2026 promises new excitement at NCAA Division III Championships

Last year, Johnson & Wales broke into the fiefdom of Augsburg and Wartburg atop Division III wrestling by tying Wartburg for the team title. This year, there’s a new kid on the block ready to challenge the Burgs. Roanoke enters the national tournament that runs Friday and Saturday as one of the favorites.

“I do think things are maybe changing a little bit where, you know, the stranglehold is maybe not as tight,” Roanoke Coach Nate Yetzer said. “But listen, they’re still probably the two teams to beat at nationals this year.”

Wartburg Coach Eric Keller knows Roanoke is a contending team.

“Roanoke, obviously, is a team that’s come on this year and (has) a lot of seniors and guys who have been there awhile,” he said.

This is the season Yetzer has been building for for five years since starting the program.

“I don’t know about a surprise,” he said of this season’s success. “I thought we had the ability. We have a couple of things work our way, as far as like guys staying healthy and guys developing faster than I thought.”

The Maroons, led by Mark Samuel — one of two returning individual champions in the field — not only qualified nine of their 10 starters, but they also come in confident, having beaten three of the other teams with eight or more qualifiers — Wisconsin-La Crosse, Augsburg and Wartburg — in successive January meets to win the NWCA National Duals. They also have dual wins over regional champions Stevens Tech and Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“As a newer program, that was definitely the turning point of our program,” Yetzer said of the National Duals. “There’s no question that kind of changed things. It changes expectations a little bit.

“I think the biggest takeaway from going to National Duals was we got tested, and I thought our guys now have a true sense of belief that we can win a national title,” Yetzer said. “I think our guys truly believed they could win those duals, but I think that just kind of reaffirmed it. We put in the work, and that just gave them a greater sense of belief we could do this. We’re perfectly capable of competing with these guys and beating them.”

Those victories gained the program some outside respect, too.

“We didn’t have a ton of fans travel out to Cedar Falls,” he said of the site of the National Duals, “but I think we made a lot of fans. I got so many emails from Wartburg and Augsburg fans just saying, you know, they obviously wanted their team to win, but they were like, it’s so good for the sport to have another competitor. I was pretty proud of that.”

Coming off his national title at 141 pounds — that followed a win over the defending champion in the semifinals — Samuel enters this weekend’s event with an 18-0 record as the top seed at the weight class.

“He’s the one that kind of helped us break the barrier a little bit,” Yetzer said. “It takes one guy to kind of break through. You know, that guy that we recruited, that we developed, from the very beginning.

“He was my first national champion as a coach, and I think what it does is get the rest of the guys that believe because they see Marky every day. They know him personally, and, obviously, they see his work ethic and everything. They’re like, well, if Mark can do it, we can do it as well, too.

Along with Samuel, a two-time All-American, Roanoke has a second seed in Mac Cafurello (20-1) at 125, a three seed in Lorenzo Pellot-Vazquez (18-2) at 197 pounda and a fifth seed in Jude Robson (21-2) at 133 pounds. 

“It’s those guys that are huge for points,” Yetzer said. “You’ve got to get really high placers to have a chance to give yourself an opportunity to try to win a national title as a team. So those guys are going to be vital, right?

“Mac was in our first recruiting class,” Yetzer said of Cafurello, a 2024 All-American who sat out last year. “He bought in from Day One. He’s just been a staple and on our team, a guy that’s always picking guys up, encouraging them.

“Lorenzo is probably one of the most talented kids I’ve ever been around. We’ve always told him, ‘If you’re consistent and you buy in, you’re going to be pretty special.’

“I think a guy a lot of people are sleeping on, just based on seed, is Jude Robson. He has one Division III loss (to Wartburg’s Patrick Mullen at National Duals), and he couldn’t even warm up; he was so sick. But he wanted to compete.”

A pair of lower seeds — Taylor Smith (16-3) at 149 pounds and Xavier Preston (14-3) ­— also have experience at the national tournament.

