• No #1 seed finished lower than third place, and every #1 seed made the semifinals.
• The lowest seeded champion was #4 Daniel Del Gallo at 149, and he faced one of the two unseeded finalists in the tournament.
• 157 had the most unseeded placewinners. 5th through 8th place were all unseeded, while the top four places went in order of seed.
• One one of the top 3 seeded wrestlers failed to place (Vandall, 165)
• Owen Doster (Wabash), Michael LaBell (JWU), and Christos Giatras (Augustana) lost in the preliminary round and came place to place. All three of them finished 7th.
• Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) was the only wrestler with more than one technical fall in the tournament.
• Gregory Warner (York) scored the only first period tech fall.
• There were five falls in the first minute of matches and 36 in the first period.
• Six wrestlers competed seven times in the tournament. 22 more wrestlers had six matches.
• Triston Engle (Brockport) scored more team points in his 4th place finish at 197 (20.5) than Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) scored as the 125 champ (20). He also won the most falls award.
• 197 had the most pins with 11. 157 had the least with 4. Unsurprisingly, 197 scored the most team points, though 174 scored the least.
• Augsburg led all teams with 7 falls. Wartburg led with 3 tech falls.
• 10 wrestlers entered the tournament undefeated. Four won the championship (Weinmann, Dierna, DeVos, Roseberry).
• Lucas Malmberg (Messiah), Bobby Dierna (Cortland), and Zachery Roseberry (Delaware Valley) all became 4x All-Americans.
• Riley Lefever (Wabash) finished his career with 92.5 team points, 6 falls, and 4 NCAA Championships.

2017 Region Performance | Other versions of this post 2016, 2015

Five Year Totals 2013-2017 (since the regional system was put in place)

2017 All-Americans (unseeded in italics, 26 total)

2017 NCAA Finals Video Replay (ncaa.com)

Final Brackets | Final Team Scores | 2017 All-Americans

Outstanding Wrestler: Riley Lefever, Wabash
Most Falls in Least Amount of Time: Triston Engle, Brockport
Coach of the Year: Lonnie Morris, Johnson & Wales
Rookie Coach of the Year: TJ Miller, Loras
Assistant Coach of the Year: Brian Allen, JWU
Elite 90 Award: Adam Presler, Concordia-Moorhead
Most Dominant: Riley Lefever, Wabash
Most Falls: Hunter Harris, Messiah
Most Tech Falls: Stephen Jarrell, Johnson & Wales

Session 1 – 12pm Eastern – Championships rounds 1 & 2 and consolation round 1
Session 2 – 7pm Eastern – Championship quarterfinals and consolations rounds 2 & 3

Live Results (TrackWrestling)

Friday Live Video (NCAA.com)

2016 Champion – Zach Roseberry, Delaware Valley

Zachery Roseberry came in undefeated last year for Delaware Valley, but he only earned the #2 seed thanks to defending champion Donny Longendyke of Augsburg. Most assumed Longendyke would repeat as champion as he had not lost to a DIII opponent in either the 2015 or 2016 seasons. Roseberry had other plans and used outstanding leg attacks to pull the upset. Both are back this year along with 3rd place finisher Lance Evans of Wartburg. Evans is undefeated, has a pair of wins over Longendyke, and will be a top contender for the championship this weekend. Paul Triandafilou of Gettysburg is the four returning All-American from last year, and he lost in overtime to Roseberry in the East Region final.

James Bethel of Oneonta was a freshman All-American in 2015, finishing 4th and losing to Roseberry in the consolation finals. He missed all of last year but picked up right where he left off in 2016-2017. His only losses are to Longendyke and the EIWA champion from Columbia. If seeds hold, he will face Triandafilou in a battle of former freshman All-Americans. Quin Gilliam of Loras is one of two Louisiana natives in the tournament for Loras thanks to head coach TJ Miller spending five years there before returning to Iowa and the college ranks. Austin Bellile of MSOE began his career two seasons ago at 184 but moved up to 285 for his sophomore year. Now a junior, he earned his spot here with a 3rd place finish at the West Regional.

2016 Champion – David Welch, Roger Williams

There has only been one 4x NCAA Division III champion. That could change this year as Riley Lefever of Wabash aims to cap a brilliant career with his fourth NCAA title. He has never lost to a Division III opponet, and that record will remain intact if he has his hand raised on Saturday night. Lefever has scored bonus points on every DIII opponent he has faced and leads all of the NCAA is the Most Dominant standings with an average of 5.85 team points per match.

Kyle Fank of Wartburg is the #2 seed. He gets his first shot at the NCAA Championships and has just two losses this year. One of them is to Michael Swider of Wheaton. Swider was 7th at this weight last year and is the only returning 2016 All-American at 197. Matt Seabold of Central was an All-American in 2015 at this weight, while AJ Kowal of Stevens and Carlos Toribio of Ithaca placed 3rd and 5th respectively last season at 184. Hunter Ayen of Springfield did not wrestle last season, but he was a qualifier at this weight in 2015. Devon Carrillo of Wesleyan beat Ayen twice this year and split with Toribio, and he has just one loss this season.

2016 NCAA Champion – Riley Lefever, Wabash

After dominating the weight for three years, Riley Lefever has moved to 197, giving the other guys at this weight a chance for a championship. Owen Webster, Augsburg’s top seed at this weight, never had to deal with Lefever since he is a freshman. He came in as the #40 overall recruit and has lived up to his reputation. He has scored bonus points in a vast majority of his matches and has gone undefeated against DIII. His top competition looks to be two time All-American Christopher Chorzepa of Williams who has one loss (to Webster) this year, Jordan Newman of Whitewater, a 2015 All-American who is undefeated against DIII competition, Jordan Bushey of Oswego, an undefeated freshman, and Justin Kreiter of Luther, the highest returning placewinner at the weight.

Patrick Rooney of Merchant Marine comes in unseeded but has a win over Ben Swarr, the defending champion and top seed at 174 lbs. in an early season tournament. Doug Hamann of TCNJ came into the postseason with a 4-3 record but defeated Rooney on his way to the regional final. He was 8th at 174 last season. Blaise Benderoth, the East Region champ, began the year at 165, suffered an injury that kept him out two montsh, and then came back at 184 where he now sits at the 7th seed.

The 2016 d3wrestle.com Picks Contest is here. Read the rules closely. The prize will be an item from the d3wrestle.com store. Here is a link to the brackets.

1. You are to choose 10 wrestlers, one from each weight class.
2. You are to choose a maximum of one wrestler for each seed and a minimum of two unseeded wrestlers.
3. You may replace any seeded wrestler with an unseeded wrestler. e.g., if you want to pick an extra unseeded wrestler instead of the 8th (or other) seed at a weight, that is permissible, as long as you only choose one or zero wrestlers for a seeded spot.
4. Your score is the combined team points scored by your ten wrestlers. A list of scores will be provided after the tournament.
5. Post your team as a comment to this post before 11:59pm Eastern on Thursday, March 9th. The format is as follows: Seed, Weight, Name, School. Place each wrestler on a separate line in order of seed. Make sure the email address attached to your post is real so I can contact the winner.
6. Ties will be broken by whoever has the most champs, then runners-up, and so on.

2016 NCAA Champion – Ben Swarr, Messiah

Last year’s finalists look to be on a collision course for another matchup on Saturday night. Ben Swarr of Messiah came from the 7th seed to win with a takedown in the final seconds over Eric DeVos of Wartburg. Both are undefeated at the weight in DIII, though Swarr has wrestled nearly three times as many matches as DeVos this year, and has defeated the #3 and #5 seeds this season. The other 2016 All-American in the bracket, Sonnieboy Blanco of Washington & Jefferson, is seeded 7th with a 37-2 record. Both of his losses are to wrestlers in the bracket, included the unseeded Darden Schurg of Wabash.

Two wrestlers who did not compete at all last year were 2015 All-Americans that are seeded here. #3 Richard Carlson of La Crosse was 6th in 2015 at 184, while Tory Cain of RIT was 5th in 2015 at this weight. John Messinger (NYU), Jon Goetz (Platteville), Javier Reyes (Luther), and Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead) are all returning qualifiers at this weight who failed to place last year, while Logan Walkup of Wheaton qualified at 184 before dropping to 174 in January.

