2007 NCAA Div. III 
Championships Preview
March 2-3 at Dubuque, Iowa

BY MATT PFIFFNER
Defending NCAA Div. III champs Wartburg are the favorites heading into this weekend's National Tournament in Dubuque, but just barely. The action gets underway Friday morning at the Five Flags Center and concludes Saturday.

The Knights qualified all 10 of their wrestlers for the tournament, but so did second-ranked and Wartburg's main rival, Augsburg. The two teams split a pair of dual meets this season. Augsburg won in the finals of the National Duals, while Wartburg traveled to Minneapolis later in the season and handed the Auggies a loss. Expect the title to go home with one of these two teams.

But they aren't alone in title hopes. Third-ranked Wisconsin-LaCrosse brings eight to the dance, as does fourth-ranked Luther. The Norse finished fourth last season and look to climb back into the top three, at the very least.

Other top-notch Iowa Conference teams include 15th-ranked Cornell (three qualifiers), No. 16 Buena Vista (four qualifiers), No. 20 Coe (three qualifiers) and 24th-ranked host school Loras (two qualifiers). Simpson and Dubuque each qualified one wrestler.

As has been the case in years past, the Iowa Conference should do very well in the Div. III Championships, both in the team race and in number of individual All-Americans. Thirty-two wrestlers from the league will compete this weekend. The top three from the conference tournament at each weight earn automatic bids, while two wrestlers are given wildcards. Last year, 20 wrestlers from the Iowa Conference earned All-American honors, including three individual champs. Eight of those 20 All-Americans return to this year's tourney.

What follows is a brief weight-by-weight preview of the championships, including qualifiers from the Iowa Conference. The brackets were not available at the time of this writing, so no first-round matches were known.

125
Four wrestlers from the Iowa Conference will compete at 125, including top-ranked Nate Hansen of Luther. Hansen, a fourth-place finisher here last season, brings a 21-5 record into the tournament. His toughest competition very well could come from an Iowa native who went out-of-state to continue his career. Brandon McDonough of Johnson & Wales, a Des Moines Lincoln grad, is ranked second in the nation with a 33-4 record.

Fourth-ranked Chris Heilman of Cornell finished second to Hansen in the league tourney and brings a 31-4 record into the tournament. No. 7 Brian Clement of Coe is 28-10 after a third-place finish at the conference tournament. Sixth-ranked Robert Struthers of Wartburg finished fourth in the league tourney and received one of the two wildcards. He is also 28-10 on the season.

Along with Hansen and Heilman, the other returning All-American at this weight is unranked Felipe Queiroz (17-5) of Wilkes, who finished sixth a year ago.

133
Four of the eight All-Americans at 133 from last season return to do battle this weekend.

Leading the way is top-ranked David Morgan (32-2) of Kings College, who finished sixth a year ago. Second-ranked Jafari Vanier (17-1) of Augsburg looks to finish one step higher than his runner-up finisher from a year ago. Fifth-ranked Adam Johnson (30-5) of North Central College was seventh last season.

The other returning All-American is No. 4 Jestin Hulegaard (19-7) of Buena Vista. The Beaver grappler has a history of stepping up big-time at the National Tournament, including a third-place effort a year ago.

Third-ranked Jacob Helvey (27-6) of Wartburg finished second to Hulegaard at the Iowa Conference Tournament and looks to make his mark on the national stage this weekend. Also representing the league at 133 are No. 7 Nichalos Nothern (34-12) of Cornell, who finished third in the league tourney, and Gannon Hjerleid (32-13) of Coe, who placed fifth in the league and received the second wildcard berth. 

141
Four returning All-Americans, including one from the Iowa Conference, help make up this weight class. With the graduation of three-time NCAA Div. III champ Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg and 2006 runner-up Dustin Brewer of Simpson, this weight is up for grabs.

Wartburg's Zach McKray finished eighth in the nation at 133 last season, but has struggled at times this year and brings a 12-8 mark into the tournament. Another unranked wrestler, Andrew Lacroix (35-6) of Roger Williams, finished third at this weight a year ago. Other returning All-Americans are No. 3 Paul LeBlanc (32-2) of SUNY-Cortland (fourth last season) and fifth-ranked Mike Gaeta (19-4) of Springfield (fifth a year ago).

Joining McKray from the Iowa Conference are sixth-ranked Jared Creason (36-4) of Coe and Travis Grawin (17-12) of Luther. Creason defeated McKray in the league finals, while Grawin finished third.

Augsburg's Quincy Osborn (40-2) is the top man at this weight, while Ricky LaForge (29-2) of Delaware Valley in ranked second. 

149
This weight class just may boast the most talent in the tournament. Seven wrestlers here have won All-American honors before, including three former National Champions.

The man to beat entering the weekend is top-ranked Luther senior Matt Pyle (31-5). He won a title in 2005, but slipped to fifth last season. He looks to end his career with a second title in three years. Jacob Larsen (12-4) of UW-LaCrosse won the title at this weight last season as a freshman, but enters the tournament ranked fifth in the nation. Second-ranked Joe Pflug (15-2) of Heidelberg won the crown at 157 a year ago and has dropped down a weight.