“Taylor Smith transferred here from Washington & Jefferson, and Taylor’s just a winner. He’s wrestled probably eight or nine kids in the field, so he’s been battle-tested.

“(Preston) wrestled in the regional tournament, but he hadn’t wrestled since National Duals. He got hurt pretty bad and sat out the rest of the year until the regionals, and we played it safe a little bit there and forfeited in the finals.

“He’s a two-time qualifier already as a junior, so he has experience here, and I don’t think (sitting out because of the injury) is going to really faze him at all.”

The Maroons also have a wrestler who might be under the radar. Hunter Moore was ranked fifth in Region IV at 184 pounds despite boasting wins over the three, four and five seeds at 197 pounds (teammate Pellot-Vazquez, Cal Dorota of Wartburg and Ethan Winkelman of Augsburg) before he cut to 184 pounds.

“The main body of his work has been at 197; if he was wrestling at 197, he’d be the second seed in the country,” Yetzer said. “It’s crazy to think about, but then he goes (to 184) for the betterment of the team, and I really think, for himself, he decided to go down to 184.

“He’s excited to be out there and compete, and I’m excited for him because I think that at every event this year, National Duals included, we always had somebody step up in a big moment. That’s kind of our message: ‘Who’s it going to be at the end of the tournament (to) step up for us and help us win?’ Hunter did that at National Duals.”

Also qualifying for the Maroons were Cade Parent (25-9) at 165 pounds and Nicholas Cook (25-13) at 285 pounds.

Yetzer said now was the time for his wrestlers to go out and leave it all on the mat.

The message, he said, “is not to make this bigger than it is. Just go out and compete, compete your best, and they’re going to be ready to go.”

When it’s time to talk potential team champions, Augsburg or Wartburg, or both, always are in the conversation. One or the other has finished atop the standings every year there’s been a national tournament since 1995. This year is no different.

Augsburg is the only team in the field that qualified all 10 of its wrestlers. The Auggies accomplished that by winning seven of their eight finals matches and advancing a pair of fifth seeds with third-place finishes to amass 213 points at the Region VII tournament. 

“I was just proud of the way the guys competed at the Region VII championships, one of the toughest regionals in the country,” Augsburg Coach Tony Valek said. “I think that was the first time in like 25 years of Augsburg wrestling that we’ve had seven champs at a qualifier, and, obviously, with the history of Augsburg wrestling, that’s a pretty cool feat to accomplish. And then to get all 10 through — we had two five wrestlers in Keno Vanier (125 pounds) and Nick Alexander (174 pounds) put their best weekend of wrestling together — I think we had a lot of guys have their best weekend of wrestling.

“So, really excited about it. Peaking at the right time for these guys and excited to make that final peak this coming weekend in Cedar Rapids.”

The list of qualifiers is led by two 2025 national runners-up: seniors Cooper Willis (26-3) at 165 pounds and Brandt Bombard (25-4) at 184 pounds.

“Cooper Willis won his first regional championship — he’s a three-time All-American, but he hadn’t won a region title — so I feel like he’s saving his best for last ... trying to finish on top of the podium with the national championship.”

Willis, who placed fifth in his first two years before reaching the finals last year, enters the tournament as the second seed.

Bombard, who lost the title match last year on an overtime leaving-the-mat stalling call, enters this weekend’s tournament as the sixth seed, which shows the depth at 184 pounds.

“Brandt Bombard is everything you want in a wrestler and a captain and a human being,” Valek said. “He’s dropped a couple of close matches, but again, it’s only been the region final (against Ethan Hull of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) and then to La Crosse (two losses to Tate Flege) and Wartburg (Kasey Ross) guys who are top guys nationally. It’s not a work ethic or skill-set thing, it’s really a decision-making mid-match of being decisive when you make those choices.”

The Auggies also have a second No. 2 seed in Matt Randolph (25-2) at 149 pounds. He placed fourth last year as a freshman.

