CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) has a proud tradition in Division III wrestling; a tradition that continues this year with 22 qualifiers in all 10 weight classes. The A-R-C took Lower Midwest Region titles in seven weight classes and swept the qualifiers at 157lbs, 174lbs, and 184lbs. The conference will be trying to better its total of 13 All-Americans from 2019 in Roanoke, Virginia – the last time an NCAA Division III wrestling championship was held.

Wartburg, which won the Lower Midwest Region title, looks to have a strong chance at a trophy this weekend. The Knights have seven qualifiers and hope to take home their fifteenth National Championship Title in program history. The Knights have been ranked No. 1 in the national polls at various times this season. Loras was second at the region meet, advancing four wrestlers to the national stage. The Duhawks will look to better their 2019 national runner-up team finish. Coe, who finished just one point behind Loras at the region tournament, has six qualifiers ready for competition just 10 blocks from the school’s Cedar Rapids campus. Central looks to make some noise with its three qualifiers and a sixth-place Lower Midwest Region finish. The University of Dubuque and Luther College each qualified one wrestler to the National Tournament.

Individually, wrestlers from the A-R-C captured the top two spots at 125 with Shandon Akeo (5^th yr. Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii / Kapolei) of Central (22-0) taking the top position and Brady Kyner (Sr., Carlisle, Iowa / S.E. Warren) of Wartburg (13-2), ranked No. 2 nationally, placing second. Akeo, ranked seventh nationally, upset Kyner in the championship match with a close 7-6 decision.

At 133, the A-R-C has two qualifiers. Wartburg sophomore, Joe Pins (So. / Dubuque, Iowa / Hempstead), ranked No. 2 nationally, took the second-place finish and will enter the tournament with a 27-4 reason record. After a third-round loss to Pins, ninth ranked Byrce Parke (Fr. / Marion, Iowa / Linn Mar) of Coe College wrestled back to a third-place finish. The freshman is 16-5 on the season.

Parke’s teammate, Brock Henderson (Coggon, Iowa / North Linn), a senior from Coe, also placed third in the 141 bracket at the Lower Midwest Region. Henderson will enter the championships with a record of 23-7. It was Wartburg’s Zayren Terukina (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii / James Campbell) who had an upset over the No. 1-seed at 141. Terukina, the No. 2-seed took the championship match with an 8-4 decision and will enter the championships 28-2.

Two A-R-C competitors went head-to-head in the championship match of the 149 lbs. weight class. Wartburg’s Kris Rumph (Jr. / Portage, Ind. / Portage) defeated Rob Areyano of Central (Sr., Selma, Calif. / Selma) 15-4. Rumph, a junior and ranked No. 2 nationally, enters the tournament with a season record of 29-3. Areyano had a thrilling upset to make it to the championship round. Seeded No. 4 at the region meet, Areyano had a sudden victory win over the No. 2 seed (4-2) in the semifinals. He is 23-5 on the season.

The first of three clean sweeps for the conference occurred at 157. Dubuque got its first NCAA qualifier as No. 4 seed Zarik Anderson (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall-Heath), a graduate student, lost in the second round (dec, 6-5) to Wartburg’s David Hollingsworth (Jr. / Owings Mills, MD / Ownings Mills). Anderson was able to wrestle his way to the third-place match and won with an upset and major decision (10-1) over the No. 3 seed. Hollingsworth, ranked second nationally, bested Zeke Smith (Jr. / Prairie du Sac, Wis. / Sauk Prairie) of Loras to take the championship match. Hollingsworth was Wartburg’s fifth consecutive qualifier. The junior raised his season record to 24-3. Smith, a junior, had a dominating first two rounds (tech, 18-0; tech, 18-1) and will move on to the tournament with a record of 18-4.

Two 165-pounders will represent the conference in Cedar Rapids. Junior Gabe Fiser (Grundy, Va. / Grundy) of Loras took second at the Lower Midwest Region tournament. Fiser, ranked No. 13 nationally, has a lofty 21-5 record. After losing in the semifinals, Coe’s Will Esmoil (West Liberty, Iowa / West Liberty) won the third-place match by fall (0:33). The sophomore will enter the championships with a 21-7 record.

Once again, the A-R-C swept a weight class, claiming all the qualifying spots at 174. Tristin Westphal (Jr. / Washington, Iowa / Washington) of Coe, ranked ninth in the nation, had a loss to Loras’ fifth-ranked Jacob Krakow (Sr., Marengo Valley, Iowa / Marengo) in the semifinals, but was able to wrestle back to a third-place finish. Krakow (20-2 record) was able to take the 174-pound title by way of medical forfeit from Wartburg’s second-ranked Zane Mulder (So., Grimes, Iowa / Dallas Center-Grimes). Mulder enters the tournament with an outstanding record of 23-2.

The third NCAA-qualifying seep came at 184. Loras’ Shane Liegel (Sr. / Spring Green, Wis. / River Valley), ranked No. 2 nationally, claimed the top spot and avenged his only loss of the season in the title bout, with a 6-0 decision over No. 1-ranked Kyle Briggs (6th-year Sr. / Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Jefferson) of Wartburg. Liegel’s season record stands at 25-1. Going into the championship match Briggs had three consecutive falls, 0:33, 3:51, 2:47, respectively. He owns a record of 17-1 this winter. Keep your eyes peeled for a Leigel-Briggs trilogy on Saturday night’s center stage. Coe’s Ryan Schott (Sr. / Iowa City, Iowa / Regina) wrestled back to third-place at 184, punching his ticket to the National Tournament. Schott is ranked ninth in Division III and looks to improve on his 19-6 season record.

In the 197-pound weight class, Luther got their first NCAA championship qualifier, Donovan Corn (Jr., Chandler, Ariz. / Hamilton), who finished second. Corn lost a tough 2-1 sudden victory decision in the championship match. After Corn’s runner-up finish, he is looking to improve on his 26-6 record. Central picked up their third national qualifier in Gage Linahon (So. / Newton, Iowa / Newton), who claimed third-place with a 4-1 decision. Linahon enters the championships with a 30-8 record.

Kaleb Reeves (Sr. / Sigourney, Iowa / Sigourney) of Coe claimed the title at 285. He is the lone American Rivers Conference representative in this weight class. The No. 2 nationally ranked 285-pounder had four straight falls within the first period (0:24, 1:09, 2:28, 0:59) on his way to the Lower Midwest Region title. The senior will look to extend his unblemished record of 31-0 as he chases gold at the National Championships.