With seven in the semifinals, defending champion Wartburg has big lead at NCAA Div. III Nationals
Share:
by Jon Gremmels, Special to TheMat.com
Action photo courtesy of GoKnights.net
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Wartburg took a big step toward winning a record 13th NCAA Division III wrestling title Friday night.
Wartburg advanced all seven of its quarterfinalists into Saturday morning's semifinals and guaranteed itself two more All-Americans through the wrestlebacks Friday night at the La Crosse Center.
"That was an awesome round," Wartburg Coach Eric Keller said. "A lot of guys stepped up there. It would be hard to single anyone out. That was a team effort."
The Knights piled up 83 points to build a 36-point advantage over second-place Augsburg. Johnson & Wales was third with 41, with Wabash (34) and Messiah (32.5) rounding out the top five.
Wabash's Riley Lefever recorded two first-period pins at 197 pounds to stay on course to become just the second four-time champion in Division III history. Lucas Malmberg of Messiah also won twice as he tries to reach the finals for the fourth year in a row.
"I feel great," Malmberg said. "I try not to make it a bigger deal than it is. In the end it's just another wrestling tournament. The way I train all year I try to out myself in the mindset that every match is the national finals, so when I get there I've already been there 30, 40 times."
Malmberg and Lefever were part of a perfect night for top seeds. All 10 advanced to the semifinals, as did seven second seeds. In all, 55 of the 80 seeds will earn All-America honors.
All eight of Wartburg's seeded wrestlers were among the 55, and unseeded Bryan Levsen knocked off a seeded returning All-American at 184 to ensure himself All-America status.
The Knights didn't just finish 7-for-7 in the quarterfinals, they put together some dominating performances. They had three falls and a major decision.
"We learned our lesson the hard way back in Hershey," Keller said, referring to the 2015 championships in Pennsylvania when Augsburg used bonus points to beat the favored Knights. "Bonus points can decide championships."
Despite the commanding lead, Keller isn't ready to celebrate yet.
I don't ever feel comfortable; I don't ever feel comfortable," Keller said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
But he did enjoy what he saw on Day 1.
"That was a lot of fun right there," he said.
NCAA DIV. III NATIONALS
At LaCrosse, Wis.
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Lucas Malmberg of Messiah vs. No. 5 Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg
No. 3 Zac Denny of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. unseeded Zachary Beckner of Ferrum
133 pounds
No. 1 Troy Stanich of Stevens Tech vs. No. 5 Jay Albis of Johnson & Wales
No. 2 Nathan Pike of NYU vs. No. 3 Chris Williams of Millikin
141 pounds
No. 1 Dustin Weinmann of Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. No. 5 David Flynn of Augsburg
No. 2 Devin Broukal of Wabash vs. No. 3 Cross Cannone of Wartburg
149 pounds
No. 1 Kenny Martin of Wartburg vs. No. 4 Dan Del Gallo of Southern Maine
No. 2 Seth Lansberry of Lycoming vs. unseeded Aaron Engle of Cornell College
157 pounds
No. 1 Robert Dierna of Cortland State vs. No. 4 Derek Arnold of Ursinus
No. 2 Logan Thomsen of Wartburg vs. unseeded Mark Choinski of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
165 pounds
No. 1 Logan Hermsen of Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. No. 4 Larry Cannon of Messiah
No. 3 Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales vs. unseeded Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin Wallace
174 pounds
No. 1 Ben Swarr of Messiah vs. No. 4 Benjamin Schweiger of Delaware Valley
No. 2 Eric DeVos of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Richard Carlson of Wisconsin-La Crosse
184 pounds
No. 1 Owen Webster of Augsburg vs. No. 5 Justin Kreiter of Luther
No. 3 Jordan Newman of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. No. 7 Blaise Benderoth of NYU
197 pounds
No. 1 Riley Lefever of Wabash vs. No. 5 AJ Kowal of Stevens Tech
No. 2 Kyle Fank of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Carlos Toribio of Ithaca
285 pounds
No. 1 Zachery Roseberry of Delaware Valley vs. No. 4 James Bethel of Oneonta State
No. 2 Lance Evans of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Donny Longendyke of Augsburg
Top 20 teams after day one
1. Wartburg 83.0
2. Augsburg 47.0
3. Johnson & Wales 41.0
4. Wabash 34.0
5. Messiah 32.5
6. Cortland State 26.0
6. Stevens Tech 26.0
8. Loras 22.5
9. Ithaca 21.0
10. Delaware Valley 20.5
11. Wisconsin-La Crosse 18.0
12. Lycoming 17.5
12. NYU 17.5
12. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 17.5
15. Brockport 16.0
15. Wisconsin-Whitewater 16.0
17. Millikin 14.5
18. Waynesburg 13.0
19. Baldwin Wallace 12.5
20. Oneonta State 12.0
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Wartburg took a big step toward winning a record 13th NCAA Division III wrestling title Friday night.
