For 2018, there were only two returning 2017 NCAA Champions in Jordan Newman and Eric DeVos. For 2019, there could be as many as eight with only Newman and Kyle Fank listed as seniors on their teams’ rosters. Here are the other 2018 All-Americans who could return next year (based on the website roster for each team).

2018 Region Performance

2018 All-Americans (unseeded in italics, 19 total)

Schedule of Events – wrestling starts at 10am Saturday

Live Brackets

Live Video (all mats available)

d3wrestle.com Tournament Headquarters – weight class previews, regional results, etc.

Pre-Tournament Brackets – all one document

Schedule of Events – wrestling starts at 11am Friday

Live Brackets

Live Video (all six mats available)

d3wrestle.com Tournament Headquarters – weight class previews, regional results, etc.

Lance Evans has finished 3rd and 4th at the NCAA Championships in his career.

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Lance Evans, Wartburg
2. James Bethel, Oneonta
3. Jake O’Brien, Ithaca
4. Isaiah Bellamy, Wesleyan
5. Jake Evans, Waynesburg
6. Austin Bellile, MSOE
7. Quin Gilliam, Loras
8. Garrett Wesneski, Lycoming

Jonah Aurelio, Johnson & Wales
Nathan Barcaskey, Ohio Northern
Connor Calkins, RIT
Konrad Ernst, La Crosse
Joe Fusco, Springfield
D’andre Johnson, Platteville
Gabriel Mahaney, Baldwin Wallace
Alveno Matthews, Ferrum
Tyler Ortmann, Cornell
Nico Ramirez, Southern Virginia

Lance Evans is a two time All-American who is 19-1 on the season. He dropped a match to Tyler Ortmann of Cornell in regional for his only loss so far. He had previously pinned Ortmann in a December match. Evans is one of four 2017 All-Americans in this weight. Lance Evans was 4th last year, James Bethel of Oneonta was 5th, and Jake Evans of Waynesburg defeated Jake O’Brien of Ithaca in the 7th place match. Lance Evans beat O’Brien at the National Duals, while Bethel split with O’Brien while taking the latest match in the regional final. Jake Evans has not wrestled any of the seeded wrestlers this year except Garrett Wesneski of Lycoming who he defeated in November. He did split with Nathan Barcaskey of Ohio Northern, winning in the regional final.

Isaiah Bellamy has been competing with his teammate Carrillo and Jake Evans for the most falls award this year, and they enter the tournament in a three way tie. He has split with Bethel and lost to O’Brien this season. #8 seed Garrett Wesneski previously wrestled at Maryland. His only losses this year are to Bethel and Jake Evans. Quin Gilliam of Loras returns to the tournament in 2018. He won a pair of matches last year but fell in the round of 12. He is the Lower Midwest Regional champion. Southern Virginia University joined the NCAA just a few years ago and 2017 was their first year eligible for the postseason. Freshman Nico Ramirez came all the way across the country from Washington to the small LDS school in Buena Vista, Virginia, and became their first ever NCAA qualifier.

Guy Patron lost his first match last year but won six matches in a row to take 3rd.

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Kyle Fank, Wartburg
2. Guy Patron, Loras
3. Kyle Koser, Messiah
4. Etiini Udott, Centenary
5. Devon Carrillo, Wesleyan
6. Triston Engle, Brockport
7. Wesley Schultz, La Crosse
8. Michael DiNardo, Johnson & Wales

Hasan Alic, York
Ramsey Bloy, Eau Claire
Blake Bunce, Merchant Marine
Ken Burrs, Waynesburg
Dylan Diebitz, Stevens Point
Andrew Holladay, Coe
Drew Kasper, Otterbein
Antavian Leary, Ferrum
Tyler Maclellan, Baldwin Wallace
Jonathan Wagner, Coast Guard

This is one of two weights with four returning wrestlers who placed at the same weight last year. Guy Patron of Loras was 3rd, Triston Engle of Brockport was 4th, Kyle Fank of Wartburg was 5th, and Kyle Koser of Messiah was 7th. Fank is the favorite here with his only losses this year at the hands of Jordan Newman, the top seed at 184 lbs. He has a pair of wins over Patron including in the regional final. He beat Patron twice last year during the season as well before falling to the Loras wrestler during his run from the preliminary consolation round all the way to 3rd place.

Patron made a six match run to third place last year because Kyle Koser of Messiah beat him in the first round. He is on the same side of the bracket and the two could meet up again in the semifinals. Koser placed 7th last year. Triston Engle of Brockport is the fourth returning All-American here. He lost to Koser in the regional final last year before pinning him in the consolation rounds on his way to 4th place. He could match up with Koser again in the quarterfinals if they both win in the first round. Etiini Udott of Centenary and Devon Carrillo of Wesleyan were both in the bracket last year and return looking to get on the podium. Udott’s only DIII loss is to Carrillo while Carrillo has only lost to Koser and Engle. Keep an eye on Wesley Schultz of La Crosse. The Wyoming transfer is dangerous and can pin anyone as evidenced by his consecutive falls against Jordan Newman and Kyle Koser at the Wheaton Invitational.

Jordan Newman made a late drop to 184 to defend his title from last season

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Jordan Newman, Whitewater
2. Jake Ashcraft, Ithaca
3. Tyler Lutes, Wartburg
4. Khamri Thomas, Johnson & Wales
5. Christos Giatras, Augustana
6. Keajion Jennings, Millikin
7. John Boyle, Western New England
8. Dan Squires, Stevens Point

Hunter Bates, Wabash
Derek Beitz, Messiah
Joe Cutugno, RIT
Deuly Espinal, Cortland
Tyler Hammack, Heidelberg
Connor Humphries, Roger Williams
Frankie Krauss, York
Sebastian Larson, Augsburg
Zeckary Lehman, Baldwin Wallace
Isaac Morales, Johns Hopkins

** Grant Wedepohl, Platteville, qualified with a runner-up finish at the Upper Midwest Regional. He is unable to compete and has been replaced by Sebastian Larson, the 4th place finisher in that region.

Jordan Newman did not wrestle 184 this season until the regional tournament. He had been ranked #1 at 197 and would likely have been the top seed there as well. As it is, his late drop gives us the second weight in a row where there could be a repeat champion. There are only two 2017 champs back in the tournament this year—Newman and Eric DeVos at 174. With Wedepohl exiting the tournament, Newman has wrestled just one entry in the tournament this year, Dan Squires of Stevens Point. There is just one other All-American at this weight in Christos Giatras, the 7th place finisher last year for Augustana. He has just two losses on the year. He split with #6 seed Keajion Jennings of Millikin and lost to Wedepohl at the Cornell tournament.

Derek Beitz of Messiah and Deuly Espinal were both in this bracket last year, though neither made it past the first round of consolation. Beitz lost to the #1 seed and then to Giatras on the back side. Espinal won a preliminary consolation bout last year before bowing out in the next round. This year, he has a win over Squires and losses to Frankie Krauss of York and the #2 seed, Jake Ashcraft of Ithaca who has pinned him twice. Ashcraft missed out on qualifying last year when Espinal defeated him in the 3rd place match at the regional. This year, he is 34-3 with two losses to DI wrestlers and one to last year’s 4th place finisher Jordan Bushey of Oswego who only wrestled in two events this year. Ashcraft has also dealt #3 seed Tyler Lutes of Wartburg his only loss of the year at the National Duals.

Eric DeVos is a two time finalist looking for his second championship

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Eric DeVos, Wartburg
2. Jairod James, Mount Union
3. Ben Swarr, Messiah
4. Darden Schurg, Wabash
5. Jon Goetz, Platteville
6. Jake Voss, Coe
7. Dan Kilroy, TCNJ
8. Brandon Conrad, Lycoming

AJ Aeberli, Coast Guard
Nathan Fritz, Central
Sawyer Massie, La Crosse
Dominic Pirraglia, Wesleyan
Justin Ransom, Baldwin Wallace
Malik Settles, New England
Troy Seymour, Oswego
Joseph Sindoni, York
Tanner Vassar, Augsburg
Jaison White, Ithaca

Eric DeVos and Ben Swarr have wrestled in the finals of each of the past two NCAA championship matches at this weight. Each has won once which sets up the possibility of the rubber match on Saturday night in Cleveland. DeVos has just wrestled the second semester this season and last, and he is again undefeated in limited action. Swarr comes in with 39 wins for the second straight year. However, for Swarr to make the finals, he will have to avenge a loss from earlier this season. Jairod James came to Mount Union for the second semester and defeated Swarr in the finals of the Wheaton Invitational at the end of January. The Kent State transfer will be the #2 seed and has not lost to a DIII opponent in his one semester in Alliance. He defeated the #4 seed Darden Schurg, a 2017 qualifier for Wabash, in the Central Region finals.

Dan Kilroy of TCNJ is the third All-American returning to this weight after DeVos and Swarr. He took some early season losses but has been solid since, save a pair of matches against Swarr. He won the Mideast Region and will be a threat to place for the second year in a row. Jon Goetz of Platteville is the #5 seed for the second year in a row and just has one loss on the year. Sawyer Massie of La Crosse beat Goetz in the WIAC finals, though Goetz has a win over Massie from earlier in the year. Aside from James, the only other wrestler to beat Swarr this year is Joseph Sindoni of York who split with the Messiah wrestler this year.

Anthony Arroyo is hoping to improve upon last year’s 5th place finish in front of the home crowd

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Mike Ross, Wartburg
2. Lucas Jeske, Augsburg
3. Anthony Arroyo, Baldwin Wallace
4. Frank Aiello, Wheaton
5. Andrew Tolbert, Ferrum
6. Thomas Poklikuha, Stevens
7. Taylor Shay, Roger Williams
8. Nick Velez, Ithaca

Nicholas Bonomo, Whitewater
Blake Dixon, John Carroll
Adrian Gonzalez, Johnson & Wales
Tyler Grimsley, Olivet
Ben Hewson, Cornell
Jeff Hojnacki, Messiah
Colin Kowalski, Gettysburg
Nick Remke, Coast Guard
Jeremy Vester, Central
Zach Zupan, Cortland

Mike Ross is the latest in a series of New England wrestlers to make their way west and into the Wartburg lineup. Kenny Anderson was a three time champion for the Knights from Massachusetts. Cross Cannone, the top seed at 149, is from Connecticut as is Ross. The undefeated freshman is the top seed at 165 though he did not compete in either Wartburg-Augsburg dual, so he has not yet faced the #2 seed Lucas Jeske. Jeske is the top returning wrestler at the weight after a third place finish last season. He would likely have been the top seed except for a loss he took at the Don Parker Open. He is otherwise undefeated with over half of his wins coming from his 19 falls this season.

The host school Baldwin Wallace qualified 9 wrestlers to the tournament, and the only returning All-American in that group is Anthony Arroyo, the third seed here. He finished in 5th place last year. His only loss this year was to Smith of Loras who is not in this bracket. His last loss before that came against Jeske in the consolation semifinals last year via a 21-6 tech fall. He pinned the 7th seed Taylor Shay of Roger Williams back in December. Nick Velez was an All-American for Ithaca in 2016 but missed out last year. He is again seeded, though he lost in the regional final to Thomas Poklikuha of Stevens who is making his NCAA debut as the 6th seed. His one loss on the year is to Ferrum’s Andrew Tolbert, the Southeast Region champion.

