(WAYNESBURG, Pa.) – Waynesburg wrestlers Nick Garber and Corbin Semple learned the roads that they will have to take to reach the medal podium at the NCAA Division III Championships, which start this Friday.
The NCAA released the brackets for the tournament, which will be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday night. The event will run on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7.
For Garber, his toughest test on the road to All-American status, which goes to the top eight finishers in each weight class, may be in his first match of the tournament. The unseeded sophomore, who finished the year 24-2, but only 3-0 at 141, drew fourth-seeded Myanganbayar Batsukh of St. John’s University (Minn.).
Batsukh goes into the match with a 15-4 record and won the Great Lakes Regional title on Feb. 21. Garber heads to the tournament after winning the Midwest Regional Tournament, which was also held on Feb. 21. This is the first trip to Iowa for Batsukh and Garber.
One of Batsukh’s biggest win was also one of his most recent, as he upset Tony Valek of Augsburg (Minn.), who was ranked fourth in the country coming into the match and is ranked seventh at Iowa. In the final d3wrestle.com rankings going into the tournament, Batsukh was ranked fourth in the country, while Garber is 13th.
At 197, Semple, who comes to the event unranked, will begin his run to a national title against Anthony Neumann of Concordia-Moorhead, who is the fourth seed. The senior comes into the event with a record of 32-9 and is ranked fourth in the country by d3wrestle.com.
Neumann placed second in the very competitive Great Lakes Region. Semple is heading to Iowa after winning the Midwest Regional tournament. The Waynesburg sophomore sports a mark of 35-4 and is riding a 21-match winning streak.
Matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. central time (12 p.m. EST) on Friday. For a look at all the brackets and other tournament information, click here.