Emmanuel seeks to defend its NCWA National team title in Allen, Texas, March 8-10

Emmanuel College, which has won the last two NCWA national team titles, enters this weekend’s NCWA National Championships with a No. 5 national ranking. Can Emmanuel beat the rankings to win its third in a row?


The annual NWCA National Championships are set for Allen, Texas, March 8-10, with competition for both men and women. It will be broadcast live on FloWrestling.

The men’s rankings


In NCWA Div. I, the top 10 teams in the rankings coming in are: 1. Liberty, 2. Central Florida, 3. Grand Valley State, 4. Apprentice School, 5. Emmanuel College, 6. Queens of Charlotte, 7. UMBC, 8. Middle Tennessee, 9. Springfield Tech, 10. Toledo.


In NWCA Div. II, the top 5 teams are 1. Akron, 2. UConn, 3. Penn State WC and West Chester, 5. East Carolina

The top ranked men wrestlers

125 – Byron Smith, Sr., Middle Tennessee

133 – Arthur Payne, Fr., Mott CC

141 – Tyler Sage, Jr., Florida

149 – Jay Sheppard, Jr., Emmanuel

157 – Chad Simmons, Jr., Apprentice School

165 – Bailey Carlson, So., Brigham Young

174 – Noah Curreri, Fr., Queens-Charlotte

184 – George Vanvalen, Sr., Alfred State

197 – Robert LaPeter, Sr., Florida State

235 – Austin Amos, Sr. Liberty

285 – Jesse Gaudin, Sr., Central Florida

Returning men’s champions

* Justice Griffith, Central Florida, 133

* Stevan Webb, UConn, 235

The women’s tournament


Southwestern Oregon CC is the defending women’s champion, beating runner-up Ottawa (Kan.) and third place North Texas in the 2017 National Championships.


There are five returning champions : Samantha Frank of Maine (101) , Avery Souders of North Texas (130), Marina Goocher of Michigan – Dearborn (130), Cendall Manley of Liberty (170) and , Ebony Ayers of Southwestern Oregon CC (190). Goocher was a 2017 champion at 136 pounds, but dropped in weight this year.

NWCA brackets

NCWA rankings


Venue: Allen Event Center Arena

Host Hotel:Marriott Courtyard - Allen, TX

Host City: Allen, TX

Host Institutions: Richland College & University of North Texas

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Thursday March 8th

8:00 - Men's Weigh-ins - Marriott Ballroom

9:00 - Allen Events Center Opens to Public

10:00 - Session I - Preliminaries

5:30 - Allen Events Center Opens to Public

6:00 - Session II - Championship Round of 16

Friday March 9th

8:00 - Weigh-ins - Men & Women - Marriott Hotel

8:30 - Allen Events Center Opens to Public

9:00 - Session III - Consolation / Quarter-finals

10:00 - Women's Round I - Preliminaries

1:30 - NCWA Compliance meetings - Arena NCWA Suite

4:30 - Allen Events Center Opens to Public

5:00 - Session IV - Men's Blood Round / Womens Semi-finals

6:30 - Hall of Fame Inductions

7:00 - Semi-finals

Saturday March 10th

8:00 - Weigh-ins - Men - Marriott Hotel

8:00 - Weigh-ins - Women - Marriott Hotel

9:00 - Session V - Men's All-American Consolations

9:00 - Session V - Women's - Third place matches

1:00 - Go-Greco Nationals Clinic -

2:00 - NCWA Grappling Launch Clinic

5:30 - Allen Events Center Opens to Public

6:00 - Session VI - NCWA Championship Finals