Two champions, three teams have results vacated at 2022 championships
Three teams have had results vacated from the 2022 NCAA Division III championships, and two of the affected wrestlers won titles at the event. Though the NCAA has not made public announcement of these decisions, the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Record Book notes that vacated results affect three teams from this year’s tournament. On Page 2 of the document, it is noted that North Central College, UW-Oshkosh, and The College of New Jersey have had their “Participation vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.” Later, on Page 18 where the annual list of champions per weight is listed 2022 197 lbs. champion Cody Baldridge of North Central and 285 lbs. champion Jordan Lemcke of UW-Oshkosh have asterisks next to their names indicating in each case “National championship vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.” No information is listed regarding The College of New Jersey other than that already described above.
d3wrestle.com contacted the NCAA and was told by a member of the communications staff that, “Unfortunately, we cannot provide further information about the cases in question, for student privacy reasons. Your best resource would be the school(s) in question.”
North Central College Sports Information provided the following statement:
“The NCAA’s policies and procedures exist for the safety of our student-athletes. While this news is disappointing, we understand and accept why it is necessary.
We remain extremely proud of our wrestling programs and how they have represented North Central College. Our student-athletes and coaches have shown tremendous resolve in the face of this development and are anxious to start a new season.”
UW-Oshkosh Sports Information responded to a request for comment on vacated team results by stating, “The 285 lbs. national champion win was vacated by the committee. However, the other athletes that competed for UW-Oshkosh at the national championships still have their results (and any points) stand. It was only the 285 lbs. individual that was impacted.”
The College of New Jersey has not responded to a request for comment by the publication time of this article.
d3wrestle.com has not independently verified the reason that the NCAA vacated results from this year’s championships. On Friday, the D3 Nation podcast released an episode reporting that failed drug tests caused the vacated results. While drug testing does not occur at every Division III wrestling championship, a selection of wrestlers were tested at the 2022 championships.
Listen to the D3 Nation Podcast Episode here: Failed Drug Tests, Vacated 2022 NCAA Titles, What now?
It is not entirely clear how these decisions affect team scores. The individual results for the other members of the affected teams clearly remain in place. The linked document above strongly suggests that the entire team score for the affected teams have been vacated. Pages 20-23 list the years in which every team has scored at the tournament, and 2022 is not listed for North Central, UW-Oshkosh, and TCNJ.
There is no indication that any team or individual will move up in position due to vacated results. There will effectively be no individual champion at 197 and 285 for 2022. It appears that the NCAA has no plans to release any further information beyond what was indicated in the Championships Record Book.