Six Wabash College wrestlers will represent the Little Giant team at the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament to be held March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
James Day (125 pounds),
Evan Burge (141 pounds),
Daniel Uribe (149 pounds), Tim Smith (157 pounds),
Jesse Herrera (165 pounds), and
Chase Baczek (184 pounds) all earned top-three finishes at this weekend's NCAA Central Region Tournament hosted by Ohio Northern University.
Smith and Baczek captured individual titles in their weight classes. Smith scored a pin over Wilmington's Tannar Beerman at the 5:21 mark of Friday's opening round of competition at 157 pounds. Smith earned a 7-0 decision against Trine's Philip Burney to advance to Saturday's semifinals, then locked up a place at the national tournament by knocking off the top-seeded wrestler in the bracket, John Carroll's Patrick McGraw, 8-4 in the semifinals. Smith closed the bracket with a pin at 2:13 into his finals bout versus second-seeded Thomas West from Baldwin Wallace to secure his first trip to the national tournament.
Baczek entered the weekend as the favorite at 184 pounds and showed why he earned the top seed. Ranked number two in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association poll, Baczek made short work of his opponents with two pins and two major decisions. He pinned Hiram's Zach Harper in 1:57 on Friday, then scored a 9-0 major decision versus Juwan Vines from Olivet in the quarterfinals. Baczek pinned John Carroll's Bear Horgan in the semis to qualify for the national tournament for the third year in a row. Baczek captured his second consecutive regional title with an 8-0 victory in the finals against Gavin Layman from Ohio Northern.
Burge earned a second consecutive trip to the national tournament with a second-place finish at this year's regional event. Burge scored a 15-0 tech fall in the first Friday match against Aidan Johnson from Muskingum, then picked up a 15-8 win over Tanner Smith from Adrian in the quarterfinals. Burge pinned Art Martinez from Case Western 4:12 into their semifinal bout before losing a 6-1 decision to top-seeded Jacob Reed from Ohio Northern in the finals.
Herrera placed second at 165 pounds to claim a spot in the national tournament for the first time in his career. He opened the regional tournament with a pin at the 1:51 mark of his bout versus Seth Holt from Hiram before scoring a 7-0 win against Brenden Kurtze from Alma in the second round. A pin 1:16 into the quarterfinal bout against Jake Starkey from Mount Union put Herrera into the semis, where he received a medical forfeit. Herrera lost in the finals to fourth-seeded Teagan Hendricks from Ohio Northern 9-2 in the finals.
Day garnered a second consecutive berth in the national tournament with a third-place finish at 125 pounds. The number-three seed in the bracket started the regional tournament with a pin at 2:58 of his bout versus Jordan Miller from Mount St. Joseph, then received a medical forfeit in the next round. A hard-fought semifinal match against second-seeded Jack Stanley from Mount Union ended in a 4-1 loss in overtime, sending Day to the consolation bracket. He rallied to pin Collin Mellott from Ohio Northern in the consolation semis, then punched his ticket to nationals with a dominating 15-0 victory by tech fall against Adrian's Zach Phifer in the third-place bout.
Uribe returns to the national tournament for the third year in a row after earning a third-place finish at 149 pounds at the 2024 regional. The fourth-seeded wrestler in the bracket, Uribe won a 17-2 tech fall over Colton Spurgeon from Ohio Northern to open competition, then scored a 20-4 tech fall in the next round over Claude Buckmaster from Heidelberg. Uribe advanced to the semis with a pin at 3:30 against Keagen Mabie from Manchester but lost to top-seeded Michael Petrella from Baldwin Wallace in the next match. Uribe came back to win 14-2 against Trine's Isaac Hawkins in the consolation semifinals, followed by a 10-8 decision over second-seeded Tyler Herrema from Olivet to lock up a spot in the national tournament.
Neil Johnson scored a fifth-place finish for the Little Giants at 197 pounds with three wins in the bracket. He pinned Zach Harper from Hiram in 1:47, then put Ohio Wesleyan's Geoofry Kaminsky on his back in just 30 seconds in the second round. Johnson finished the tournament with a pin at the 4:14 mark of the fifth-place match against Caleb Tackett from Wilmington after taking a pair of losses in the semis and consolation semis.
Wabash finished in second place out of 19 teams competing at the DIII Central Region Tournament, scoring a total of 155 points. Baldwin Wallace won the team title with 193 points. Ohio Northern finished in third place (138.5 points), followed by Adrian (117.5 points) and Albion (107 points) in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
