The Wabash College is ready for another run through the NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships. The two-day tournament will take place Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The championship event returns after the tournament was canceled one day before starting in 2020 and a full hiatus in the 2020-2021 season.

Seven Little Giants earned berths to the 2022 national tournament, matching the highest total of entries in school history. The seven wrestlers who competed at the 2017 tournament combined to place third overall in the team scoring with four All-America performances and one national champion in four-time titleholder Riley Lefever. 

This year's squad enters the tournament ranked third in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association national poll. The Little Giants join top-ranked Wartburg College, fourth-ranked Augsburg University, and fifth-ranked Baldwin Wallace University as the only teams with seven entries in the 10 weight classes. Second-ranked North Central College will have five wrestlers competing in Cedar Rapids.

Maxwell Bishop, Kyle Hatch, Carlos Champagne, and Alex Barr bring national championship experience into this year's event. All four are returning All-Americans. Hatch competed in the 2018 tournament for the first time and finished eighth in the 157-pound bracket to earn All-America honors for the first time in his career. The senior scored a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds at the 2019 tournament for his second All-America performance. Hatch qualified for the 2020 tournament that was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. He was named an All-American for that season as were all other qualifiers for that tournament.

Hatch earned a berth in this week's championship event after finishing third at 165 pounds at the Central Region Tournament. He is 28-1 this season and will be the number-three seed in the championship bracket and will open against Fox Maxwell from Bridgewater State University on Friday. 

Bishop is the top seed at 285 pounds with a 33-1 record for the season. He won the heavyweight class at the Central Region Tournament and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler with a 4-0 record including two Friday night pins. Bishop qualified for the 2020 national tournament to capture his first All-America title. Bishop faces Robby Bates from North Central to start this year's tournament.

Champagne is also a returning All-American at 125 pounds after finishing in seventh place at the 2019 championships. He is seeded seventh in this year's event after finishing second at the Central Region event. Champagne is 19-4 on the year and will face Joey Manginelli in the first bout on Friday. 

Barr is the fourth veteran wrestler competing at the national tournament for Wabash. He earned a place in the tournament after placing third at 149  pounds at the Central Region Tournament. Barr qualified for the 2020 tournament to receive All-America honors that year. He enters Friday's competition with a 17-5 overall record and will battle Ryan Fleck in the opening round on Friday.

Jack Heldt competes at the national tournament for the first time. He enters the competition on Friday as the number-two seed at 197 pounds after winning that weight class' title at the Central Region. He is 32-1 for the year and will wrestle Gable Crebs from Lycoming in Friday's opening round. 

Two other Wabash wrestlers will compete for a national title for the first time in their careers. Sophomore Daniel Uribe captured third place at the regional tournament to earn a berth at nationals at 141 pounds. He is 19-7 this season and will take on fifth-seeded Kyle Slendorn from Stevens to start competition on Friday.

Freshman Chase Baczek earned his first trip to the national tournament with a third-place finish at 184 pounds at the regional. He is 31-9 this year and opens Friday's tournament against number-five seeded Jarrit Shinhoster from Wisconsin-Whitewater. 

First-round action at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse starts at 11 a.m. on Friday. Complete ticket and event information is available at https://rollrivers.com/tournaments/?id=361.