Wartburg Sends 7 To The Semis At NWCA D3 Championships
Wartburg Sends 7 To The Semis At NWCA D3 Championships
Wartburg has been D3 wrestling's team of the decade. The Knights have a powerful squad again this year, and it showed Friday at the NWCA D3 Championships.
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They aren’t keeping team scores at the NWCA Division III Coaches Association National Championships, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t keeping tabs. Many of the best D3 wrestlers in the country have an opportunity to compete this weekend in a makeshift national tournament that came together in less than a month.
Fans, coaches, and wrestlers couldn’t be more pleased — especially since the past two NCAA tournaments have been canceled. Just over 30 teams made the trek to Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa, to compete in the final event of the season for Division III wrestlers.
Wartburg entered the tournament as the team of the decade, winning seven of the last 10 championships. The Knights have a powerful team from top to bottom with all 10 wrestlers seeded in the top nine, including two wrestlers seeded first.
Coach Eric Keller should be pleased with his team’s performance after day one. Wartburg pushed seven wrestlers into the semifinals and they have an additional wrestler alive in consolations. Wrestlers who place in the top eight receive All-American recognition by the NWCA, so there is a lot on the line for those competing this weekend.
The wrestler of the tournament thus far is the Knights’ top-seeded 174 pounder Kyle Briggs. Briggs, who grew up 15 minutes north of Coralville and attended Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, demolished his first three opponents with falls in 10 seconds, 12 seconds, and 2:12.
Zane Mulder — Briggs’ teammate at 165 pounds — is trying to keep up. He snagged two falls and a decision to pace the Knights to a monster day that included an overall record of 29-5 in individual matches.
As it stands today, Augsburg is still the reigning team champions. They won the title in 2019 with a dominating 64-point victory over runner-up Loras. The Auggies pushed five wrestlers through to the semifinals but the other half of their team was knocked out of the tournament.
Loras entered the 2020 D3 championships as the top team in the country before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. The Duhawks have six semifinalists and nine wrestlers alive in the tournament.
Coe and Coast Guard have tournaments to be proud of after day one. The Kohawks sent five wrestlers to the semifinals and have nine total wrestlers alive in the tournament while the Bears have four in the semis and six alive.
The American Rivers Conference — which consists of all Iowa teams except for Nebraska Wesleyan — flexed its collective muscles this weekend. Of the 40 semifinal spots, 21 are occupied by wrestlers from the conference. Every weight class with the exception of 197 pounds has at least two wrestlers from the ARC. Three weight classes — 125, 141, and 149 — have three conference wrestlers.
The entire tournament is being streamed LIVE on FloWrestling.