In part One, I did my best to be objective and give a list of the wrestlers at 125, 133 & 141 who were truly the best not to qualify for the 2026 NCAA D3 championships. Of course in making such a list you are going to include some that others wouldn't & you're going to leave off some that others would have included.
If you notice, there's a lot of parity & discrepancy in NCAA Division III wrestling. I mean even the experts had difficult time with this. I mentioned multiple top 20 ranked wrestlers yesterday, who didn't even place at regionals! If that doesn't say something to you, little else will.
Let's start it off at 149 lbs...
*NOTE* - Again a quick reminder... I am not going to be including backups & reserves in this write-up. I'm well aware that two-time Regional 1 champion Nate Fitt has an incredibly tough backup at USCGA that defeated Regional 1 runner-up Caleb Seyfried in dual action this year. Ironically enough, Seyfried's backup has a win over Ty Stewart, the Regional 1 3rd place finisher! There are probably more of these examples than you'd ever imagine (Lucas Jagodzinske, Matt Randolph's reserve at Augsburg, with a 10-0 major over qualifier Jason Giordano). Those types of stories are for another time & another day. This is a reflection on varsity wrestlers, those who went for qualification & did not get it.
Another thing...I really don't know how much I want to count losses at weights not qualified. I mean I did a bit in part 1 to clarify significant wins, but if a guy qualifies at 149 lbs, I'm not sure how much stock I put into losses he had at 157. Some might put a lot of weight into it. Not sure. I say this because for example Danny Haws had some losses at 141, but he was a completely different wrestler at 141, than what he was at 133. Completely different. Wrestling is a funny sport that way. Make of it what you will.
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| #12 Landon Church UW-Eau Claire 149 |
My heart goes out to Landon Church. For the second year in a row, the dude has wrestled his ass off only to finish one match shy of being an NCAA D3 qualifier. 19 wins on the season & 2nd at the WIAC, he's now a two-time Pete Willson place-winner with finishes of 5th & 4th. Wins on the season include an 11-0 major over Regional 1 bronze medalist Ty Stewart, and both a 19-7 major as well as a 5-0 shutout over Regional 7 runner-up Riese Thornberry. The Eagle has one more season left.
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| U.R. Jared Spahn Johnson & Wales 149 |
Ryan Currier may have been the one with the #14 ranking, but it is Jared Spahn who has earned the mention. 5th at Regional 1, Spahn had 17 wins on the year, including a 4-2 decision over D3 qualifier Ty Stewart.
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| #15 Mikey Williams Misericordia 149 |
26-8 on the season, Mikey Williams put together a very solid season. Unfortunately, it ended one match shy of NCAA D3 qualification. A Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) runner-up, Williams defeated two 2026 NCAA D3 qualifiers by 4-2 decisions, Chance Babb & Jason Giordano. May I add that he beat Giordano at Regionals. The thing about Williams is that he has shown tremendous improvement season to season. Not only that but he studies his opponents. He's turned some very ugly losses into wins. With two seasons left, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up being Misericordia's first All-American.
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| #17 Levi Snyder Messiah 149 |
Levi Snyder is a weird case in a peculiar situation. 7th in the Regional & 3rd at the MAC, head-to-head he has clearly proven he's the better wrestler than teammate Dalton Monger. However, I personally feel that Monger had the better overall season. He pinned both Ty Stewart & more impressively Angelo Centrone. Both of these guys are going to be seniors next year & I'm really anxious to see what Coach Brunk does here. With Clay Gainer graduating, perhaps one of the two moves up to 157.
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| #20 Kyle Bizjak John Carroll 149 |
Kyle Bizjak entered Regional 5 with only one loss on the season & that was to an NCAA Division II opponent. He finished one match shy of being an NCAA D3 qualifier.
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| U.R. Ike Guttentag Wesleyan 149 |
The Cardinal ends his junior season with a record of 17-3, having finished one match shy of NCAA D3 qualification, 4th in Regional 1. Had a 10-9 win over qualifier Ty Stewart.
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| U.R. Tony Orlandini Saint Vincent 149 |
Here's a guy that made some serious improvements between '24-'25 & '25-'26. 8-8 as a freshman last year, Orlandini finishes out 2026 with a record of 27-3. 4th at Regional 4, he tech'd Stewart earlier this season 20-4.
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| U.R. Manny Scordos Baldwin Wallace 149 |
5th at Regional 4, Manny Scordos ends his career at Baldwin Wallace just shy of 100 career wins. Among his wins in '25-'26, a 4-1 decision over now three-time NCAA D3 qualifier Evan Lindner. And for what it is worth a 5-3 decision over Tom Wagner who qualified up at 157.
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| U.R. Tyler Starr North Central |
An NCAA D3 qualifier last year as a sophomore, Tyler Starr came up a bit short this year with a 5th place showing at Regional 5. 30+ wins on the season, Starr majored D3 qualifier Ryan Hinger 16-6 earlier in the year.
