Defending champion Wartburg gets NCAA Div. III Preseason No. 1 ranking, ahead of No. 2 Messiah

The National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Div. III Preseason Rankings have been released, with defending national champion Wartburg College coming in at No. 1, and last year’s runner-up Messiah College at No. 2.


Wartburg has won five of the last six NCAA Div. III team titles, and is tied with Augsburg with the most Div. III team crowns with 12. Wartburg received 44 points in the preseason team ranking.


Messiah had its highest NCAA finish ever by placing second at the 2016 NCAA Div. III Nationals. Messiah was just four points behind Wartburg with 40 points in the preseason poll.


Rounding out the top five were No. 3 Ithaca College with 32 points, No. 4 Wabash College with 27 points and No. 5 Stevens Institute of Technology with 24 points. There are 15 teams in the Preseason Rankings.


Also released were the NCAA Div. III Preseason Individual Rankings. Among the No. 1 ranked wrestlers is three-time Div. III national champion Riley Lefever of Wabash College at 184 pounds. Lefever will attempt to become only the second four-time NCAA Div. III national champion this year, aiming to join four-timer Marcus LeVesseur of Augsburg with this amazing achievement.


Messiah College has two returning national champions holding the No. 1 ranking, Lucas Malmberg at 125 pounds and Ben Swarr at 174 pounds. Malmberg, a senior, is a three-time national finalist, with two runners-up finishes.


Other returning national champions with No. 1 preseason rankings are Logan Hermsen of UW Stevens Point at 165 pounds and Zach Roseberry of Delaware Valley College at 285 pounds.


2016 Div. III national champion Devin Broukal of Wabash, who won his title last year at 133 pounds, is now ranked up at 141 pounds, where he holds a No. 3 preseason ranking.


The 2017 NCAA Div. III National Wrestling Championships will be held at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis., March 10-11.

National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III

Pre–Season Team Ranking #1

October 24, 2016


Ranking/Team/Total Points

1. Wartburg College (IA) (44)

2. Messiah College (PA) (40)

3. Ithaca College (NY) (32)

4. Wabash College (IN) (27)

5. Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) (24)

6. University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (23)

7. Central College (IA) (23)

8. Roger Williams University (RI) (21)

9. Lycoming College (PA) (19)

10. York College (PA) (18)

11. Cornell College (IA) (17)

12. Wheaton College (IL) (17)

13. Augsburg College (MN) (16)

14. Luther College (IA) (15)

15. University of Wisconsin – Whitewater (13)

Ranking Committee: Kevin Bratland (US Coast Guard Academy), Mike Howard (Oswego State), Corey Luce (New York University), Jon Laudenslager (Wilkes University), Eric Keller (Wartburg College), Phil Moenkedick (Concordia College - Moorhead), Joe Norton (North Central College)

Next Ranking: November 16, 2016

National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Individual Ranking

October 24, 2016


125 lbs.

1. Lucas Malmberg – Messiah College (sr)

2. CJ Pestano – Central College (jr)

3. Zac Denny – UW Whitewater (sr)

4. Arnulfo Olea – Wartburg College (sr)

5. Guessepe Rea – Wilkes University (sr)

6. Jakob Stageberg – Concordia College – Moorhead (jr)

7. James Kaishian – Ithaca College (sr)

8. Jan Rosenberg – Coe College (sr)

9. Bobby Jordan – Johnson & Wales University (jr)

10. Ryan Weinmann – UW La Crosse (sr)

133 lbs.

1. Dustin Weinmann – UW La Crosse (sr)

2. Bryan Israel – Ithaca College (jr)

3. Ryan Flynn – York College (sr)

4. Sam Bennyhoff – Augsburg College (so)

5. Nathan Shank – Cornell College (sr)

6. Steven Roesenburg – University of Dubuque (so)

7. Michael Triplett – Loras College (jr)

8. Austin Sisco – Oneonta State (jr)

9. Ryan Hornack – Heidelberg University (sr)

10. Jay Albis – Johnson & Wales University (so)

141 lbs.

1. Gregg Warner – York College (so)

2. Chris Williams – Millikin University (so)

3. Devin Broukal – Wabash College (jr)

4. Matt Grossmann – Wilkes University (jr)

5. Layten Binion – North Central College (sr)

6. Phillip Opelt – Cornell College (sr)

7. Connor Campo – Wartburg College (sr)

8. Nick Wahba – Ithaca College (sr)

9. Ryan Budzek – The College of New Jersey (jr)

10. Alvontae Drummond – McDaniel College (sr)

149 lbs.

1. Seth Lansberry – Lycoming College (sr)

2. Dan Downes – Roger Williams University (sr)

3. Daniel Del Gallo – University of Southern Maine (sr)

4. Zach Wilhelm – Stevens Institute of Technology (jr)

5. Ben Williamson – North Central College (so)

6. Isaiah Vela – UW Whitewater (jr)

7. Cross Cannone – Wartburg College (so)

8. Josh Martin – Cornell College (jr)

9. Brendon Seyfried – Williams College (so)

10. Josh Evans – Wilkes University (jr)

157 lbs.

1. Logan Meister – Ferrum College (sr)

2. Grant Parker – Augsburg College (sr)

3. Nick Bova – Wabash College (sr)

4. Jeff Hojnacki – Messiah College (jr)

5. Derek Arnold – Ursinus College (sr)

6. Ty Herzog – Roger Williams University (sr)

7. Christopher Sullivan – US Coast Guard Academy (jr)

8. Aaron Engle – Cornell College (sr)

9. Brett Beltz – Thiel College (so)

10. Ray Jazikoff – New York University (jr)

165 lbs.

1. Logan Hermsen – UW Stevens Point (sr)

2. Nolan Barger – Lycoming College (sr)

3. Colin Navickas – Stevens Institute of Technology (sr)

4. Nick Velez – Ithaca College (jr)

5. Larry Cannon – Messiah College (sr)

6. Tristan Zurfluh – Luther College (sr)

7. Stephen Aiello – Wheaton College (sr)

8. Ryan Vandall – Central College (sr)

9. Nick Herring – The College of New Jersey (sr)

10. Connor Brummett – Wabash College (sr)

174 lbs.

1. Ben Swarr – Messiah College (jr)

2. Eric Devos – Wartburg College (jr)

3. Ryan Harrington – Coe College (sr)

4. Sonnieboy Blanco – Washington & Jefferson College (sr)

5. Josh Sibblies – Centenary College (sr)

6. Garrett Beaman – Saint Olaf College (so)

7. Richard Carlson – UW La Crosse (sr)

8. John Messinger – New York University (sr)

9. Stephen Jarrell – Johnson & Wales University (sr)

10. Javier Reyes – Luther College (sr)

184 lbs.

1. Riley Lefever – Wabash College (sr)

2. Justin Kreiter – Luther College (sr)

3. Austin Cook – UW La Crosse (so)

4. Bryan Levsen – Wartburg College (sr)

5. Grant Wedepohl – UW Platteville (so)

6. Dillen Decker – Heidelberg University (so)

7. AJ McBroom – Central College (sr)

8. Logan Walkup – Wheaton College (sr)

9. Derek Beitz – Messiah College (jr)

10. Ricky Briggs – Concordia College – Moorhead (jr)

197 lbs.

1. Michael Swider – Wheaton College (sr)

2. AJ Kowal – Stevens Institute of Technology (jr)

3. Carlos Toribio – Ithaca College (sr)

4. Matt Seabold – Central College (sr)

5. Kyle Fank – Wartburg College (jr)

6. Kyle Koser – Messiah College (jr)

7. Luke Fernandez – Elizabethtown College (sr)

8. Mason Baumgartner – Concordia College Wisconsin (sr)

9. Tyler Maclellan – Baldwin Wallace College (jr)

10. Khamri Thomas – Johnson & Wales University (so)

285 lbs.

1. Zach Roseberry – Delaware Valley College (sr)

2. Lance Evans – Wartburg College (jr)

3. James Bethel – Oneonta State (so)

4. Kyle Foster – Roger Williams University (sr)

5. D’Andre Johnson – UW Platteville (so)

6. Nino Majoy – Heidelberg University (sr)

7. Matan Peleg – Ursinus College (sr)

8. Justice Davis – Concordia College – Moorhead (sr)

9. Justin Karkula – UW Eau Claire (sr)

10. Jesse Judge – Olivet College (sr)