PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island --- Wabash College senior Chase Baczek and junior James Day will earn All-America honors on Saturday after advancing to the final day of the 2025 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship Tournament at the Amica Mutual Pavillion on Friday.
Baczek will be honored as an All-American for the third time in his career when he competes on Saturday for a chance to win a national title at 197 pounds. He won three matches on Friday, opening with a 9-0 major decision over Haven Tatarek from Castleton. Baczek scored a 17-1 tech fall over Blaise Wagner from Stevens in the second round, then defeated Pilo Perez from Dubuque 7-3 in the quarterfinals.
Baczek, the fifth seed in the 197-pound bracket, faces number one seed and undefeated Massoma Endene from Wartburg on Saturday. The winner advances to the title match Saturday evening, while the loser moves to the consolation bracket to eventually wrestle for one of the third- through eighth-place finishes.
Day, who finished in third place at last year's national tournament to earn All-America honors for the first time in his career, won his first match of the 2025 tournament with a 5-3 victory over Chance Suddeth from Augsburg. Day, the eighth seed in the 133-pound bracket, lost to number one-seeded Chase Randall from the Coast Guard 17-3 in the championship quarterfinals but came back to post a 5-0 win in the consolation bracket over Isaias Torres from Ithaca.
Day wrestles Connor Kidd from Luther College to start Saturday's competition. Three wins will net Day another third-place finish at the NCAA tournament.
Senior Daniel Uribe ended his career for the Little Giants at the national tournament, finishing with an 11-7 victory in the consolation bracket over Zach Sato from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Uribe lost a tight 5-4 decision in his first match of the day and lost a 10-7 decision in his second consolation bracket match.
Mawuli Nevis and Titus Waters also competed for Wabash at the tournament. Nevis lost both his 165-pound matches, as did Waters at 285 pounds.
Saturday's competition begins at 10 a.m. Complete coverage of the tournament is available through Trackwrestling at https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=855050132.