“Matt has really kind of figured out what his game plan is going to look like,” Valek said. “It’s about creating some of those flurries and different things where you’re strong. He’s got a unique style. He’s got such flexibility, and he’s so hard to score on.”

Ethan Winkelman, a sophomore, enters the weekend as the fifth seed at 197 pounds with a 29-4 record.

“He’s a guy just getting started (on the) national stage,” Valek said. “He’s still just getting into his wrestling career. He was a pretty green kid coming out of high school; he really got into the sport more heavily late in high school.”

Also seeded for Augsburg are returning All-Americans Chance Suddeth (23-11), ninth at 133 pounds; eighth-seeded Karsen Otis (28-7) at 157 pounds; and Tyler Raway (28-4), seeded seventh at 285 pounds.

Like the Auggies, Wartburg also has seven seeded wrestlers, more than the other 66 teams in the field. But those are just numbers.

“Going to the national tournament, it’s a reset,” Wartburg Coach Eric Keller said. “It’s going to go to the guy that’s the most locked in, the guy that has the most desire, the guy that’s ready to go out and execute.”

Mitch Williamson (22-0), the defending champion, is back for the Knights at 285 pounds and is seeded first after entering last year’s tournament unseeded.

“It’s a constant reminder that, really, seeds don’t matter, because they don’t,” Keller said. “It’s how you go out there and do what you’re supposed to do, what you’ve been trained to do, and following through on the game plan the coaches have laid out for you. That’s what it comes down to.”

Along with Williamson, Wartburg has high seeds in returning All-American Ross (26-0), No. 2 at 184 pounds; Charlie Dojan (26-1), a 2024 All-American who is seeded third at 157 pounds after his 2024-25 season was cut short by an injury; Kade Blume (21-2), the No. 3 seed at 141 pounds who lost to defending champion Mark Samuel of Roanoke in overtime in their dual; fourth-seeded Cal Dorota (24-4) at 197 pounds; sixth-seeded Patrick Mullen (24-5) at 133 pounds; and ninth-seeded Brett Birchman (17-6), a returning national qualifier at 125 pounds.

Also in the lineup are unseeded Caleb Olson (19-8) at 149 pounds and Mike Slade (24-9) at 174 pounds. The latter gets the Wartburg-Augsburg rivalry going right away when he faces Alexander in the preliminary round.

While Augsburg is always on the radar for Wartburg, the Knights also would like to give a little payback to Roanoke for the loss at the National Duals.

“That was a rough loss for us at National Duals, but it was an important one,” Williamson said. “I think the guys are really motivated and looking forward to competing for a team title in Cedar Rapids.

While The College of New Jersey, the Region III champion, doesn’t boast the number of qualifiers some of the other top teams have, the Lions have big-point potential from four of their six qualifiers, who are seeded in the top four.

“We’re focused on each individual doing the best that they can,” TCNJ Coach Joe Galante said. “We reverse-engineered how to win the nationals probably about 10 years ago. When I was a young coach, we didn’t understand how a tournament worked, necessarily, and now we know there’s math to it. It comes down to every guy’s got to fight for every single point and every single bonus point.

“If everyone does their job, everyone does all the little things, it’s going to add up to a lot (of points).”

Returning All-Americans Garrett Totten (31-4) at 133 pounds, and Hunter Mays (25-0) at 174 pounds and returning national qualifier D.J. Henry (26-3) at 197 pounds, all come into the tournament as No. 1 seeds. Division I transfer Vincent Santaniello (22-1) is the fourth seed at 141 pounds. The Lions’ lineup also includes sixth-seeded Matt Griffin (27-5) at 125 pounds. Unseeded J.J. Giordano (24-10 at 149 pounds) rounds out the team’s qualifiers.

“Our guys are ready to go, even the four and six seeds,” Galante said. “You wouldn’t think that they could make it to the finals, but I think they can. The number one seeds, same thing.”

