Area well-represented at Division III wrestling championships
The NCAA Division III Wrestling Champions will be held Friday and Saturday in Roanoke, Va., and three wrestlers from Washington & Jefferson and two from Waynesburg will be competing.
Representing W&J will be Michael Heinl (149 pounds), Hunter Neely (157) and Jared Walker (165). Waynesburg will send Ken Burrs (197) and heavyweight Jake Evans.
It is the first time since 2014 that W&J will be sending three wrestlers to the national tournament.
Evans (46-2), the defending national champion, is the No. 3 seed and will face Jesse Webb (32-8) of Castleton in the opening round. Evans suffered his lone loss against a D-III opponent this year in a 5-4 decision in the Southeast Regional two weeks ago.
Burrs (16-5), who didn’t wrestle until the second semester this season because of an injury, will face the winner of a preliminary round bout in the first round.
Heinl has a 37-4 record and earned his first career appearance at nationals by placing third at the Southeast Regional. Heinl will face No. 5 seed Brett Kaliner (38-5) of the Stevens Institute of Technology in the first round.
Neely, despite missing part of the season with an injury, has a 30-2 record and is a three-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference champion. The Bentworth graduate will face sixth-seeded Bradan Birt of Millikin in the preliminary round. Birt is 26-5.
Walker, a South Fayette graduate, is 30-3. He will open his tournament against No. 5 seed Eddie Smith of Loras, who is 26-4.
The two-day championships at the Berglund Center will be hosted by Ferrum College. The first two rounds will be contested Friday.