Six Wabash College wrestlers travel to the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to compete at the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament beginning Friday, March 15, at 11 a.m.
 
Junior Chase Baczek looks to add a third All-America award to his list of accomplishments and enter the tournaments as one of the favorites to battle for the national title at 184 pounds. Baczek finished seventh at last year's NCAA tournament after earning a sixth-place finish in 2022. The second-ranked wrestler in Division III in the weight class in the National Wrestling Coaches Association polls is also the second seed in the championship bracket with a spotless 24-0 record this season after going 4-0 at the Central Region Tournament to claim the individual title to earn another trip to nationals. He's won nine matches by falls with six tech falls. Baczek opens against Ryan DeVivo from Johnson and Wales in the first round of the 184-pound bracket.
 
Evan Burge makes a second straight appearance at the NCAA tournament and earned the eighth seed in the 141-pound bracket. He picked up two victories in last year's event before a 9-5 loss ended his run in the bracket. Burge enters the tournament ranked 15^th in the latest NWCA poll as the number eight seed in the bracket and owns an 18-4 record with seven victories by pin and five tech falls. He takes on 12^th-ranked Jacob Dado from the University of the Ozarks. The two will compete for the first time this season.
 
Daniel Uribe earned his third trip to the national tournament by placing third at 149 pounds at the 2024 Central Region Tournament two weeks ago. Uribe enters this year's NCAA tournament ranked tenth in NWCA polls with a 42-9 record. He picked up eight pins and 16 tech falls as part of his 21 victories this year. Uribe opens against third-seeded and sixth-ranked Nate Fitt from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the first round in their first meeting this season.
 
James Day returns to the national tournament for the second consecutive season at 125 pounds, scoring in win the first consolation round before being eliminated from the 2023 bracket. Day is 25-8 on the season, with ten pins and six tech falls. He is ranked 14^th in the latest NWCA poll. He faces the winner of the opening match between fifth-seeded Jalen Dunson from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and freshman Matthew Griffin from The College of New Jersey. Day defeated Griffin in an 8-3 decision earlier this season at the NWCA National Duals. Day and Dunson have not competed against one another this year.
 
Jesse Herrera competes at the national tournament for the first time in his career. The sophomore placed second at 165 pounds at the regional tournament and enters the national tournament with a record of 28-14 with 14 pins and four tech falls. Herrera wrestles fourth-seeded Noah Leisgang from the host Lancers from the University Wisconsin - La Crosse. Leisgang is ranked eighth in the NWCA poll.
 
Freshman Tim Smith defeated the number-one and number-two seeds in the 157-pound weight class bracket at the Central Region tournament to win the individual title and punch his ticket to the national tournament. Smith owns a 22-8 record with wins in all four regional matches. He's earned four pins and two tech falls this season to go with six major decisions. Smith faces eight-seeded Xavier Howard from McDaniel College.
 
The first two sessions of the 2024 NCAA DIII National Tournament take place Friday, March 15. Session I starts at 11 a.m. with preliminary rounds one and two and the consolation first round. The second session begins at 6 p.m. with the championships quarterfinal round followed by the consolation second and third rounds. Competition continues on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the championship semifinals, consolation quarterfinals, consolation semifinals, and placing matches for third through eighth place. The final session starts with the parade of All-Americans at 6:30 p.m. before the championship finals start at 7 p.m.
 
Live results and video streaming of all matches are available through TrackWrestling at https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=771457132 and at https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2024/03/15.