Mays came to The College of New Jersey last year after spending the 2022-23 season at Rider and the 2023-24 campaign at Lehigh. He finished his first year with the Lions in fifth place at 174 pounds at last year’s national tournament.

“He’s mentally strong,” Galante said. “He’s a very powerful wrestler. He knows who he is, where he’s going and what needs to be done.

“He’s really focused on winning a title, and anybody that stands in front of him, I think, is in trouble.”

Henry also wrestled at nationals for the Lions last year.

“He’s maybe our most improved wrestler; it’s hard to say he’s not,” Galante said. “He’s done a lot of the work throughout the summer and then all season. He’s challenged himself. He’s firing on all cylinders.

“He knocked out an All-American and number-one-ranked guy in the country at regionals and went home with the OW that was well-deserved.”

Totten also was a Division I transfer (from the U.S. Naval Academy) last year, when he placed sixth at 133 pounds to earn Division III All-America honors.

“He’s wrestling really open and free now,” Galante said. “He’s scoring a lot of points. He’s a very dynamic wrestler. He’s good in every position.

“He took some losses early in the year, and I think that helped him tremendously because it took a little bit of the monkey off his back. He was ranked first and second and all these things, and when he lost, they kind of bumped him down a little bit. And now he’s right back on top. He’s right back in the mix, and it’s where he belongs.”

Totten, whose father, Brandon, won Division III titles in 1995 and 1996 for Delaware Valley, is trying to become the third second-generation champion in Division III history. Ryan (1999, Upper Iowa) and Bradan (2022, Millikin) Birt were the first, followed by Baldwin Wallace’s Paul (1978) and Michael (2023-25) Petrella.

Santaniello, a 2021 New Jersey high school state champion and four-time state placewinner, became a second-generation TCNJ wrestler when he transferred from Pittsburgh this season. His father, Vinnie, was a national runner-up for the Lions in 1997.

“He definitely has the pedigree ... but (the 141-pound weight class) looks like it’s going to be a really, really good quality weight this weekend. He’s no stranger to big, big events, big moments, and he’s a gamer.”

Griffin is making his third trip to the national tournament.

“His body language tells me he’s ready,” Galante said. “He is a super, super tough kid. If he gets going, if he’s rolling, he’s as good as anybody. (North Central 125-pounder Chip) Guzman is, obviously, head and shoulders above everyone else, but Griff is right there with anybody else in the country.

Galante puts his team in the same category as Griffin.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to count us out,’ he said. “I think our guys are ready. We’re healthy. The guys are happy. Training is going well, and we’re excited to come back to Iowa.

“I think it’s going to be a battle. I think everyone is going in thinking the same thing — that they can win. It’s really going to come down to who has a great weekend, and our guys are primed.”

Springfield reached the top in Region I and qualified six wrestlers for this weekend’s national tournament. 

Jake Deguire, who placed third at 157 pounds in 2023 and sixth at 165 pounds last year, moved up another weight this year and is seeded fifth with a 23-1 record at 174 pounds. The Pride’s lineup has another returning qualifier in Nick Rogers (17-6) at 197 pounds, along with first-timers Esuar Ordonez (26-9) at 133 pounds, Ty Stewart (22-11) at 149 pounds, Ryan Kozdra (33-10) at 157 pounds and Ben Katz (26-6) at 285 pounds.

Wisconsin-Whitewater captured the title in Region V, one of the most balanced regions in the country. The Warhawks, along with North Central and the University of Chicago, are sending five wrestlers each to nationals. Wabash and Case Western Reserve each qualified three, and 12 of the teams in the region will be represented in Cedar Rapids.

“Our regional is a very strong regional,” Whitewater Coach Matt Zwaschka said. “North Central and us have been kind of the top two the last two years, but you’ve got Wabash there, which is always solid, then I think everybody has seen the University of Chicago really come on and make a big presence here the last couple of years with their new coaching staff. Then, Case Western Reserve had a really good year and a really strong showing. So, the regional keeps getting more and more depth to it, but it does really get you prepared for the national tournament.

