Friday
Stevens Point at La Crosse
Coast Guard at Rhode Island College
Cornell at Iowa Wesleyan
RCTC at Augsburg
Saturday
Stevens at Messiah
Adrian at Defiance
Ashland at Defiance
Delaware Valley at Wilkes
Castleton at TCNJ
Sunday
Maroon Open
Henry Ford at Adrian
RCTC at Concordia-Moorhead
ARC Tri at Loras – Coe, Central
UW-Eau Claire topped UW-Platteville in the regular season finale for both teams last night. The host Blugolds won seven of the ten varsity bouts, and the teams contested 11 extra matches as well. At 165, #9 Chase Schmidt of Eau Claire was in a tight bout with #4 Nathan Wynsma before Wynsma was forced to default with an injury. Both teams are set to attend the newly announced WIAC Championships at at Stevens Point on February 28.
TCNJ defeated Stevens for the second time in five days last night to run their record to 3-0. Shuffling the lineup a bit, the Lions were able to prevail 27-14. In the top matchup of the night, #3 at 133 Jake Giordano bumped up to take on #3 at 141 Kyle Slendorn and won 5-2. A second move in the lineup did not work out as well for TCNJ when #8 at 149 Robert Dinger dropped a major decision to Nick Boggiano at 157. In the last bout of the night, #8 Quinn Haddad of TCNJ reversed a loss to #3 Michael Dooley at 197, riding out the third period to win 1-0.
Stevens wraps up the regular season at Messiah on Saturday, while TCNJ hosts Castleton in their last match of 2021.
Messiah and Delaware Valley competed Tuesday in the second of three scheduled duals between the MAC schools this season. The host Falcons took 8 of 10 bouts from the visiting Aggies and won 6 of 8 contested matches. Four Messiah wins came by fall, and all three of Messiah’s 2020 NCAA qualifiers (Garret Cornell, Brian Shermeyer, and David Stevens) won their bouts.
Messiah defeats Delaware Valley – 42-9
125 – Corey Morabito (M) wins by for.
133 – Hunter Rinehart (M) wins by for.
141 – Russell Benson (DV) dec. (7-6) over Dalton Daugherty (M)
149 – Garret Cornell (M) fall (1:58) over Mike Rubino (DV)
157 – Nick Barnhart (M) fall (2:45) over Zach Zuckerman (DV)
165 – Matt Pangle (M) fall (3:28) over Chris Richardson (DV)
174 – Brian Shermeyer (M) dec. (10-8 SV-1) over Youssef Ait Boulahri (DV)
184 – David Stevens (M) fall (4:10) over Jake Nase (DV)
197 – Austin Williams (DV) fall (4:39) over Spencer Clements (M)
285 – Carter Urich (M) dec. (9-3) over Dan Eckley (DV)
Ex. – Carter Owen (DV) dec. (5-2) over Hunter Rinehart (M)
There is one dual tonight, as TCNJ heads to Stevens for a rematch of Saturday’s dual won 24-16 by TCNJ.
Here is the second set of d3wrestle.com Rankings for the 2020-2021 season. The goal was to rank wrestlers who have competed without trying to guess if their teams will attend the NWCA Division III Championships next month. There are certainly wrestlers on this list who have competed but will not be in attendance in Iowa.
Pitt-Bradford Head Wrestling Coach
Click the link above for all details and to apply.
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is accepting applications for Head Wrestling Coach. This is a full-time, 10-month position reporting to the Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports.
Duties: This position is responsible for managing all aspects of the men’s wrestling program and is expected to identify, evaluate, and recruit student-athletes who can be successful academically and athletically at the NCAA Division III level. The head coach will exemplify a strong commitment to the academic achievement of student-athletes and to their success on the field. Responsibilities include planning, programming, directing, supervising, and implementing the duties and functions of the men’s wrestling program while adhering to Pitt-Bradford, AMCC, and NCAA rules and regulations. The head coach must work closely with all others involved in carrying out the philosophy and objective of the intercollegiate athletic program.
Requirements: Bachelor’s degree, master’s preferred; three years’ successful collegiate coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level; and knowledge and commitment to NCAA Division III philosophy and rules. The successful candidate must demonstrate a proven aptitude for coaching as illustrated by a strong work ethic, organizational skills, computer skills, and the ability to interact professionally within the department, the campus, and the community.
Pitt-Bradford students, faculty and staff come from a wide range of geographic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, representing all forms of diversity. We seek a culturally competent candidate who will thrive in a campus environment that advances principles of social equity and inclusion and recognizes diversity as central to excellence.
The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression in its programs and activities.
Pitt-Bradford has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Applications by members of all underrepresented groups are encouraged.
Wartburg, Olivet, and Millikin all won conference championships this weekend. Wartburg finished the ARC schedule 8-0 for its 28th championships in the last 29. Olivet prevailed in the MIAA Duals, and Millikin won the CCIW tournament championship for the fourth year in a row.
Top individual performances included Reed Williams of UW-La Crosse defeating #5 Jaritt Shinhoster of UW-Whitewater and UW-Platteville’s Isaac Wiegel winning over 2x NCAA qualifier Sawyer Sarbacker of UW-La Crosse. Four top ten individuals were defeated in the Wartburg vs. Loras matchup. Unranked Joe Pins and David Hollingsworth of Wartburg beat the #10 and #5 wrestlers at 133 and 157, respectively, while #2 ranked Kyle Briggs defeated #6 Jacob Krakow in a battle of former All-Americans, and #2 Jordon Brandon defeated #8 Wyatt Wriedt.
Friday
Waynesburg 24, Garrett County College 12
Clarion 35, Messiah 6
Whitewater Tri – La Crosse, Platteville
Stevens Point Tri – Eau Claire, Oshkosh
Castleton 39, NJCU 14
Iowa Wesleyan 33, Westminster 24
Saturday
CCIW Championships
MIAA Duals
Cornell 48, Fontbonne 0
Delaware Valley 31, Messiah 22
TCNJ 24, Stevens 16
ARC Tri at Wartburg – Nebraska Wesleyan, Loras
ARC Tri at Dubuque – Buena Vista, Coe
ARC Tri at Simpson – Central, Luther
Rhode Island College 28, Southern Maine 20
Elroy Perkin picked up a win by fall over 2020 NCAA DI 5th seed Quincy Monday in the quarterfinal match at the America’s Cup yesterday. He also went toe-to-toe with Chad Walsh in a wild match that ended 13-13 with Walsh prevailing on the basis of a five point move in the match.
Ryan Epps jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on 2017 NCAA DI finalist Brett Pfarr but was unable to hang on as Pfarr reeled off seven points in a row to take the victory. Epps had one other match yesterday against Dean that ended with the same 10-0 score as their match on Wednesday.
After wrestling three matches on Wednesday, Guesseppe Rea sat out Thursday’s competition.
Thursday DIII Results from the America’s Cup
74kg Elroy Perkin win by fall over Quincy Monday 3:33
74kg Chad Walsh wins 13-13 over Elroy Perkin (highest scoring move criteria)
74kg Julian Ramirez 10-0 over Elroy Perkin
86kg Brett Pfarr 7-3 over Ryan Epps
86kg Max Dean 10-0 over Ryan Epps
Thursday night saw four teams in action in a pair of duals. Cornell headed to Simpson for a non-conference matchup and came home with a 32-16 victory on the strength of four falls. Over in Missouri, Fontbonne won their home opener over Westminster 27-21 in a match with six contested bouts.
Westminster returns to the mat today to take on Iowa Wesleyan. In other action, all six WIAC teams compete today, while a few other duals will help kick off the weekend.
Garrett College at Waynesburg
Messiah at Clarion
Whitewater Tri – La Crosse, Platteville
Stevens Point Tri – Eau Claire, Oshkosh
Castleton at NJCU
Iowa Wesleyan at Westminster
Three former DIII wrestlers are competing in this week’s America’s Cup dual meet event.
Guesseppe Rea, 57kg, Team Lloyd Keaser
Reas was an All-American for Wilkes University at 125 lbs., graduating in 2015. He currently coaches at Muhlenberg.
Elroy Perkin, 74kg, Team Bobby Douglas
Perkin was a 2x All-American for UW-Whitewater at 149 lbs. graduating in 2015. He currently coaches at UW-Eau Claire as an assistant to his college coach Tim Fader.