2016 NCAA Champion – Logan Hermsen, Stevens Point

In a top half of a bracket where the #1 and #4 seeds both lost in the first round, Logan Hermsen came out of the #5 spot to make the finals where he prevailed in overtime against the #2 seed. He has one DIII loss this year back in November when he bumped up to 174 for a day, but he has gone undefeated since November 12th, winning four tournaments along the way. His quarterfinal opponent last year, Central’s Ryan Vandall, has gone undefeated in DIII and slots in as the #2 seed. Both of the consolation finalists from last year are back, though Nolan Barger of Lycoming and Colin Navickas of Stevens each took a loss at their respective regionals.

There are seven total All-Americans at this weight. Nick Velez of Ithaca placed 7th at this weight last year, while Messiah’s Larry Cannon and Luther’s Tristan Zurfluh were both All-Americans at 157 a year ago. Andrew Steiert was the top seed at 165 in 2015, finishing in 6th place. He is back as the 8th seed in 2017. #3 Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales is almost certain to win the DIII Tech Falls award, as he leads that category by 4. Mitchell Fucile of Lakeland qualified in 2015, missed out in 2016, and is back in 2017 for one last shot at the podium. Joseph Scott is one of two qualifiers for Washington & Lee. The school broke a 15 year qualification drought last season and now has two qualifiers for the first time since 1987.

2016 NCAA Champion – Bobby Dierna, Cortland

Four All-Americans return at this weight including the defending champion Bobby Dierna of Cortland. Dierna has now placed 3rd, 2nd, and 1st in his career as he looks for a second title. He is 17-0 after beginning wrestling in January this year, and he has scored bonus points in every match he has wrestled. The second and third seeds have had similar excellent seasons with the difference being a 5-3 win for Logan Thomsen of Wartburg over Nick Bova of Wabash back in November. Bova was 8th here last year, while 2016-2017 is Thomsen’s first shot at the starting lineup. Grant Parker of Augsburg defeated Bova in the 7th place match last year, but he comes in unseeded and will have to start off with a preliminary match on Friday.

Derek Arnold is a former All-American at a lower weight. In 2015, he was the #2 seed and finished in 4th place at 149. Last year, he was the top seed at 149 and was the one of two #1 seeds who failed to place. He is the 4th seed this year and will take on returning All-American Parker in his first match. Arnold defeated 2016 6th place finisher Logan Meister of Ferrum in the East Regional finals. Meister was the first NCAA qualifier for his school in 2014 and the first All-American last year. He will be working to also become the first two time All-American for his school.

2016 Champion – Kenny Martin, Wartburg

149 has the fewest returning All-Americans of any weight with only two wrestlers in the bracket who have been on the podium, but they are a very good pair. Kenny Martin of Wartburg is the two time returning champion, though this will be his first trip to the tournament as the top seed. That said, the #1 seed at 149 has not won the tournament since 2008; every other weight has had a #1 seed win at least once since 2011. Martin is 14-0 in his second consecutive year of spring semester-only wrestling. The second seed Lansberry had to come back from a deficit in the Mideast Regional final but got the job done and enters the tournament without a loss. He was 4th here last year after making it to the semifinals.

Augsburg’s Ryan Epps is one of a handful of Augsburg freshmen who have made a big impact this season. Epps was a double All-American in Fargo last summer and a Minnesota state champ. He is one of 12 wrestlers at this weight making their first appearance at the NCAA Championships. Sam Schneider of Ithaca, Collin Saunders of Ferrum, and Austin Kelley of Olivet are all first timers who also won their respective regions. #4 Daniel Del Gallo of Southern Maine, however, is on his third trip to the championships, and this is his last chance to get on the podium. This is his first time as a seeded wrestler, so perhaps this will be his time.

2016 NCAA Champion – Drew Van Anrooy, Luther

The 141 weight class really cleared out from last year. Greg Warner of York is the only returning All-American at the weight, and he is not even seeded this year. Dustin Weinmann moved up from 133, where he finished 3rd last season to take the top seed at 141 for the host La Crosse. He is undefeated so far and won the Midwest Regional while only surrendering a single point. One of his opponents at the regional was last year’s most surprising NCAA champion Devin Broukal of Wabash. The unseeded Broukal dropped to 133 only for the postseason. At the NCAA Championships, he rode a pair of overtime wins into the finals where he upset the #2 seed to win. He will not sneak up on anyone this year.

