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    Jeff Vanderwerf •

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    NCAA Division III Championships Preview

    The culmination of the Division III season is upon us, and the anticipation is fever-pitch for small-school wrestling fans.

    Throughout the course of this intriguing season, "sure things" failed to compete (see: Marcus LeVesseur) -- other dominant performers of the past have faced some setbacks (see: Mike Allen and Akeem Carter) -- and other defending champions have continued to roll right into this weekend's DIII National Tournament in Ewing, New Jersey (see: Duane Bastress and Dustin Hinschberger). Who'll place where? Who'll we see in the finals?

    Let's look at our projected finalists and All-Americans:

    125: Tyler Hubbard (Wartburg) vs. Terry Morgan (Loras)

    Despite being pinned during the IIAC Championships, Morgan will find himself wrestling on the big stage in 2006. He will be facing a familiar foe -- conference opponent Hubbard, in a battle of seniors. Hubbard, who battled back for third in 2005 at 133, has ended the year top-ranked at 125. Morgan, who took nearly the same path as Hubbard last year to finish third (at 125), started the year top-ranked, but will finish it No. 2. These two will battle it out after navigating through this wide-open weight class, with Hubbard coming out on top.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Hubbard 4, Morgan 2

    The Rest:

    3. Brandon McDonough (Johnson & Wales)
    4. Ty Klofta (Ohio Northern)
    5. Nate Hansen (Luther)
    6. Tom Gagan (Elmhurst College)
    7. Rob Vaccaro (SUNY Brockport)
    8. Brian Dempsey (The College of New Jersey)

    133: Matt Smith (Johnson & Wales) vs. Tony D'Ambra (SUNY Brockport)

    Division I transfer Matt Smith finds himself at Johnson and Wales (Rhode Island) and at the top of the DIII wrestling world. He will have a tough go as D'Ambra, a finalist last year, will be looking to move up one step on the podium. This final could go either way, and sentimentality leans towards the senior D'Ambra, but Smith will edge him out.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Smith 5, D'Ambra 4 OT

    The Rest:

    3. Mike Lopez (Luther)
    4. Eddie Murray (Ursinus)
    5. Joe Jewett (Oswego)
    6. Derrick Goduto (Montclair State)
    7. Zach McKray (Wartburg)
    8. Jafari Vanier (Augsburg)

    141: Dustin Brewer (Simpson) vs. Dustin Hinschberger (Wartburg)

    Dustin Hinschberger
    Common sense dictates that the real suspense at this weight will be who'll get to (have to?) battle two-time defending champ Hinschberger. Brewer, along with Mike Gaeta (Springfield College) and Danny Song (Kings Point USMMA), are our favorites to take that unenviable position. The bracket will of course affect which one of the troika makes it to the finals. Brewer, who took fourth last year, is our favorite to face his conference foe; he has the big tournament experience, but he'll want to try some new tricks against the nails-tough Hinschberger, who recently majored him (10-0) in the IIAC finals.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Hinschberger 8, Brewer 1

    The Rest:

    3. Gaeta
    4. Song
    5. Paul Leblanc (Cortland)
    6. Josh Hansen (Augsburg)
    7. Zach Chambers (UW-Platteville)
    8. Kevin Koch (Concordia)

    149: Matt Pyle (Luther) vs. Jacob Naig (Wartburg)

    Defending champ Pyle and Naig make it two all-IIAC finals in a row, as the conference foes meet once again. Naig has been on a mission this year, establishing a 31-5 record against very tough opponents. Pyle has had a good year, compiling a 23-6 record, but has struggled of late against Naig, most recently getting handled 9-4 in the IIAC finals. Naig is just too tough this year and takes it to Pyle in the finals, and beats out his teammate Hinschberger for OW.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Naig 7, Pyle 2

    The Rest:

    3. Jared Evans (Augsburg)
    4. Dane LaPlante (Springfield)
    5. Carl Amerine (Wilmington)
    6. Jason Rousch (Mt. Saint Joseph)
    7. Stephen Hult (NYU)
    8. Jake Larsen (UW-La Crosse)

    157: Jeremy Anderson (Augsburg) vs. Joey Pflug (Heidelberg)

    Same old story at this weight: former high school star, and top DI recruit, finds himself a home at a DIII school in his home state to continue the sport he loves; he tastes success at his new home, and finds himself in the national finals. No, we're not reminiscing about Marcus Levesseur, but none other than "whatever-happened-to?" former Ohio high school legend Joey Pflug. He will be facing another DI transfer in Jeremy Anderson, who ironically took over for the missing LeVesseur. This is a tight one to call, but we see Pflug in a scorcher.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Pflug 7, Anderson 6

    The Rest:

    3. Shasheim Bradshaw (Brockport)
    4. Joe Galante (TCNJ)
    5. Ross Needham (UW-La Crosse)
    6. Rob Gingerrich (North Central College)
    7. Joseph Duca (Ithaca)
    8. Brad Bishop (Loras)

    165: Derek Sikora (UW-Eau Claire) vs. Ryan Valek (Augsburg)