“I was very pleased with the way our guys wrestled,” Zwaschka said. “We’ve really been preaching bonus points ever since the Wheaton tournament in late January and how important it is to get pins and tech falls and how important everybody is for all 10 to be able to place in the that top six, and seven in the top four, I was really, really pleased with that showing. And our guys went out there and the majority of them, they wrestled their best at the most important time so far this season.

“I do like where we’re at. We had a good weekend but kind of a rough last round. We lost all five matches in the championship round, we lost a couple of third-place matches in there. Our two freshmen were the only ones to get victories in that placing round, so we had good performances but didn’t finish the way we wanted to. But I think we got our guys motivated to train hard this past week, and now taper off here and get healthy for the NCAA championships.

Dominik Mallinder (27-3) is a two-time All-American (sixth in 2023 and fifth last year) who has moved up from 133 pounds in those two years to 149 pounds, where he is seeded fifth. 

“Dom is a fierce competitor,” Zwaschka said. “He’s very, very talented. He’s had a great career for us. He’s been in the regional final four times. This past weekend was his first loss at regionals, and he’s a four-time conference champ, so one of our most decorated wrestlers. The goal for him is to be on top of that podium. That’s been his focus the whole year, and I think he’s really capable of doing that.”

Brayden Peet (21-7) is the seventh seed at 165 pounds after placing fourth at the weight last year. And unseeded Jermaine Butler (15-9 at 174 pounds) is a returning qualifier.

“Jermaine Butler is up two weight classes from his previous two seasons, so for him to qualify the way he did at 174 (pounds) and get himself back at the national championships, I’m very happy with those three,” Zwaschka said of Mallinder, Peet and Butler.

Justin Fortugno (25-6) is seeded 10th at 141 pounds, while Luke Swan (25-8), who blew out a knee at the 2025 regional tournament, is unseeded at 157 pounds.

“Justin Fortugno has had a really solid year,” Zwaschka said. “He has six losses on the year (one to defending champion Mark Samuel), three of them are to the Chicago kid (2025 national runner-up Sean Conway) and two to the TCNJ kid (fourth-seeded Vincent Santaniello), so he’s wrestled a strong schedule.

“Swan has had a very, very good year, very consistent performer for us. He’s one of the kids who does all of the little things right.”

Stevens Institute of Technology has just four qualifiers despite winning the Region II team title. That number does not diminish expectations.

“I am happy with the four we got out,” Coach Anthony Bonaventura said. “Three of the four are going to be seeded in the top seven in the country, which bodes well for a lot of team points if we do wrestle to our seed and obviously exceed what we’re seeded. That’s the goal.”

Three-time All-American Ryan Smith (26-3) is back at 157 pounds as the seventh seed after placing eighth as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and seventh last year as a junior. He became the school’s second four-time region champion, joining 2022 national champion Brett Kaliner.

“Ryan Smith is a three-time returning All-American, and he’s the seventh seed coming into this tournament, so that should speak volumes to what 157 (pounds) is bringing to the table,” Bonaventura said. “Ryan Smith is a veteran. He’s been on the podium every time out. He knows how to win in March.”

Smith is joined by teammates Nico Diaz (26-1), the second seed at 141 pounds; Division I transfer Cole Handlovic (22-2), the fourth seed at 149 pounds; and Tyler Roe (25-15) at 165 pounds.

Diaz defeated Ithaca’s Isaias Torres 8-7 in the Region II final at 141 pounds, and those four team points were the difference in the Ducks’ 147.5-144 first-place finish against the Bombers.

“That put us in the driver’s seat, a big head-to-head there, and Torres is a great competitor,” Bonaventura said.

Handlovic came to Stevens Tech from Cornell University.