Chaos ruled the 141 weight class during the regionals. Six of the wrestlers ranked in the last d3wrestle.com top ten before the tournament failed to qualify, including 2015 NCAA Champion Matthew Grossmann and 2015 All-American Layten Binion. This opened the door for some unexpected qualifiers. Josh Decatur of Baldwin Wallace got himself together at the right time after an up and down season and should be a threat to place. Castleton University had a qualifier in their first year as Zak Hale made the finals in the Northeast Region. He may be the first qualifier for Castleton, but Hale himself has NCAA experience during his time at Division II Anderson before that program was discontinued last January.

2016 Champion – Devin Broukal, Wabash

Troy Stanich came to Stevens after a 4th place finish at the 2016 New Jersey State Championships and has proceeded to roll off 41 straight victories to start his college career. He has wins over five of the other entrants at the weight including a pair of victories over Nathan Pike of NYU, the runner-up last season. There are not a lot of freshman national champions in Division III, but Stanich is in the driver’s seat to get it done. Pike is a two time All-American who became his school’s first ever finalist last year. He is just 11-2, with both losses to Stanich, but he has picked up where he left off last year and scores points in bunches. The only other returning All-American at this weight is Connor Campo of Wartburg who needed a 1-0 decision in the 3rd place match at the region to both get to the tournament and take his record above .500 for the year.

Chris Williams of Millikin is the only other returning All-American at this weight, though he got on the podium at 141 last season before dropping this year. He is 17-0 and will be a top contender. There are some good stories at this weight class worth noting. Ryan Flynn of York became his school’s all-time wins leader this year. Hunter Harris of Messiah now has 32 pins (30 in DIII) on the year to lead all divisions. Maverick Passaro was a 2012 New York state champion who made stops at Rutgers and Hofstra before landing at Cortland this year. Joe Brodman followed his coach from Heidelberg Whitewater and is making his first trip to the championships as a senior.

2016 Champion – Lucas Malmberg, Messiah

Three time finalist and defending champ Lucas Malmberg of Messiah looks to be head and shoulders above the rest of the field at this weight. He has 170 career wins and was the only Division III placewinner at the Midlands back in December. No Division III wrestler has gotten closer than six points to him this year, and he is a heavy favorite to make his fourth trip onto the stage on Saturday night. There is a possibility of a finals rematch, as CJ Pestano of Central will not surprise anyone the way he did last year when he made the finals as an unseeded wrestler. He lost by fall in the first period to Whitsel of Millikin early in the season but has defeated every other DIII opponent he has faced on his way to a Central Region title and a #2 seed at the Championships.

Three other 2016 All-Americans are back at this weight. Zac Denny was 4th for Whitewater last season and won the Midwest Region, avenging one of his two Division III losses in the process. He lost to Malmberg at the Midlands, but has defeated every other DIII opponent this year. Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg was 5th last year and a runner-up in the Central Region this year. He managed to reverse a previous loss in the regional semifinals to secure his spot in the tournament. James Kaishian of Ithaca finished in 7th place last year, but dropped the regional final to Bobby Jordan of JWU, who was the #2 seed last year but failed to place. He will give it another go this year from a lower spot in the bracket. Keep an eye on Zachary Beckner of Ferrum. The freshman just began competing in January but the former Virginia Tech signee has gone undefeated and won the East Regional.

The NCAA missed the published release time by a mile, but here they are.

Hoping for a PDF of the brackets soon, but this will do for now.

2017 NCAA Championships Brackets (TrackWresting)

UPDATE 10:10pm: PDF Brackets from NCAA.com

Monday 6pm: Brackets Released on NCAA.com

Tuesday: Previews of 125, 133, 141

Wednesday: Previews of 149, 157, 165, 174

Thursday: Previews of 184, 197, 285

Friday: Wrestling begins at 11:00AM Central