Ryan Epps, 86kg, Team Kenny Monday
Epps won the 2018 and 2019 NCAA championships at 157 lbs. for Augsburg and was the #2 seed at the canceled 2020 championships. The 4x NCAA qualifier graduated in 2020.
Day 1 Results
Frank Perelli 10-0 over Guesseppe Rea
Zach Sanders 6-4 over Guesseppe Rea
Jevon Balfour 8-4 over Elroy Perkin
Julian Ramirez 13-3 over Elroy Perkin
Christopher Foca 10-0 over Ryan Epps
Max Dean 10-0 over Ryan Epps
Perkins (Bobby Douglas) and Epps (Kenny Monday) are set to wrestle for their teams in the second quarterfinal dual at 2pm today. Rea and Team Lloyd Keaser will take on the winner of that quarterfinal at 4pm.
Match Schedule for Thursday
1:00 pm: Quarter 1: Pool A #2 (Team Lee Kemp) vs Pool B #3 (Team Carl Adams)
2:00 pm: Quarter 2: Pool B #2 (Team Bobby Douglas) vs Pool A #3 (Team Kenny Monday)
3:00 pm: Semi 1: Winner Quarter 1 vs Pool B#1 (Team Simon Roberts)
4:00 pm: Semi 2: Winner Quarter 2 vs Pool A#1 (Team Lloyd Keaser)
6:00 pm: 5th place match
7:00 pm: Consolation championship match
8:00 pm: Championship match
Stevens kicked off their 2021 schedule last night, while Averett moved to 10-0, and TCNJ topped Messiah in a dual that came down to the last bout.
Castleton traveled to Stevens and came away with a 27-18 victory. Stevens forfeited a pair of weights, and Castleton came back from a 12-3 deficit by taking five of the last six weight classes. It was the first match of the season for Stevens.
Averett moved to 10-0 with a win over NCWA Liberty. #1 Sam Braswell defeatd Drexel transfer Dante Mininno for the second time this year to earn his 100th career victory.
Messiah traveled to TCNJ for a match that was tied 16-16 going into heavyweight. Thomas Marretta secured the win with an 8-3 decision. A pin at 197 from #8 Quinn Haddad provided the difference. In the featured matchup of the dual, a pair of 2020 NCAA qualifiers met up, with TCNJ’s Robert Dinger prevailing 8-4 over Messiah’s #10 Garret Cornell.
TCNJ 19, Messiah 16
Castleton 27, Stevens 18
Averett 27, Liberty 16
The big winner last night was Beau Yineman of UW-Oshkosh. The sophomore 197 pinned #1 ranked Isaac Lahr of UW-La Crosse in the opening match of the dual. La Crosse reeled off nine wins in a row after that to take the match 34-6. In other WIAC action, Stevens Point won a competitive dual against Platteville, while Whitewater got past Eau Claire. The only other match was a make up from a postponed match earlier this season. Dubuque defeated American Rivers foe Luther 23-16.
La Crosse 34, Oshkosh 6
Stevens Point 20, Platteville 15
Whitewater 23, Eau Claire 12
Dubuque 23, Luther 16
Tuesday
Platteville at Stevens Point
Eau Claire at Whitewater
La Crosse at Oshkosh
Dubuque at Luther
Wednesday
Messiah at TCNJ
Castleton at Stevens
Liberty at Averett
Thursday
Westminster at Fontbonne
Cornell at Simpson
Friday
Garrett College at Waynesburg
Messiah at Clarion
Whitewater Tri – La Crosse, Platteville
Stevens Point Tri – Eau Claire, Oshkosh
Castleton at NJCU
Iowa Wesleyan at Westminster
Saturday
CCIW Championships
MIAA Duals
Fontbonne at Cornell
Delaware Valley at Messiah
Stevens at TCNJ
ARC Tri at Wartburg – Nebraska Wesleyan, Loras
ARC Tri at Dubuque – Buena Vista, Coe
ARC Tri at Simpson – Central, Luther
Sunday
Augsburg at Concordia-Moorhead
The NWCA has started a crowdfunding page to help fund the NWCA Division III Championships. Travel and other costs for the teams will be paid for by the individual schools but the NWCA needs funding to put on the event. Venue rental, officials, table workers, awards and COVID-19 protocols all need to be covered. Click the link below to donate to make a championships experience possible and excellent for wrestlers the season.
