Six Wabash College wrestling team members qualified for the upcoming NCAA DIII National Championship Tournament after capturing a top-three spot in the brackets at the 2023 Central Region Tournament at Case Western Reserve University.
 
Jack Heldt and Chase Baczek both won their weight classes. Heldt was also named the region's Most Outstanding Wrestler. James Day captured second place at 125 pounds. Evan Burge, Daniel Uribe, and Ray Arebalo earned the final berths in their weight classes with third-place finishes. The Little Giants placed third overall in the team scoring.
 
Heldt earned his second consecutive berth in the national tournament after winning the 285-pound weight class. An All-American after finishing second at the 2022 national tournament, Heldt recorded pins in his first two matches on Saturday in this year's Central Region Tournament. Heldt advanced to the championship bout of the bracket after his opponent was disqualified, setting up a match between the number-one wrestler in the national rankings, Donovan King from Olivet. Heldt, the number-two ranked wrestler nationally at 285 pounds, scored a 5-2 victory to claim the bracket title and should head into the national tournament as the top seed.
 
Baczek entered the regional as the top seed at 184 pounds and rolled through Saturday's first two rounds with pins. He battled to a 3-2 win in his Saturday semifinal bout against Adam Medeiros from Heidelberg to move on to the championship bout against second-seeded Gavin Layman from Ohio Northern. Baczek dominated the title bout, winning 7-0 to earn his second consecutive trip to the national tournament after earning All-America honors with a sixth-place finish.
 
Day entered the regional tournament as the number-two seed at 125 pounds. He won his first bout of the bracket with a pin in 55 seconds, then scored a 10-0 major decision in his quarterfinal match. He needed overtime in the semifinals before defeating Jack Stanley from Mount Union 10-4 in sudden victory. Day faced an overtime bout in the championship round against top-seeded Jacob Decatur from Baldwin Wallace but came up on the short end of a 7-1 score in sudden victory. His second-place finish earned him his first trip to the national tournament.
 
Evan Burge placed third at 141 pounds to qualify for the national tournament for the first time. Burge won his first two bouts on Friday with a pin in the opening round before scoring an 8-6 victory in the quarterfinals. A 9-2 loss to the number-two seed in the bracket sent Burge to the consolation round, where he won his semifinal match with a first-period pin at 2:08. Burge faced Jett Boots from Trine University in the finals, with the winner earning the last spot in the weight class at the national tournament. Burge captured that berth with a pin in the first 1:05 of the match to capture his trip to Virginia for the national event.
 
Uribe earned a second trip to the championship tournament with a third-place finish at 149 pounds. On Friday, he scored a late pin in his opening bout and moved into the semifinal round of the bracket with a 5-4 victory in his second bout. Uribe lost in the semis to the number-two seed in the bracket to move to the consolation semis. He scored 14-0 major decision to move to the finals, then dominated Kale Bickiso by winning by tech fall with a score of 17-1 to earn a return trip to the national tournament.
 
Arebalo placed third at 174 pounds to join his teammates for the trip to Roanoke in two weeks. He entered the bracket as the top seed and won both Saturday matches with a 15-2 major decision and a pin in the quarterfinal round. A 3-2 loss in Sunday's semifinal round moved him to the consolation semifinal bout, where he scored a 4-0 win to advance to the finals. Arebalo earned his first trip to the national tournament with a 13-4 major decision against Eddie Williams from Alma.
 
Wabash scored 143.5 points to place third out of 20 teams competing at the Central Region event. Baldwin Wallace, fourth in the national rankings entering the tournament, won the team title with 175.5 points, followed by Ohio Northern University in second place with 153 points. John Carroll placed fourth with 130.5 points.
 
The 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament takes place March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia. Complete information regarding the tournament is available at https://ferrumpanthers.com/sports/2022/12/5/2023-ncaa-div-iii-wrestling-championships.aspx.