at #13 and has four wrestlers in the top 6, while Johnson & Wales is #27.

141 is the only weight class with multiple returning All-Americans as Grippi of Springfield was 7th at 133 while Bistis of Cortland was 8th at 141. Grippi is undefeated in very limited action, while Bistis lost a recent match to Glatz of York but has otherwise been solid. 125 has the reigning d3wrestle.com Freshman of the Year in Giorgio, though he has spent 90% of the year at 133, should he appear at 125 in the postseason, he will be the favorite after his 4th place finish in 2012. 174 will be interesting with #2 Doliscar and #4 Puca in the weight, though Doliscar did just pin Puca in the 2nd period of their match last Wednesday.

Other returning All-Americans include Brenon of Ithaca at 157, Ajayi of Wesleyan at 184, and Myhrberg of Cortland at 197. Myhrberg has had a strong hold on the #1 ranking at 197 for most of the year. He is undefeated against DIII, though it took an overtime fall over Elmhurst’s Benefiel to keep that perfect record intact. He should not be challenged this weekend.

Others hanging around just outside the top ten include Dierna of Cortland at 133, Scotto of Wesleyan at 141, Lopez of Williams at 149, Desilets of JWU and Colom of Roger Williams at 157, Prell of JWU and Conroy of Cortland at 165, Lenhardt of JWU and DuVall of Oneontat at 184, Ernst of Roger Williams at 197, and James of Cortland at 285.