The journey to the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship Tournament begins tomorrow for the Wabash College team. Ten members of the Little Giant program will compete at the 2020 Central Region Tournament taking place at Adrian College in Michigan. The tournament takes place Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29.
 
The top-three placers in each of the ten weight classes from Saturday's finals will advance to the national tournament set to take place March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Wabash sent six wrestlers to the national tournament in 2019 with three --- Carlos Champagne, Kyle Hatch, and Darden Schurg --- earning top-eight finishes at the championships to earn All-America honors.
 
Champagne enters the weekend as the top-ranked wrestler in Division III by the National Wrestling Coaches Association at 125 pounds with a 26-6 record for the season. He placed third at last year's Central regional tournament before finishing in seventh place at the national tournament for his first All-America award. Champagne's toughest competition in the bracket could come from Andrew Perelka from John Carroll University who is ranked sixth overall among Division III wrestlers at 125 pounds.
 
Hatch is undefeated at 165 pounds with a perfect 28-0 record for the season. He is the defending 165-pound regional champion and earned All-America honors at the national tournament in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Hat placed eighth overall in the 157-pound weight class at the 2018 tournament. Last year he finished sixth at 165 pounds to add another All-America title to his resume. Hatch is the only nationally ranked wrestler in the 165-pound weight class in the Central Region Tournament. He is also listed seventh on the NCAA Division III Most Dominant Wrestler Award rankings.
 
Schurg is the defending national champion at 174 pounds and a two-time All-American after placing fourth at the 2018 national tournament. He enters the regional ranked third in the nation with a record of 14-1 for the year. He finished second at last year's regional tournament after medically forfeiting in the championship bout before moving on to the national tournament to claim the 174-pound title. The top-ranked wrestler in Division III at 174 pounds, sophomore Cornell Beachem, Jr. from Mount St. Joseph University will also compete at the Central Region Tournament this weekend.
 
Senior Owen Doster is the only other returning All-American and veteran of regional tournament competition for Wabash. Doster placed third at last year's regional tournament to qualify for the third consecutive season for nationals. He finished seventh as a freshman at 133 pounds at the 2017 tournament. He earned trips to the 2018 and 2019 national championships at 133 pounds but was unable to crack the top-eight spots either year. Doster owns a 26-6 record this season and is listed in the honorable mention list of the d3wrestle.com rankings. Charlie Nash from Baldwin Wallace is ranked fourth in the nation in the Central Region 133-pound bracket and finished fourth at last year's national tournament.
 
The Wabash wrestlers competing in the remaining six weight classes will see action at the regional for the first time in their careers. Brailen Harrington will compete at 141 pounds for the Little Giants this weekend at the regional tournament. The sophomore is 7-5 on the season. He most recently won his bracket at the John Summa Invitational held at Baldwin Wallace University on February 8. Two opposing wrestlers are ranked in the top-10 at 141 pounds in the regional bracket, including second-ranked Jordin James from Mount Union who won the 133-pound national title last year. Brendan Ladd from Alma is ranked seventh at 141 pounds and a seventh-place finisher at last year's national tournament.
 
Alex Barr will wrestle at 149 pounds for Wabash. The sophomore is 21-10 this season. Barr won the 141-pound championship at both the Summa Invite and the Mid-States Invitational hosted by Wabash on February 15. He competes in a bracket that will feature three top-ranked wrestlers --- third-ranked Zachary Cooper from Alma College, fifth-ranked Luke Hernandez from Mount Union and an eighth-place finisher at nationals in 2019, along with sixth-ranked Stanley Bleich from Baldwin Wallace.
 
Freshman Andy Posledni will compete at 157 pounds for Wabash this weekend. He is 14-8 overall and most recently won the 157-pound title at the Summa Tournament. Two nationally ranked wrestlers will compete in the 157-pound bracket at the Central Region Tournament. Sam Gross from John Carroll enters the weekend ranked sixth overall. Antwon Pugh from Mount Union is eighth in the nation after finishing as the national runner-up at 157 pounds last year.
 
Daylan Schurg is 26-9 for the season and will wrestle at 184 pounds for the Little Giants at the regional. Schurg won the 184-pound weight class title at the Summa Invitational at the start of the month. He is listed ninth in the latest NWCA rankings and joins Dylan Roth from Heidelberg, listed sixth in the latest poll, as the two nationally ranked wrestlers in the bracket. Roth was the top seed at last year's national tournament but finished sixth overall.
 
Freshman Jack Heldt is entered at 197 pounds for Wabash with a season record of 14-10. He won the 197-pound bracket at the Summa Invitational. Zach Lehman from Baldwin Wallace is the only nationally ranked wrestler competing at 197 pounds. He enters the tournament listed at fifth in the nation after earning a seventh-place finish at last year's national tournament.
 
Maxwell Bishop will compete at heavyweight for Wabash at the regional tournament. Bishop is 26-3 this season with individual titles at the Summa Invitational and at the Indiana Little State Tournament in December 2019. He is ranked fourth overall in the latest d3wrestle.com listing. Otterbein's Drew Kasper is ranked number one in the nation by the NWCA at heavyweight. He finished fifth last year at nationals. Grant Martin from Mount Union is ranked seventh overall.
 
Competition at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center at Adrian College begins at 11 a.m. on Friday with the opening round of competition. Tickets for all sessions of the tournament are $15 for adults and $7 for students, senior citizens, and children. Single-day tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, senior citizens, and children. Children ages five and under will be admitted free of charge with a paying adult.
 
Live results and video are available at https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=502813132.