Other returning All-Americans are third-ranked Jason Roush (31-7) of College of Mt. St. Joseph (third last season), No. 4 Jared Evans (34-3) of Augsburg (fourth a year ago), No. 7 Don Ooton (31-4) of SUNY-Brockport (eighth last season) and eighth-ranked Timothy Bohlman (33-7) of York (sixth at 141 last season).

Other Iowa Conference participants are Adam Weber (26-12) of Wartburg, who finished second in the league tourney, and Curtis Barber (20-13) of Simpson, who placed third in the conference. Both will have to wrestle very well to break into the top eight in this loaded field.

157
Four returning All-Americans are at this weight, but the man to beat is making his first trip to Nationals.

Top-ranked Aaron Wernimont (36-4) of Wartburg took over the top spot in the ratings with a victory over No. 2 Jeremy Anderson (35-2) of Augsburg in the second dual of the season. Anderson was the National runner-up here a year ago.

Other returning All-Americans are No. 3 Bobby Gingerich (27-6) of North Central College (fifth last season), No. 4 Ross Needham (26-5) of UW-LaCrosse (third last year), No. 5 Elliot Spence (29-9) of College of Mt. St. Joseph (eighth last season) and unranked Jacob Malone (31-12) of Saint John's (fourth last year).

Two other Iowa Conference grapplers have the talent to earn All-American honors. Sixth-ranked Pat McAuley (37-11) of Cornell finished second to Wernimont in the Iowa Conference Tournament, while unranked Kyle Forness (24-9) of Buena Vista was third.

165
You never know what can happen at a National Tournament, but it's safe to say everyone but top-ranked Marcus LeVesseur (27-0) of Augsburg is wrestling for second place. LeVesseur is a three-time NCAA Div. III Champion and has not lost a collegiate match for the Auggies. After sitting out last year with academic issues, LeVesseur returns for his senior year and has not missed a beat.

Other returning All-Americans are No. 3 Steve Martell (28-3) of Johnson & Wales (fourth last year), No. 4 Gerald Bowne (26-3) of York (fifth last season) and No. 8 Shaheim Bradshaw (sixth at 157 last year).

Fifth-ranked Jason Knipp (12-2) of Wartburg, a mid-season transfer from Iowa State, may be the best shot the league has of earning All-American honors here. He is joined be league mates, Nate VanDyke (22-7) of Luther, who finished second in the Iowa Conference to Knipp, and third-place league finisher David Early (24-14) of Loras.

174
The top three ranked men at this weight are the lone returning All-Americans. 

Top-ranked Josh Chelf (39-3) of UW-LaCrosse finished third a year ago, No. 2 Jonathan Dolan (15-0) of Williams College was fourth and No. 3 Robert Gotreau (38-4) of Augsburg finished fourth.

Fifth-ranked Jason Zastrow (28-5) of Wartburg had a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa Conference Tournament, but could still be a force this weekend. Paul Meirick (13-6) of Luther won the league tourney, while Robert Larson (18-10) of Dubuque finished second.

184
This is a very interesting weight, with last year's 174-pound National Champion up a weight class, two other returning All-Americans and three very solid Iowa Conference grapplers.

Third-ranked Stephon Sair (19-2) of SUNY-Cortland edged Scott Kaufman of Wartburg for the 174-pound crown last season and tries his luck at 184 this season. No. 1 Jason Lulloff (25-3) of UW-LaCrosse finished third at this weight last season, while No. 4 Terrance Madden (9-0) of Hunter College placed sixth.

Leading the Iowa Conference charge is second-ranked Romeo Djoumessi (30-1) of Wartburg. The sophomore claimed the league title last month. Finishing second to Djoumessi in the conference tourney was fifth-ranked Jay Figgins (31-4) of Loras. Mark Mueller (5-2) of Luther, formerly of the University of Iowa, finished third in the league and makes his first NCAA Div. III Championships appearance.

197
The top two ranked men at this weight come from the Iowa Conference and they would like nothing better than to stage a rematch of the league finals for the National gold medal.

No. 1 T.J. Miller (22-0) of Wartburg has been a man on a mission this season after finishing fourth at this weight a year ago as a sophomore. Standing in his way for the title just may be No. 2 Alec Bonander (29-5) of Luther, who finished second in the league. 

Fifth-ranked Ben Strandberg (26-12) of Buena Vista will also be fighting for All-American honors.

Returning NCAA Div. III runner-up and eighth-ranked James Swanson (8-3) of UW-LaCrosse just may have something to say about who makes the finals before it's all said and done. Also back is No. 3 Matthew Loesch (16-0) of Muhlenberg, who finished sixth last season.

285
Only two All-Americans from last season return at this weight class, and both call the Iowa Conference home.

Top-ranked Blake Gillis (35-1) of Wartburg finished second at Nationals to Ryan Allen of UW-LaCrosse in each of his first three seasons for the Knights. With Allen out of the picture, Gillis is the heavy favorite and should finally capture that elusive gold medal.

No. 4 John Miller (16-4) of Luther finished second to Gillis at the league tourney and is coming off an eighth-place finish here a year ago. Wade Hammen (18-8) of Buena Vista finished third in the Iowa Conference Tournament.

No. 2 Arkadiy Levitin of Hunter brings an impressive 36-1 record into the Championships, while third-ranked Bryan Kmetz of Baldwin Wallace is a perfect 15-0 in limited action.