Wartburg advanced all seven of its quarterfinalists into Saturday morning's semifinals and guaranteed itself two more All-Americans through the wrestlebacks Friday night at the La Crosse Center.
"That was an awesome round," Wartburg Coach Eric Keller said. "A lot of guys stepped up there. It would be hard to single anyone out. That was a team effort."
The Knights piled up 83 points to build a 36-point advantage over second-place Augsburg. Johnson & Wales was third with 41, with Wabash (34) and Messiah (32.5) rounding out the top five.
Wabash's Riley Lefever recorded two first-period pins at 197 pounds to stay on course to become just the second four-time champion in Division III history. Lucas Malmberg of Messiah also won twice as he tries to reach the finals for the fourth year in a row.
"I feel great," Malmberg said. "I try not to make it a bigger deal than it is. In the end it's just another wrestling tournament. The way I train all year I try to out myself in the mindset that every match is the national finals, so when I get there I've already been there 30, 40 times."
Malmberg and Lefever were part of a perfect night for top seeds. All 10 advanced to the semifinals, as did seven second seeds. In all, 55 of the 80 seeds will earn All-America honors.
All eight of Wartburg's seeded wrestlers were among the 55, and unseeded Bryan Levsen knocked off a seeded returning All-American at 184 to ensure himself All-America status.
The Knights didn't just finish 7-for-7 in the quarterfinals, they put together some dominating performances. They had three falls and a major decision.
"We learned our lesson the hard way back in Hershey," Keller said, referring to the 2015 championships in Pennsylvania when Augsburg used bonus points to beat the favored Knights. "Bonus points can decide championships."
Despite the commanding lead, Keller isn't ready to celebrate yet.
I don't ever feel comfortable; I don't ever feel comfortable," Keller said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
But he did enjoy what he saw on Day 1.
"That was a lot of fun right there," he said.
NCAA DIV. III NATIONALS
At LaCrosse, Wis.
Semifinal pairings
125 pounds
No. 1 Lucas Malmberg of Messiah vs. No. 5 Arnulfo Olea of Wartburg
No. 3 Zac Denny of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. unseeded Zachary Beckner of Ferrum
133 pounds
No. 1 Troy Stanich of Stevens Tech vs. No. 5 Jay Albis of Johnson & Wales
No. 2 Nathan Pike of NYU vs. No. 3 Chris Williams of Millikin
141 pounds
No. 1 Dustin Weinmann of Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. No. 5 David Flynn of Augsburg
No. 2 Devin Broukal of Wabash vs. No. 3 Cross Cannone of Wartburg
149 pounds
No. 1 Kenny Martin of Wartburg vs. No. 4 Dan Del Gallo of Southern Maine
No. 2 Seth Lansberry of Lycoming vs. unseeded Aaron Engle of Cornell College
157 pounds
No. 1 Robert Dierna of Cortland State vs. No. 4 Derek Arnold of Ursinus
No. 2 Logan Thomsen of Wartburg vs. unseeded Mark Choinski of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
165 pounds
No. 1 Logan Hermsen of Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. No. 4 Larry Cannon of Messiah
No. 3 Stephen Jarrell of Johnson & Wales vs. unseeded Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin Wallace
174 pounds
No. 1 Ben Swarr of Messiah vs. No. 4 Benjamin Schweiger of Delaware Valley
No. 2 Eric DeVos of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Richard Carlson of Wisconsin-La Crosse
184 pounds
No. 1 Owen Webster of Augsburg vs. No. 5 Justin Kreiter of Luther
No. 3 Jordan Newman of Wisconsin-Whitewater vs. No. 7 Blaise Benderoth of NYU
197 pounds
No. 1 Riley Lefever of Wabash vs. No. 5 AJ Kowal of Stevens Tech
No. 2 Kyle Fank of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Carlos Toribio of Ithaca
285 pounds
No. 1 Zachery Roseberry of Delaware Valley vs. No. 4 James Bethel of Oneonta State
No. 2 Lance Evans of Wartburg vs. No. 3 Donny Longendyke of Augsburg
Top 20 teams after day one
1. Wartburg 83.0
2. Augsburg 47.0
3. Johnson & Wales 41.0
4. Wabash 34.0
5. Messiah 32.5
6. Cortland State 26.0
6. Stevens Tech 26.0
8. Loras 22.5
9. Ithaca 21.0
10. Delaware Valley 20.5
11. Wisconsin-La Crosse 18.0
12. Lycoming 17.5
12. NYU 17.5
12. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 17.5
15. Brockport 16.0
15. Wisconsin-Whitewater 16.0
17. Millikin 14.5
18. Waynesburg 13.0
19. Baldwin Wallace 12.5
20. Oneonta State 12.0
Read More#
Cook, Box, plus three Stanford wrestlers to compete in UWW Beach World Series in France, June 30
Beat the Streets New York raises $1.3 million with Annual Benefit, Final X
National Team True Third Place Match results, prior to Final X
Application deadline is June 1 for Team Leader/Coach position for ANOC World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia
