As is usually the case, the Division III National Championships — set for Friday and Saturday at the Alliant PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids — are ripe for drama.

A year ago, Wartburg College tied Johnson & Wales for its 16th national championship.

The Knights (with five of their nine qualifiers seeded fourth or better), 15-time champion Augsburg University (which qualified all 10 of its wrestlers), and NWCA national dual champion Roanoke College (nine qualifiers), are the front-runners.

“I feel like there is going to be some mayhem again,” Augsburg coach Tony Valek said. “Especially, with 11 seeded wrestlers and kind of the way the brackets are set up. So, I think it will be fun.”

Wartburg coach Eric Keller says his team is ready to defend.

“We’re pretty battle tested, you know?” Keller said. “I think they’ve seen as much high-level, quality competition that we could put in front of them. Ultimately, that has prepared them for the end of the year.

“But the message to them is going back to controlling what you can control, and that is controlling your wrestling, being ready to go out and execute and do all the things you’ve done all year long.”

Two Returning Champions

Last March, the senior/graduate student class was laden with talent.

There were three three-time champions — Joziah Fry of Johnson & Wales, Michael Petrella of Baldwin Wallace and Massoma Endene of Wartburg. Additionally, there were a pair of two-time champions — Chase Randall of Coast Guard and Jared Stricker of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

“There were some all-time greats in that group,” Valek said.

Altogether, there were 10 senior/graduate wrestlers who accounted for 20 career national titles — Hayden Brown of Johnson & Wales, Marcus Orlandoni of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Matt Lackman of Alvernia, Nathan Lackman of Alvernia, Nicholas Sacco of the College of New Jersey, and Josh Wilson of Greensboro, who all won national titles before completing their eligibility.

Roanoke’s Mark Samuel (141) and Wartburg’s Mitchell Williamson (285) are the only returning champions. Additionally, there are six returning runners-up — Christian Guzman of North Central at 125, Sean Conway of Chicago (141), Angelo Centrone of Cortland (149, Cooper Willis of Augsburg (165), Brandt Bombard of Augsburg (184) and Carl DiGiorgio of Coast Guard (285).

Going For Four

Five wrestlers will attempt to become four-time All-Americans in Cedar Rapids — Peter Kane of Williams, Ryan Smith of Stevens, Carl DiGiorgio of Coast Guard, Cooper Willis of Augsburg and Christian Guzman of North Central.

— Kane, a runner-up at 157 in 2024, also has been fifth at 157 (2025) and seventh at 157 (2023)

— Smith is already a three-timer at 157, going eighth, sixth and seventh in succession since 2023.

— DiGiorgio, the fourth three-time all-American in Coast Guard history, joining Chris Fertig, Nathaniel Giorgio and Coy Spooner, was seventh at 285 in 2023, and was third in 2024, before losing in the championship match last March.

— Willis was fifth at 165 in 2023, fifth again in 2024, and was runner-up a year ago. Augsburg has had only four other wrestlers achieve four-time all-American status – John Beaty (87-90), Nik Lewandowski (98-01), Marcus LeVesseuer (four-time champ from 2003-07, and Chad Johnson (2011-14).

— North Central’s Guzman was third at 125 in 2023 and has been the national runner-up at 125 in each of the last two national championships.

Weights To Watch

While all 10 weight classes have compelling storylines, the two most likely to produce the most drama are 157 and 285.

At 157, Wartburg Charlie Dojan has been top-ranked all season before losing in the regional finals to two-time All-American Eric Kinkaid of Loras. Dojan is seeded third, and Kinkaid fourth.

The top two seeds at 157 are three-time All-American Peter Kane of Williams (#1) and former Division II All-American Trent Mahoney of Albright (#2). This bracket also includes another three-time All-American Ryan Smith of Stevens.

The top three finishers at 285 last March returned, headlined by Williamson and DiGiorgio. Williamson scored a last-second takedown to win that final in an incredible run that saw him defeat four All-Americans en route to his title.

Third-place finisher Josh Harkless of RIT is a two-time All-American.

A Darkhorse At Each Weight

125 — Guzman has been so close the last three years, it is hard not to say this is his year to win. However — and this is not a stretch of the imagination — for Roanoke to challenge for a team title, 2024 All-American Mac Cafurella, the second seed, could be the sparkplug.

133 — Luther College’s Connor Kidd won his regional, and his pin in the regional finals pushed him past former Norse national champion Garrett South with his 57th career fall. He was eighth in Rhode Island last year.

141 — Wartburg freshman Kade Blume, the #3 seed, took Samuel to sudden victory at the National Duals, with Samuel winning an incredible scramble to win the match.

149 — It is hard to call him a dark horse as he was runner-up last March, but Cortland’s Angelo Centrone enters the championships as the third seed.

157 — There is not a hidden talent in this bracket with two three-time All-Americans, a Division II All-American and two other past All-Americans among the top six seeds. If somebody outside of that range wins, you must consider that three-time All-American Ryan Smith of Stevens is seeded seventh.

165  — This weight class feels like a three-horse race between McDonough, second-seeded and three-time All-American Cooper Willis of Augsburg and Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Tanner Gerber.

174 — Look out for Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Noah Leisgang. He was an All-American at 165 in 2023 and 2024 but did not compete last season.

184 — Top-seeded Gannon Smith (Elizabethtown) has an impressive resume and perfect 35-0 mark, but this is another loaded bracket. Last year’s runner-up, Brant Bombard of Augsburg, is seeded sixth. Two other All-Americans, Oneota’s Jack Ryan and Wartburg’s Kasey Ross, are back, and throw in Smith’s fourth-place finish in Rhode Island, that is 2025’s  2-3-4-5 finishers in the field. But consider this, Roanoke’s Hunter Moore, before dropping to 184, owns wins over 3-4-5 seeds in the 197 bracket.

197 — Two wrestlers who made the podium last March — Joseph Petrella (Baldwin Wallace), fourth, and Ian Pepple (Eau Claire), sixth) — are seeded eighth and 11th, respectively. This is a wide-open weight class.

285 — If somebody outside of Williamson, DiGiorgio, or Harkless wins, it will be bigger than the Miracle on Ice.

New Format

The Division III wrestling committee is using a different bracket format for the first time.

Unlike in previous championships, where eight wrestlers were seeded, and all other qualifiers were drawn in, the committee seeded 11 wrestlers.

With 11 seeded wrestlers, the first round would include three pre-determined matches: 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9.

The 10 unseeded wrestlers would randomly be drawn into the field to formulate five pigtail matches, with a top-five-seeded wrestler awaiting the winner of that pigtail.

“It’s a totally different way of doing it,” Keller said. “I think it will be good.”