2023 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Website
Team Scores/Final Brackets

Roanoke, Va. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wrestling team finished fifth at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships Saturday night at the Berglund Center. The Eagles totaled 61.0 team points while Augsburg University (Minn.) won the title with 101.0. 

Wartburg College (Iowa) was second with 66.5 points, Baldwin-Wallace University (Ohio) third with 66.0 and North Central College (Ill.) fourth with 63.5. Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) finished sixth (52.0) followed by Stevens Institute of Technology (N.J.) seventh (49.5), the University of Dubuque (Iowa) eighth (41.5), the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Vt.) ninth (40.5) and Wabash College (Ind.) 10th (35.5). A total of 59 teams scored points.

Ferrum College (Va.) served as the host of the championships.  

UWL now has 23 top-10 finishes at the NCAA III Championships since joining the NCAA III in 1992, including a school-best second-place showing on four different occasions (2001, 2006, 2008, 2010). The Eagles finished with a school record 106.0 points at the 2006 championships.  UWL has 13 top-four finishes at the national meet. 

UWL's Nolan Hertel captured the 157-pound national title on Saturday with a pair of victories. He won by sudden victory (2-0) over third-seeded Zeke Smith of Loras College (Iowa) in Saturday's semifinals and captured the national crown with an overtime decision (6-5) over fourth-seeded Tyler Shilson of Augsburg (Minn.). Seeded-second in the tournament, Hertel won by decision (6-1) over Matthew Sacco of The College of New Jersey in the first round and by decision (2-1) over Peter Kane of Williams College (Mass.) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Hertel is the first wrestler in school history to win the 157-pound national title. He is the first UWL wrestler to capture an individual crown since Dustin Weinmann won the 141-pound division in 2017.

It is Hertel's second career NCAA III All-America honor after finishing fifth at 157-pounds at the 2022 national championships. 

The Eagles have now captured 21 (15 wrestlers) NCAA III individual championships.  With this year's total of four All-America honors, UWL has claimed 134 in school history, including 118 in the NCAA III and 16 in the NAIA. The Eagles had a school record seven wrestlers earn All-America recognition in 2005 and 2006.  

Three other UWL wrestlers earned NCAA III All-America accolades on Saturday with Noah Leisgang (165) and Seth Brossard (174) each finishing third and Michael Douglas (285) eighth. Leisgang earned his first career NCAA III All-America honor. After picking up a pair of victories in Friday's action, Leisgang lost by decision (5-2) to second-seeded Matt Lackman of Alvernia University (Pa.) in Saturday's semifinals. He came back with a sudden victory (3-1) over Cooper Pontelandolfo of New York University in the consolation semifinals and earned third-place with a win by decision (3-2) over Nicholas Sacco of The College of New Jersey. The third-seed for this year's national meet, Leisgang opened with a decision (2-0) over Gabe Fiser of Loras (Iowa) and advanced to the semifinals after a decision (2-1) over sixth-seeded Austin Lamb of Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Brossard, seeded third at 174-pounds, also claimed third-place on Saturday. He won three matches on Saturday, opening with a decision (8-4) over seventh-seed Seth Goetzinger of Augsburg (Minn.) in the consolation third round. Brossard followed with a win by fall (1:47) over LJ Richardson of Coe College (Iowa) in the consolation semifinals and earned third with a win by decision (7-3) over Charlie Grygas of Oswego State University (N.Y.). Brossard earns his second career All-America award after finishing seventh at 165-pounds in 2022. He won by decision (10-5) over Wabash's (Ind.) Raymond Arebalo in Friday's preliminary round and followed with a win by fall (5:41) over Cooper Fleming of Castleton Univeristy (Vt.) in the first round, but lost by decision (5-3) to Grygas in the quarterfinals. Brossard advanced to Saturday's competition with a win by fall (2:54) over Luke Hopkins of Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) in the consolation third round.
 
Douglas earned his first career NCAA III All-America honor with his eighth-place finish. After going 2-1 in Friday's action, Douglas dropped both of his matches on Saturday. He lost by fall (6:57) to fifth-seed Jake Peavey of the University of Southern Maine in the consolation third round and by decision (7-3) to Carl DiGiorgio of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the seventh-place match. The eighth-seed for the championships, Douglas lost by fall (6:25) to DiGiorgio in the first round, but came back with a pair of victories in the consolation round. He won by decision (6-1) over Cole Fibranz of the University of Chicago (Ill.) in the first round and by decision (8-4) over seventh-seeded Evan Anderson of New York University in the second round.

UWL's Kalyn Jahn went 2-2 at 184-pounds on Friday while Tyler Goebel finished 1-2 at 149 and Brandon Murphy 0-2 at 125. 

Dave Malecek is in his 17th season as UWL's head coach, leading the Eagles to top-four finishes at the NCAA III Championships in seven different seasons. UWL placed second in 2008 and 2010, third in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and fourth in 2012 and 2013.  He has led UWL to 12 WIAC titles (2007-11, 2017-23) and been selected the Mertz Mortorelli WIAC Coach of the Year on seven occasions (2007-11, 2015, 2017).  UWL has earned the WIAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award the last six seasons (2018-23).  Malecek was named the 2020 NCAA III Upper Midwest Regional Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a second-place finish after nine (out of 10) wrestlers placed in the top-four.