*NOTE* - Other names to include? As tough as Regional 7 was at this weight, I have no problem putting Alex Morales (5th) & Aidan Baum (6th) on the list. Morales had a win over Lindner on the season & Baum had a win over Thornberry. Matt Castillo of Roger Williams? He was 7th at Regional 1, but it's hard to ignore both a 3-2 & 17-7 win over Ty Stewart. I'm a big fan of Ashton Hayhurst of Dubuque & I hope to see him make D3's next season. He was 4th at Regional 6. I also have to say that I was impressed with how hard Caden Frost worked to make himself a 149 lbs'er. 133 last season & an NCAA D3 qualifier, he committed himself to his team this year, bumping up to 149. By season's end, he showed that he was a gamer. 26 wins on the season & 5th at Regional 3.
Onward to 157....
*NOTE* - Unlike the first four weights, I feel pretty confident & sure of myself in my picks here at 157. Again, we're not talking backups & reserves, but just to get you a bit excited about '26-'27, I'll mention a few things for the Hell of it. Cole Dummer, the backup for Karsen Otis at Augsburg, majored Regional 2 champ Ryan Smith 12-4 earlier this year. It only took Charlie Dojan's (Wartburg) back up Tony Ulaszek 29 seconds to pin Rhenzo Augusto, Regional 5 champ. If that don't have you impatient for the start of '26-'27, I don't know what to tell you D3 wrestling fan.
To be honest, Luke Moore not placing at Regional 3 really threw me for a loop. I was not expecting that at all. I also have no idea what the status was of Clay Gainer. Messiah wrestled Noah Rice instead. Both Moore & Gainer had some really good wins, including wins over NCAA D3 qualifiers on the season.
My list 157....
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| #9 Zaren Anderson Catharge 157 |
Regional 7 is an extremely tough qualifier. I would hope that seeing a guy ranked in the top 10 in all of NCAA D3 wrestling, finish 7th in his own Regional would make that clear. For those in the know, I don't have to explain to you how hard it can be to even place at Regionals. Those that only follow DI & only have a sense of how DI works, have a very ignorant deposition that qualifying for D3 must be easy. It's anything but and looking at Zaren Anderson is all the evidence I think one needs. 27-6 on the season. Unfortunately a senior, but a great career with over 80 wins. Had a 4-1 s.v. over Regional 5 runner-up Luke Swan.
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| #11 Casey Smith Roanoake 157 |
An NCAA D3 qualifier last year as a freshman, Casey Smith finished one match shy of trip #2 this season. A 20+ match winner & 3rd at Pete Willson, I would imagine he never misses the boat again. Notable wins on the season include defeating Regional 7 champ Karsen Otis 2-1 & Regional 7 bronze medalist Joe Penchi 6-4.
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| #15 Christian Stanek Central |
The Former Iowa State Cyclone had a great season here in NCAA D3, but it came up just a hair short of NCAA D3 qualification as the now Dutch finished 4th at Regional 6.
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| #17 A.J. Parrish Cornell (IA) 157 |
I tell you what. I saw a lot of wrestlers this year who finished close in '23, '24 &/or '25, finally punch through & make it to nationals. I have a feeling when Regionals are all said & done in 2027, I'll be saying the same thing about A.J. Parrish. 4th at Regional 6 a year ago, Parrish finished 5th this year. Also 5th at Pete Willson, Parrish stuck Regional 4 3rd place finisher Londen Murphy at the 6:45 mark.
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| #18 Zach Montez Coe 157 |
Here's another Regional 6 guy! Regional 6 had 6 of the top 20 at 157. Blows your mind doesn't it? When I say there is serious talent staying home, I mean it! Montez had a 4-2 win over Qualifier Colton Weiler.
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| #19 Chris Acuna Concordia (MN) 157 |
Only a freshman, I think the future is very bright for this Cobber. 5th at Regional 7, Acuna had a 10-7 win over Tom Wagner, a 4-3 win over Karsen Otis & a 12-10 tiebreaker over Joe Penchi.
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| U.R. Nate Camiscioli Castleton 157 |
A two-time NCAA DI qualifier for the Spartans with Regional 1 finishes of 3rd & 2nd, it was not meant to happen a third time for Nate Camiscioli. 5th in the Regional, he did have wins over both the runner-up & the 3rd place finisher earlier in the season. 2-0 over Tom DiResta & 1-0 over Ryan Kozdra. Camiscioli closes out a great career with 87 career victories.
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| U.R. Jack Forte Roger Williams 157 |
Finishing right behind Camiscioli in 6th place at Regional 1, I believe Jack Forte deserves mention here. 16-4 on the year & a 7-6 win over Regional 2 runner-up Paul Lichter. Forte has one more season of eligibility left.
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