The NWCA Leadership Group has been working on developing a non-NCAA championships event for Division III wrestlers prior to last week’s announcement, and the planning obviously kicked into overdrive with the cancellation of the 2021 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. Teams were surveyed for interest and likelihood of competing in such an event, and an official announcement of an NWCA Division III Championships should be coming shortly.
The current format under consideration is a two day event taking place March 12-13 in Iowa. The exact site is still to be announced, as several venues are under consideration. The goal is brackets of no more than 32 wrestlers at each weight. There will not be a qualification round, but a selection committee could be utilized to narrow the field of entries down to 32 in the event more than that number desire to compete at a given weight. Wrestlers will come from teams whose institutions allow them to compete. This is the tournament at which NWCA All-Americans would be named.
The NWCA Leadership group elected by the DIII coaches was not consulted before USA Wrestling made their announcement and had been working on the idea for the NWCA Division III Wrestling Championships for weeks in anticipation that the NCAA could cancel winter championships. USA Wrestling and the NWCA Leadership Group have since been in touch and are hopeful they can work together to provide the best possible experience for Division III wrestlers.
The tournament operating expenses are estimated at $75,00-100,000 overall for venue rental, officials, labor, awards, and COVID-19 protocols and testing. The Leadership Group is looking for larger sponsors and will shortly establish a link for anyone who would like to donate to help defray the cost of the event. In a typical year, the NCAA pays for the cost of the Championships, so funding for this even will have to come from other sources.
Last week was tough on wrestlers who thought they would finish this season without a championship tournament, but at least some of them should have the chance to compete for All-American awards.
This weekend, Iowa Wesleyan wrestled for the first time since the 1970s and picked up a win, Carthage hosted their first event since 1994, and Shenandoah wrestled their first ever dual.
Friday
CCIW Duals at Carthage – Augustana, MSOE, North Central, Wheaton
Whitewater 20, Stevens Point 18
Iowa Wesleyan 33, Fontbonne 16
Ohio Wesleyan at Adrian (no team score)
Messiah 51, Shenandoah 0
Concordia (WI) 51, Lakeland 0
Saturday
ARC Tri at Wartburg – Buena Vista, Central
ARC Tri at Coe – Luther, Nebraska Wesleyan
ARC Tri at Loras – Dubuque, Simpson
Manchester at Trine (no team score)
TCNJ at Messiah (no team score)
Cornell 41, Westminster 13
Concordia Moorhead at St. John’s (no team score)
Greensboro 30, Southern Virginia 21
Ferrum 47, Shenandoah 3
Sunday
OAC Quad at Ohio Northern – Otterbein, Wilmington
OAC Quad at Mount Union – Baldwin Wallace, Heidelberg
RCTC 21, Cornell 17
Olivet Tri – Augsburg, Alma
28 teams in action Saturday or Sunday
Saturday
ARC Tri at Wartburg – Buena Vista, Central
ARC Tri at Coe – Luther, Nebraska Wesleyan
ARC Tri at Loras – Dubuque, Simpson
Wabash Tri – Trine, Manchester
TCNJ at Messiah
Westminster at Cornell
Concordia Moorhead at St. John’s
Greensboro at Southern Virginia
Sunday
OAC Quad at Ohio Northern – Muskingum, Otterbein, Wilmington
OAC Quad at Mount Union – Baldwin Wallace, Heidelberg, John Carroll
RCTC at Cornell
In the season opener for both teams, La Crosse defeated Eau Claire 36-0 on Thursday night. d3wrestle.com Rankings Contender Sam Wenzel defeated #8 Jake Drexler 5-4 at 149 lbs. and Contender Reed Williams won 8-3 over #7 Evan Lawrence. Both #1 ranked wrestlers for La Crosse, Isaac Lahr (197) and Konrad Ernst (285) picked up decisions for the Eagles.
After one match yesterday, there are a lot more matches today.