Logan Thomsen was a runner-up at 157 last season

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Ryan Epps, Augsburg
2. Logan Thomsen, Wartburg
3. Zach Wilhelm, Stevens
4. Mark Choinski, Oshkosh
5. Cole Erickson, Coe
6. Raymond Jazikoff, NYU
7. Kyle Hatch, Wabash
8. Egan Berta, North Central

Greg Chery, Cortland
Kevin Edwards, Messiah
Tyler Gazaway, Roger Williams
Eric Hutchinson, York
Tyler Marsh, WPI
Michael McIntire, Mount Union
Gavin Nelson, Ohio Northern
Dominick Reyes, Johns Hopkins
Seth Vosters, Eau Claire
Kaidon Winters, RIT

Logan Thomsen transferred from Iowa to Wartburg last season and made it all the way to the NCAA finals where he lost a close match to defending champion Bobby Dierna of Cortland. This year, Thomsen is the highest returning finisher and is one of four returning runners-up in DIII. He has just one loss this year to Augsburg’s Ryan Epps. Thomsen defeated Epps at the National Duals but lost a few weeks later in the Battle of the ‘Burgs. Epps also has just one loss to Thomsen on the year. He, like Thomsen, won his regional by defeating a returning All-American in the finals. Epps topped last year’s 6th place finisher Mark Choinski of Oshkosh 6-3, while Thomsen got his second win of the year over last year’s 6th place finisher at 149 Cole Erickson of Coe with an 8-0 major decision.

Zach Wilhelm of Stevens was an All-American with a 7th place finish last season at 149. His only loss at 157 so far is to Epps in the Cornell finals back in January. The Centennial Conference wrestler of the year has over 150 career wins and looks for a second podium finish. The aforementioned Choinski is 19-1 with the loss to Epps in the regional final, though that match was his first this season against a wrestler who will be in this tournament. He did notch a win over 2017 All-American Steve Bonsall of Chicago early in the year. Erickson of Coe started the year at 149 but went up to 157 after Christmas. He lost twice to Thomsen and once to Kalkbrenner of Dubuque at 157, but he topped Kalkbrenner in the regional semifinals to earn a return trip to the championships. Also returning to the championships is Northeast Regional champion Ray Jazikoff of NYU. He was a 2016 qualifier before missing out next year, and the NYU all-time victories leader is looking for his first All-American award.

Cross Cannone was the runner-up at 141 last year and is ranked #1 at 149

Mat Talk Online DIII Championships Guide

1. Cross Cannone, Wartburg
2. Jimmy Davis, Loras
3. Greg Warner, York
4. Bradan Birt, Millikin
5. Alex Wilson, Augsburg
6. Jarrad Lasko, John Carroll
7. Sean Peacock, Brockport
8. Austin Bethel, Wabash

Stanley Bleich, Baldwin Wallace
Trevor Corl, Lycoming
Evan Drill, NYU
Josh Lawson, Elmhurst
Stephen Maloney, Messiah
Christopher Muce, Centenary
Spencer Nevills, La Crosse
Brendon Seyfried, Williams
Grant Sorensen, Trinity
Dylan Van Sickell, Stevens

None of the eight All-Americans at 149 last year are back at the weight this season. There are, however, All-Americans in the weight. Tops among them is 2017 NCAA 141 lbs. runner-up Cross Cannone of Wartburg. He kicks off a stretch for the Knights where they have a wrestler ranked 1st or 2nd in six of the last seven weights. Cannone is undefeated on the season and looks to be a clear favorite on paper. While some All-Americans moved up into this weight, Jimmy Davis of Loras has moved down after placing 5th at 157 last season. He was the runner-up to Cannone at the regional and has only lost to Cannone and Opelt of Cornell who is not in this bracket. If you add in the very tough Bradan Birt of Millikin, the Lower Midwest Region is sending a very good contingent to Cleveland at 149.

Brendon Seyfried of Williams and Greg Warner of York met in the 7th place match at 141 last year with Seyfried taking a 2-1 decision. Both have moved up to 149 and qualified for the championships. Warner took a few early losses but has gone undefeated since mid-November. He is a two time All-American at 141, finishing 8th and 5th the past two years. Seyfried dropped the regional final to Evan Drill of NYU but will be making his third trip to the NCAA Championships. Christopher Muce of Centenary has the distinction of being the only 2017 qualifier at this weight to return to the NCAA Championships at 149 this season.