    Ryan Valek
    Sikora and Valek appear to be the class of this weight. Valek has lost three times, twice to upper-division opponents (including Morehead's Nate Baker), and once to Sikora in overtime. Sikora has lost to Dubuque qualifier Cole Williams and Wisconsin's Seth Garvin, both in overtime. Look for these two hard-nosed veterans to lock horns in an epic battle for supremacy. This is a classic toss-up, but we'll give it to Valek, since this is his second trip to the finals.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Valek 3, Sikora 2 OT

    The Rest:

    3. Richard Howard (McDaniel)
    4. Cole Williams (Dubuque)
    5. Jerry Bowne (York)
    6. Steve Martell (Johnson and Wales)
    7. Don Williams (SUNY Brockport)
    8. Scott Dorn (UW-La Crosse)

    174: Scott Kauffman (Wartburg) vs. Josh Chelf (UW-La Crosse)

    Kauffman has been around a long time. He's been around wrestling in Iowa, on-and-off, since the 90s. After a stint with the Iowa Hawkeyes, he found himself, eventually, at Wartburg. This has proved to be a fruitful relationship for both parties. Kauffman, who finished fifth at 184 last year, will look to end his wrestling odyssey at the top of the podium. To do so, he'll have to get by a touch youngster in Chelf, a 2005 AA himself. Kauffman's experience prevails, and he finishes with a flourish.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Kauffman 7, Chelf 4

    The Rest:

    3. Stephon Sair (Cortland)
    4. Josh Rupprecht (Elmhurst)
    5. Mathias Keib (Ithaca)
    6. Jonathan Dolan (Williams)
    7. Al Stacilauskas (UW-Stevens Point)
    8. Robbie Gotreau (Augsburg)

    184: Duane Bastress (York) vs. Akeem Carter (Wartburg)

    Calling this weight is an unenviable task. Does one take the defending champion at this weight (Bastress)? Or perhaps take the two-time defending champion at 197 (Carter)? Or perhaps a two-time AA, freshly back from a year's recovery from injury (Jason Lulloff of UW-La Crosse)? While solid arguments can (and should) be made for Lulloff to make the finals, it's just too counterintuitive to go against Carter and Bastress. Carter hasn't been as dominant at 184, but he's still a two-time champion. And Bastress is undefeated and in his element at this weight, he will repeat.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Bastress 3, Carter 2

    The Rest:

    3. Lulloff
    4. Brad Tupa (Augsburg)
    5. Dan Willaert (St. John's)
    6. Rob Stubbs (Ithaca)
    7. Michael Troutman (Ursinus)
    8. Terry Madden (Hunter College)

    197: TJ Miller (Wartburg) vs. Jamall Johnson (Delaware Valley)

    Replacing Akeem Carter at this weight was a big task. TJ Miller has shown the move to put him in the 197 role to be a prudent one -- he has been ranked No.1 for most of the season. He has already beaten Johnson (a returning finalist) this year 8-4 in a dual. There's always the possibility that Johnson learned from his earlier match with Miller; but of course Miller might've learned something, too.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Miller 8, Johnson 6

    The Rest:

    3. Dustin Doctor (North Central)
    4. Dan Fiecke (St. John's)
    5. Devin Carmen (Baldwin-Wallace)
    6. Mike McCabe (Coe College)
    7. Ben Strandberg (Buena Vista)
    8. Zach Greenberg (Rochester)

    Hwt: Blake Gillis (Wartburg) vs. Ryan Allen (UW-La Crosse)

    Ryan Allen (Johnnie Johnson)
    Another thankless weight to predict, this could be, spots 1-4, the most talented group in the tournament. Let's see: we have three-time defending champion Allen, who has beaten Gillis the past two years in the finals; then you have Gillis, who has defeated Allen twice this year already -- and then there's Mike Hayes (UW-Stevens Point), who pinned Gillis in a dual in January; and Trinity's Mike Blair, who finished third in 2005, is certainly no slouch either. All that being said, it seems destined to be another Allen/Gillis final. Third times a charm for Allen, as he avenges his earlier losses to Gillis and is crowned for a fourth time.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Allen 5, Gillis 4 OT

    The Rest:

    3. Blair
    4. Hayes
    5. Tom Snyder (Lycoming)
    6. Keith Bhorhus (TCNJ)
    7. Pat Bennett (SUNY Brockport)
    8. Ward Brady (Elmhurst)

    The Team Race:

    Top Five

    1. Wartburg: Nine qualifiers, eight projected AAs, seven finalists and five champions (with six being a real possibility)!? Can this be for real?

    2. UW-La Crosse: Finish ahead of Augsburg on the strength of qualifying all 10 weights. Six projected AAs and one champion.

    3. Augsburg: A "down year" for the Auggies, which says a lot about the program. Seven projected AAs and one champion.

    4. SUNY Brockport: A nice finish to the season for the SUNY school. Five projected AAs.

    5. Luther College: Another top-five finish for the Norse. Three projected AAs.

    10-15

    6. Elmhurst
    7. Johnson & Wales
    8. The College of New Jersey
    9. Ithaca
    10. York
    11. Loras
    12. Ursinus
    13. UW-Stevens Point
    14. St. John's
    15. Cortland
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