NCAA DIII HWT was full of stories this year wasn't it?  Especially stories involving the 'seniors.'  Or whatever we're supposed to call those who are in their final season of eligibility.  Here were the ones I followed.  Tyler Kim Augsburg His entire career, I've felt that Tyler Kim was an interesting character.  2nd in the NWCA in 2021, he earned NCAA DIII American honors of 4th & 3rd in '22 & '23, capping off his career with an NCAA DIII title in '24.  Add in three Upper Midwest Titles & a record of 111-20, we're looking at an extrem ..read more

 197 lbs in the NCAA Division III didn't have a ton of wrestlers competing in their final season of eligibility but it did have one in particular story that was rather inspirational. Plus a couple of other wrestlers I have followed for quite sometime.  Gabriel Zierdan Concordia (MN) The NWCA runner-up in 2021, it was two heartbreakers in a row for Gabriel Zierdan who finished 4th at both the 2022 & the 2023 Upper Midwest Regional.  In his final season of competition, he would not be denied as not only did he qualify for the NCAA DIII championships, he did so by w ..read more

  Matt Lackman Alvernia I honestly thought we'd see Matt Lackman of Alvernia win an NCAA DIII title before his collegiate eligibility was up.  At 5th-2nd-3rd, I conclude him one of the best of modern times who did not.  Also add in his career record was 122-5, with three Southeast Regional titles.  Made history last year by wrestling brother Nathan (who competed for Rhode Island) in the D3 finals.  Tristan Massie UW-Eau Claire Pure grit.  Here's a guy that just took it to you every time he stepped out on the mat.  An attacker.  103 c ..read more

  Nolan Hertel UW- La Crosse What a storybook career with a Cinderella ending it was for Nolan Hertel of UW-La Crosse.  I wish all wrestlers who truly deserve it could go out the way Hertel did.  I mean think about it.  You win your second national title, competing at your school, in front of your fans. It doesn't get any better than that.  102 career victories.  A three time Upper Midwest Regional champion & a four time WIAC champion.  Phenomenal career for Hertel.  Patrick McGraw John Carroll 109 career victories for Patrick Mc ..read more

 Relatively young class, there weren't a lot of true seniors at 149 lbs in NCAA Division III.  Only three I really followed, but all three were wrestlers I enjoyed watching compete.  Matt Beyer Ithaca The Beyers as a whole have become favorites of mine over the past few years.  Both Gary and Ann Marie are super passionate wrestling fans, who have been extremely supportive of not only Matt, but of the entire Ithaca Bomber wrestling team.  It's been fun watching & reporting on Matt's success over the past three years.  After finishing 4th at the Midea ..read more

 As wrestling rides the highs & the lows, let's take a look at our 'seniors' of 2024 at 141 lbs in NCAA DIII Sam Stuhl  Augsburg I learned in school that the highest known point in the universe is Olympus Mons, located on Mars which is 16 miles high, compared to that of Mount Everest which is about 5 1/2. I also learned that the lowest point known thus far is the challenger deep.  Now this is speaking literally.  Figuratively? I think I've seen some of the highest and lowest points of person's life on the wrestling mat.  It's not the birth of a child or ..read more

 In my opinion the seniors of the 133 lbs NCAA Division III class can best be summed up by the word heart. There was a lot of intestinal fortitude among our no longer eligible wrestlers here at 133 lbs in D3. As mentioned in my farewell to the seniors of 125 lbs NCAA DIII, I don't know everyone.  I'm sure there are some I'm leaving out that deserved to be recognized.  However, these were the guys I followed and the guys I want to recognize.  Robbie Precin North Central  A legend.  An inspiration.  Even though things didn't end on the high note they ..read more

 When you follow wrestling as intensely as I do, you get to know the wrestlers from an observational standpoint pretty well.  I suppose it's no different than when a football, basketball or baseball player finishes their final game of their final season. You thank them for their efforts & you recognize what it was that they accomplished.  I know in the sport of wrestling, more often than not, it just sorta ends.  You win or lose your final match, and then that's it.  What I want to do in my final posts of the 2023-2024 season, is give a proper farewell to all those ..read more

  My heart sunk a little when I read of John Smith's retirement the other day.  I thought about making a quick Twitter or Facebook post about it, but the more I thought about it, I realized Twitter or Facebook wasn't going to cut it.  John Smith deserves so much more than a few words on Twitter or Facebook. There's so much that he did for the sport.  So many ways in which he revolutionized the sport and was a trailblazer for both wrestlers and coaches.  Growing up a fixated wrestling fanatic, whenever someone said the name John Smith, I think I was the only one who ..read more

  For the '22-'23 season, Johnnythompsonnum1 averaged 25,000 readers per month.  My goal was to beat that number & I put a lot of effort into trying to do so.   Did I?  Yes, but not near to the extent that I wanted to.  I went from an average of 25,000 readers a month in '22-'23 to 26,250 readers in '23-'24.   All in all, I wrote 128 articles between the first day of the collegiate wrestling season & the last day of the collegiate wrestling season.  157,738 reads in total.   Here's the breakdown of my articles NCAA DI - 59 NCAA ..read more