Date – Friday and Saturday, February 22-23, 2019

Location – Knowling Fieldhouse, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN

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Teams (19) – Adrian, Alma, Baldwin Wallace, Case, Defiance, Heidelberg, John Carroll, Manchester, Mount St. Joseph, Mount Union, Muskingum, Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan, Olivet, Otterbein, Thomas More, Trine, Wabash, Wilmington

Top Ten Ranked Individuals (2018 All-Americans in bold)
February 5th Rankings
125 – 7. Champagne (Wabash), 8. Burkholder (Muskingum), 9. Perelka (John Carroll)
133 – 1. James (Mount Union), 7. Nash (Baldwin Wallace)
141 – 3. Ladd (Alma)
149 – 2. Cooper (Alma), 4. Bleich (Baldwin Wallace), 6. Hernandez (Mount Union)
157 – 5. Pugh (Mount Union)
165 – 3. Arroyo (Baldwin Wallace), 5. Hatch (Wabash)
174 – 1. Schurg (Wabash), 2. James (Mount Union)
184 – 5. Roth (Heidelberg)
197 – 8. Lehman (Baldwin Wallace), 10. Hammack (Heidelberg)
285 –

Top 25 Teams (NWCA list)
4. Wabash
5. Baldwin Wallace
7. Mount Union
15. Olivet

Three top ten teams will slug it out in the Central Region. Wabash was in the NCAA last year and hopes to take home a trophy this March. A pair of returning All-Americans in Kyle Hatch and Darden Schurg lead a group of eight wrestlers who appear somewhere in the d3wrestle.com rankings. On their heels are Baldwin Wallace and Mount Union. Baldwin Wallace has four top ten wrestlers including All-American Anthony Arroyo, while Mount Union is led by the James brothers. Jairod is the defending champ at 174 while Jordin is ranked #1 at 133.

Schurg, who finished 4th at 174 last year, defeated Jairod James early this season, and the two have held strong at the top two spots in the rankings all year. Schurg has not lost in DIII, and James only has the loss to Schurg on his record. The regional final could be an NCAA finals preview. Jordin James at 133 has just a single DQ loss in his first season at Mount Union after transferring from Iowa Lakes to join his brother. His toughest competition could come from #7 ranked Charlie Nash of Baldwin Wallace as well as potentially Owen Doster of Wabash, a 2017 All-American.

Alma has a pair of top three individuals in Brendan Ladd and Zachary Cooper. Ladd was an unseeded semifinalist at 141 last year before finishing 6th. Cooper was an NCWA champion for Grand Valley in 2016 and is currently 28-1 with 15 falls. Jordan Burkholder of Muskingum is ranked 8th and hopes to become his school’s first All-American since 2001.

Date – Friday and Saturday, February 22-23, 2018

Location – Lamade Gymnasium, Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA

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Teams (20) – Averett, Delaware Valley, Ferrum, Gettysburg, Greensboro, Johns Hopkins, King’s, Lycoming, McDaniel, Messiah, Penn College, Penn State Behrend, Pitt Bradford, Southern Virginia, Thiel, Washington & Jefferson, Washington & Lee, Waynesburg, Wilkes, York

Top Ten Ranked Individuals (2018 All-Americans in bold)
February 5th Rankings
125 – 10. Gehr (Messiah)
133 – 6. Cavallo (Johns Hopkins)
141 –
149 – 3. Maloney (Messiah), 9. Warner (York), 10. Heinl (Washington & Jefferson)
157 – Corl (Lycoming), Edwards (Messiah)
165 – 6. Racanelli (Wilkes)
174 – 9. Sindoni (York), 10. Kowalski (Gettysburg)
184 –
197 –
285 – 1. Evans (Waynesburg), 5. Wesneski (Lycoming), 8. Triandafilou (Gettysburg)

Top 25 Teams (NWCA list)
23. York
25. Ferrum

A few teams will be in contention for the team title this weekend at Lycoming. York returns four qualifiers from last year including 3x All-American Greg Warner. Ferrum returns three 2018 qualifiers and four overall including defending region champion Andrew Tolbert at 165. Both teams had strong dual meet seasons and are solid across the board. Messiah has won five regional titles in a row and will be in contention here with a pair of ranked wrestlers and returning All-American Kevin Edwards.

There are several new teams in this region as well. Waynesburg, Washington & Jefferson, and Pitt Bradford come in from western Pennsylvania and will have wrestlers in contention. NCAA all-time wins leader and 2018 NCAA champion Jake Evans of Waynesburg makes an already good 285 weight class that much tougher. Michael Heinl of W&J makes a tough 149 even better.

149 and 285 are two of the tougher weights here. At 149, NCAA runner-up Greg Warner returns along with regional runner-up and 3rd ranked Stephen Maloney of Messiah. The aforementioned Heinl is also in the top ten with only three losses. 285 features returning champ Evans as well as NCAA qualifier Garrett Wesneski from Lycoming at #5 and Paul Triandafilou of Gettysburg at #8. Triandafilou was a freshman All-American in 2016 and will be looking for his second trip to the podium this year.