“Handlovic had an unfortunate end to his career at Cornell, where he did not compete due to an injury, and that’s why we were able to get him,” Bonaventura said. “He’s the first grad transfer I’ve ever had, and I think we hit a home run with our first grad transfer. He’s been amazing.

“He’s just a composed individual, very talented and has all the talent in the world to win the whole thing.

“He had a tough battle with the NCAA runner-up (Angelo Centrone of Cortland State) in the region finals, and that’s why he’s (Centrone) the three seed and Cole is the four seed.” 

Bonaventura cautions opponents not to take Roe lightly.

“He’s unseeded at 165 (pounds), but, hey, you know, a lot of unseeded guys have been on the medal stand,” Bonaventura said.

Delaware Valley has no qualifiers in this year’s field, but three seeded wrestlers were national qualifiers a year ago for the Pennsylvania school.

Seniors Jacob Blair (29-3 at 133 pounds) and Logan Flynn (34-1 at 285 pounds) will represent first-year program Arcadia this weekend. Flynn is seeded fifth, while Blair, a 2024 All-American at Del Val, is seeded seventh. Meanwhile, Malik Asfour (26-6) is the fourth seed at another first-year program, Eastern.

Eastern is coached by former Delaware Valley head coach Andrew Taylor, while Arcadia head coach David Stevens served as one of Taylor’s assistants with the Aggies.

After being at a weight dominated by three-time national champion Joziah Fry of Johnson & Wales the past three years, Chip Guzman of North Central will try to ascend to the top this week after a third-place finish as a freshman, followed by back-to-back runner-up finishes behind Fry. Guzman (33-0) is the top seed at 125 pounds. His weight also includes unbeaten Alex Diaz (29-0) of New York University, the third seed behind Roanoke’s Mac Cafurello. Freshman Nico Rivera (31-4), Fry’s successor for JWU, comes in as the fifth seed. Coe’s Brayden Parke (21-5), who placed fifth a year ago, is the No. 11 seed.

“Guzman is probably the best wrestler in Division III right now,” Wisconsin-Whitewater Coach Matt Zwaschka said.

A pair of two-time All-Americans, Southern Maine’s Jake Craig (32-2) and Wabash’s James Day (36-7) are seeded two and three, respectively, at 133 pounds. The fourth seed is returning All-American Connor Kidd (29-3) of Luther.

One of the tougher weights might be 141 pounds, where 2025 runner-up Sean Conway of the University of Chicago is seeded seventh with a 36-5 record. Also back are returning All-Americans Isaias Torres (22-4), the fifth seed from Ithaca, and Central’s Pierre Baldwin (27-2), the sixth seed.

McDaniel’s unbeaten Thomas Monn (40-0), a two-time All-American, is the top seed at 149 pounds, while 2025 runner-up Angelo Centrone (17-1) of Cortland State is the third seed. Central’s Cade Siebrecht, who began his college career at Iowa, is 25-1 and the sixth seed at 149 pounds. Seventh seed Nate Fitt (27-1) of Coast Guard will try to make the awards stand in his third appearance at the national tournament.

Zwaschka said Region V champion Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (41-5), a freshman, was another one to watch at 149 pounds.

“He’s wrestled a lot of matches and is going to be very tough to score on,” Zwaschka said.

Three-time All-American Peter Kane (28-0) of Williams is the top seed at 157 pounds, where 2024 Division II All-American Trent Mahoney (36-1) is the second seed and two-time All-American Eric Kinkaid of Loras is the fourth seed after earning Most Outstanding Wrestler honors at the Region VI tournament. He could face unbeaten fifth seed Liam Flanagan (28-0) of Washington & Lee in the quarterfinals.

Luther’s Clayton McDonough, a two-time All-American, is the top seed at 165 pounds. His only loss in 47 matches came by injury default in the Region VI final. He could have a rematch in the quarterfinals, as Coe freshman Bo Koedam (29-6) is the No. 9 seed. First, though, Koedam has to get past eighth-seeded Jack Richardson, who scored crucial points for Johnson & Wales last year. Returning All-Americans Tanner Gerber (31-3) of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Aiden Smith (24-1) of Adrian and Andrew Supers (36-2) of Baldwin Wallace are seeded third, fourth and fifth, respectively, while sixth seed Keegan Demarest of Messiah has just one loss in 49 matches.