CCIW Duals at Carthage – Augustana, Concordia, Elmhurst, Lakeland MSOE, Millikin, North Central, Wheaton
Stevens Point at Whitewater
Fontbonne at Iowa Wesleyan
Ohio Wesleyan at Adrian
Shenandoah at Messiah
The 2020 tournament was canceled for safety reasons as part of a blanket cancellation of all NCAA winter championships. The 2021 cancellation can only be thought of as a cost-saving move. The NCAA and Division III telegraphed as early as October that saving money was going to be an important consideration in the Division III winter championships. In the fall, the field size was cut from 180 to 135 to reduce the cost of putting on the tournament. Subsequently, the various committees decided that 70% of teams would have to compete in order for the championships to be held. That number seems arbitrary, and it is. It is the number below which Division III says having the tournament is not worth the cost.
Twenty years ago, I wrestled in the NCAA Championships for the first time. Going through the qualifying tournament, traveling to Iowa, walking into the arena, competing with the best wrestlers in Division III. All of it was an amazing experience that I and 159 other wrestlers got to share. We put in a tremendous amount of work to get there. I can only imagine the devastation I would have felt if I was told the month before that the tournament was too expensive, so it is not going to happen. This year’s wrestlers do not have to imagine how it feels, and some have now missed out twice.
Four years as a college athlete is not a long time compared to the rest of your life, but athletes get experiences in sports that they cannot have any other way. When you lose part of the college athlete experience, there is no way to get it back, and that applies to more than just the 180 (or 135) qualifiers. Wrestling in the regional and striving to make it through to the second day and then into the top three to qualify is the pinnacle of the season. The regional and national dates are circled on every calendar as soon as the previous year’s tournaments end. It is motivation to train hard, make weight, fight through injuries, do homework on the bus, and get up early to go spend all weekend in a gym while your friends sleep and wonder why you put yourself through this.
I feel terrible for the athletes. I constantly tell wrestlers I coach that they do not get to do this for very long and to be grateful for every opportunity, but it is hard when the NCAA cancels a championship due to money when DIII makes up barely 3% of the NCAA budget. Half a career’s worth of championship opportunities are gone. There are deserving guys who will never get to hear their names announced as they walk into the big arena, never get to stand on the podium, never get the gifts that say 2020 or 2021 NCAA Championships. I feel bad for the 1st time senior qualifier last year who had the rug pulled out from under him, the prior qualifier who would have gotten on the podium this season, and seniors who would have qualified for the first time this year but will never get the chance.
I do not know exactly how much it costs to run the DIII regional and national tournaments, but I believe the savings are not worth the cost of lost experience to the athletes who miss out regional and national tournaments after working towards them for years and years.
It is hard to square the NCAA Presidents Council statement with the what the athletes are going through. “We are committed to ensuring that our student-athletes have the best possible experience, and, for us, this means having a meaningful number of competitions.” It is unclear and unremarked on how removing championship opportunities enhances the experience of Division III athletes. I cannot imagine any Division III wrestler feels like losing a postseason he can never get back ensures him the best possible experience.
In the only match during a tough last night, Ferrum hosted Greensboro and prevailed 39-12. Greensboro forfeited four weights to the Panthers, but Josh Wilson had the win of the night, picking up a 6-4 decision over 2019 All-American and 2020 qualifier Levi Englman.
FINAL
125: JD McMillin (FER) over (GRNB) (For.)
133: Josh Wilson (GRNB) over Levi Englman (FER) (Dec 6-4)
141: Mario Vasquez (FER) over Cody Williams (GRNB) (Fall 2:25)
149: Hai Siu (GRNB) over Caden Dalton (FER) (Fall 5:37)
157: Christian Hite (FER) over Patrick Haskin (GRNB) (MD 10-2)
165: Brandon Harrison (FER) over (GRNB) (For.)
174: Elijah Martin (FER) over (GRNB) (For.)
184: Cris Reynoso (FER) over (GRNB) (For.)
197: Braden Homsey (FER) over Dominic Harris (GRNB) (TF 21-5 6:39)
285: Brandon Williams (GRNB) over Rayshawn Dixon (FER) (Dec 9-2)
EXHIBITIONS
149: Hayden Funck (FER) over Lucas Utt (GRNB) (Fall 1:36)
149: Cody Williams (GNBR) over Steven Muller (FER) (Fall 2:30)
165: Patrick Haskin (GNBR) over Brandon Harrison (FER) 3-2
197: Cris Reynoso (FER) over Khalil Belk (GNBR) (TF, 19-4 7:00)
285: Brandon Williams (GNBR) over Jacob Grady (FER) (Fall 4:30)