Date – Saturday and Sunday, February 23-24, 2019

Location – Five Flags Center, Dubuque, IA

Teams (17) – Augustana, Buena Vista, Central, Coe, Cornell, Dubuque, Huntingdon, Loras, Luther, MacMurray, Millikin, Nebraska Wesleyan, North Central, Simpson, University of the Ozarks, Wartburg, Westminster

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Top Ten Ranked Individuals (2018 All-Americans in bold)
February 5th Rankings
125 – 6. Kyner (Wartburg)
133 – 4. Rathbun (Wartburg), 5. Everson (Loras)
141 – 4. Williams (Millikin), 5. Kelly (Loras), 8. Fritz (Wartburg)
149 – 8. Sax (Westminster)
157 – 1. Cannone (Wartburg), 6. Murray (Loras), 7. Birt (Millikin), 10. Erickson (Coe)
165 – 4. Ross (Wartburg), 8. Kerkhoff (Buena Vista), 10. Smith (Loras)
174 – 4. Briggs (Wartburg), 6. Voss (Coe)
184 – 10. Baldridge (North Central)
197 – 2. Patron (Loras), 3. Jennings (Millikin), 6. Mehman (Coe), 7. Vittal (North Central)
285 – 3. Jones (Augustana)

Top 25 Teams (NWCA List)
1. Wartburg
8. Loras
10. Coe
11. North Central
12. Central
16. Millikin

Defending NCAA champions Wartburg have won this region every year it has been contested, and they are favorites yet again. However, they will be tested if they want to win another NCAA title. A loss to Johnson & Wales at the National Duals combined with a close win over then #1 Augsburg last month have injected some uncertainty into the NCAA race. With a pair of NCAA champions in Brock Rathbun and Cross Cannone, the Knights are well-positioned for March.

Loras, Coe, and Central are all top 12 teams which makes the newly christened American Rivers Conference extremely tough as usual. Loras is led by returning NCAA runner-up Guy Patron and has five wrestlers in the d3wrestle.com top ten. Coe has a pair of returning All-Americans of their own in Cole Erickson and Jake Voss. Central has nobody in the latest top ten, but they do have nine wrestlers appearing somewhere in the rankings. They have a tough lineup from top to bottom and will score well at every weight. Millikin returns three All-Americans and will contend for a top spot. North Central sits at #11 in the team rankings and has a pair of top ten individuals to go along with five others who appear in the d3wrestle.com rankings.

Augustana’s Adarios Jones missed last year with an injury, but in 2017 he finished third in the country, beating both of last year’s finalists along the way. He is currently undefeated and has gotten bonus points in every match but one. Second year program Westminster has a ranked wrestler in Sean Sax who is hoping to be the program’s first ever NCAA qualifier.

Date – Saturday and Sunday, February 23-24, 2019

Location – Wildcat Center, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI

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Teams (17) – Bridgewater State, Castleton, Coast Guard, Johnson & Wales, New England, Norwich, NYU, Plymouth State, Rhode Island, Roger Williams, Springfield, Trinity, University of Southern Maine, Wesleyan, Western New England, Williams, WPI

Top Ten Ranked Individuals (2018 All-Americans in bold)
February 5th Rankings
125 – 1. Del Gallo (Southern Maine), 2. Albis (Johnson & Wales)
133 – 2. Jordan (Johnson & Wales), 10. Gonyea (Castleton)
141 – 10. Drill (NYU), Ferinde (Johnson & Wales)
149 – 1. Burns (Johnson & Wales), 7. Lyons (NYU)
157 – 4. Sorensen (Trinity)
165 – 2. Shay (Roger Williams), Remke (Coast Guard)
174 –
184 – 2. Detwiler (Coast Guard), 3. Boyle (Western New England), 4. Thomas (Johnson & Wales), 7. Wensley (WPI)
197 – 9. DiNardo (Johnson & Wales)
285 – 9. Fusco (Springfield)

Top 25 Teams (NWCA List)
3. Johnson & Wales
17. NYU
18. Coast Guard

Johnson & Wales knocked off 2018 NCAA champion Wartburg in the semifinals of the National Duals and will bring another strong team into the 2019 postseason. Led by NCAA champion Jay Albis, the Wildcats host this year’s region and should put on a show for the home crowd. They have one DIII dual meet loss (to Augsburg) and a tough schedule that should have them ready for the postseason, and five ranked wrestlers will have them making noise in March.

Coast Guard and NYU have had strong seasons as well, and the two teams had a 19-18 match won by NYU late in the year. Coast Guard returns a pair of 2018 qualifiers in All-American Nick Remke and A.J. Aeberli, while NYU has 149 All-American Evan Drill back at 141 along with qualifier Sean Lyons.

184 is one of the tougher weights with four ranked wrestlers and two returning All-Americans in John Boyle of Western New England and Khamri Thomas of Johnson & Wales. Both defeated Paul Detwiler of Coast Guard early in the season before losing to him in the second semester. 125 and 149 will also be tough as each features a #1 ranked wrestler. Peter Del Gallo of Southern Maine took a late loss but beat Albis this season, while Da’mani Burns has wins over many of the top contenders at 149.