Noah Leisgang (17-1) of Wisconsin-La Crosse is back at the tournament after a one-year absence and is seeded second at 174 pounds. He was the national runner-up at 165 pounds in 2024 after taking third at that weight the year before. Third-seeded Dustin Bohren (29-2) of Loras was also a 2024 All-American. The fourth seed, Ty Finn (26-1) of New York University, is a newcomer to Division III after compiling a 40-27 record over four seasons at Division I Virginia Tech.

Elizabethtown’s Ganon Smith makes his fourth appearance at nationals and is seeded first at 184 pounds with a 35-0 record. He placed fourth a year ago. The top half of the bracket also includes two-time All-American (third in 2025 and seventh in 2024, both at 184 pounds) Jack Ryan (16-2) of Oneonta State, the eighth seed; Alfred State’s Sean Malenfant (47-4), fifth in 2024, the fifth seed; and Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Robert (Tate) Flege (25-2), the fourth seed. Jamie Evarts (28-1) of Williams, a national qualifier last year, is the No. 3 seed.

Zwaschka said another University of Chicago freshman, Jackson Davis (33-9), was a dark horse at 184 pounds as the 11th seed.

“He had a really dominant regional performance with three pins and a tech fall,” Zwaschka said.

York’s Josh Stahl enters the 197-pound division as the second seed with a 34-1 record, going unbeaten until losing to TCNJ’s DJ Henry in the Region III final. Ninth-seeded Mo Talebi of New York University has compiled an 11-1 record this season. Representing Iran, he competed at 63 kg in freestyle at the 2016 U17 World Championships after finishing as runner-up at the U17 Asian Championships. He has one of the more interesting first-round matchups, facing eighth seed Joseph Petrella (21-2) of Baldwin Wallace, who placed fourth a year ago. There’s another notable first-round matchup in the bottom half of the bracket, where Ohio Northern’s Myles Johnson (36-4), the sixth seed and the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Region IV, faces returning All-American Ian Pepple (28-6) of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The heavyweight field is loaded at the top, so Mitch Williamson’s bid to repeat as champion at 285 pounds won’t be easy. Coast Guard’s Carl DiGiorgio (31-0), whom Williamson defeated in the finals on a late takedown, is trying to become a four-time All-American, while RIT’s Josh Harkless (42-3), whom Williamson beat on riding time in a 2-2 tiebreaker match in the quarterfinals, wrestled back to third place last March to earn All-America honors for the second time.

“Those guys are great competitors,” Williamson said, “so I’m just looking forward to the opportunity to wrestle them again.”

Washington & Lee’s Carter Stack, the fourth seed at 285 pounds, comes in unbeaten in 28 matches.

For the second year in a row, 210 wrestlers are in the field, the top three placewinners (with one exception) at each weight from each of the seven regions. The exception came when top-ranked 133-pounder Ethan Spacht of North Central was injured and had to default in the Region V final and won’t be able to compete.

There is one big change in the tournament this year.

In years past, it was not uncommon for a high seed to get knocked off in the preliminary round, but that won’t happen this weekend. This year, the number of seeds at each weight increased from eight to 11, and they are all protected until the first round. The five preliminary-round matches at each weight are made up of the 10 unseeded wrestlers.

“I’d better like it; I’m on the Championship Committee for the NCAA,” Stevens Tech Coach Anthony Bonaventura said. “We talked about it last spring as a group with the seven regional reps. We felt like, as we increase the bracket (we should) reward the guys that had a good regular season and a good regional tournament and put them in the Round of 16. They earned that opportunity.

“It’s the first year we’re doing it, and I’m kind of excited to see how it plays out.”