There will be no gimmies.

When Eric Keller of top-ranked Wartburg looks at this Friday and Saturday’s NWCA National Duals Division III field, he sees parity.

All 10 of the NWCA Top 10 teams are in the 24-team Division field set for this Friday and Saturday the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome.

“The bracket itself…I don’t know how to word it, but there is a lot of parity,” Keller said. “There are a lot of duals that could go either way. That’s what makes it fun. I think the biggest takeaway is it is for a national dual championship, so it’s really important to everybody.”

Eight preliminary matches will kick off the event at 10 a.m., with first-round action beginning at Noon (Central).

Augsburg University, the defending champion, is seeded second, followed by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the College of New Jersey.

"You look at the top eight programs, and you probably could argue that is going to be the top eight teams in Cedar Rapids in March,” Keller said. “You know, I would say that’s a pretty safe assumption. That is how good this tournament is going to be.”

Augsburg and Wartburg have won 22 of the 23 NWCA National Duals titles.

Returning National Finalists Galore

Seven athletes who wrestled in the national finals last March will compete inside the UNI-Dome Friday and Saturday.

— Christian Guzman (North Central), runner-up at 125

— Bryce Parke (Coe College), runner-up at 133

— Mark Samuel (Roanoke College), champion at 141

— Sean Conway (U of Chicago), runner-up at 141

— Cooper Willis (Augsburg), runner-up at 165

— Brandt Bombard (Augsburg), runner-up at 184

— Mitchell Williamson (Wartburg), champion at 285

2025 All-Americans In The Field

125 — Guzman and Brayden Parke (Coe).

133 — Parke, James Day (Wabash), Dominik Mallinder (UW-Whitewater), Garrett Totten (TCNJ), Chance Suddeth (Augsburg), Connor Kidd (Luther).

141 — Samuel, Conway and Pierre Baldwin (Central).

149 — Matt Randolph (Augsburg)

157 — Eric Kinkaid (Loras), Clayton McDonough (Luther)

165 — Willis, Tanner Gerber (UW-La Crosse), Brayden Peet (UW Whitewater), Andrew Supers (Baldwin Wallace)

174 — Hunter Mays (TCNJ)

184 — Bombard, Kasey Ross (Wartburg).

197 — Joey Petrella (Baldwin Wallace).

Hwt — Williamson, Adolfo Betancur (Johnson & Wales).

Five Potential Best Matches of the Preliminary Round

New York U vs. Luther

#8 Jacob Venezia vs. #11 Connor Kidd at 133: Venezia is a returning NCAA qualifier, and Kidd finished eighth in Providence last March.

#7 Ty Finn vs. #6 Bryce McDonough at 174: Finn, a Virginia Tech transfer, who also has one of the coolest majors in the field (Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime (School of Professional Studies) is 11-0 with nine bonus-point victories. McDonough, a three-year letterman, is off to a 15-3 start with nine technical falls.

Millikin vs. Baldwin Wallace

#13 Mateo Casillas vs. #1 Joey Petrella at 197: Casillas, a freshman, is 16-0, with nine wins by bonus. Petrella took fourth a year ago at the national championships.

Dubuque vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater

#12 Kale Roth vs. #5 Brayden Peet at 165: Peet reached the 165 semifinals in Providence a season ago before finishing fourth. Roth is 13-1 with a win in the Jim Fox Open and a runner-up finish at the Concordia-Wisconsin Invite.

Cornell vs. Wabash

#12 Eli Sneed vs. #9 James Day at 133: Day is a two-time All-American, third at 125 in 2024, and fourth at 133 a year ago at 133. Sneed reached the podium at regionals last March and is off to a 9-4 start.

Recapping 2025

Augsburg captured its ninth NWCA title a year ago, edging Wartburg, 17-16, in the finals.

In the championship match, the Auggies won four straight matches from 149 through 174, including major decisions from Karsen Otis and Cooper Willis at 157 and 165, to seize control.

Both teams won five matches, but in the deciding match at 285, Williamson needed a pin against Tyler Raway, and Raway held off the eventual national champion, losing only by major.

It was the same scenario Williamson had faced in the semifinals, when he needed a pin in the final match against Johnson & Wales, and got it done, pinning eventual All-American Adolfo Bentacur with five seconds left in that match.

The Knights lost two starters on Friday in the quarterfinals to significant injuries: James Levy at 125 and Dojan, currently ranked #1 at 157, at 149.

UW-La Crosse finished third and Johnson & Wales was fourth.