The Wabash College wrestling team crowned two national champions as part of three All-America performances to capture fourth place at the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championships.
 
Devin Broukal captured 133-pound All-America honors for the first time in his career by winning his first national title, Riley Lefever captured his third title in as many years, while Nick Bova garnered All-American status for the first time as well, placing eighth. 
 
This is the second top-four finish in as many years for the Little Giants after their third place finish a year ago.  This is marks the sixth NCAA trophy in school history (1981-82 Basketball-1^st, 1977 Football-2^nd, 1995 Cross Country-3^rd, 2015 Wrestling-3^rd, 1994 Cross Country-4^th). 
 
"I'm really proud of this team," Wabash head coach Brian Anderson said. "We had a bad day yesterday, especially last night, but really turned it around today.  Every point mattered in getting the team trophy. With Brummett knocking off the defending national champion and Venezia majoring the four seed yesterday morning, it really was a full team effort to get the trophy. Winning back-to-back trophies is a great way to solidify your program as one of the best in the nation. It shows that we can be competitive year in and out with the best of them. Honestly, I think this trophy is a very fitting way to end this season for this team. Their hard work was rewarded today."
 
Broukal, unseeded at 133 pounds, stormed through the bracket and captured the fourth individual national championship in Wabash wrestling history with an 8-5 come-from-behind victory over second-seeded and returning All-American Nathan Pike from New York University.
 
"It's something I've worked all season for, and to finally see it come to fruition is just unbelievable." Broukal said. "I came in knowing I could win it, and I went out there and did just that."
 
Broukal gave up the first takedown but quickly escaped to make it a 2-1 score, which remained the score for the rest of the first period. He began the second period on bottom and was quickly turned by Pike for two nearfall points. Down 4-1, Broukal reversed Pike and rode him out the rest of the period. Broukal started the third on top and hit Pike in successive tilts for two nearfall points apiece to make the score 7-4.  Pike managed to escape midway through the third but could manage nothing against Broukal. When the final buzzer sounded, Broukal added a riding time point for an 8-5 final score and a national championship.
 
"My reversal and rideout in the second was a big turning point in the match," Broukal said. "Had I not gotten that, he probably would've chosen neutral, and I wouldn't have gotten those tilts that won the match. I was really confident after I got that second tilt because I could just feel him break mentally underneath me." 
 
To earn his spot in the championship match, Broukal knocked off fourth-seeded and three-time NCAA All-American Jesse Gunter from Baldwin-Wallace in overtime by a score of 5-3. Gunter took Broukal down only a few seconds into the match, but Broukal escaped to make it 2-1. In the second period, Gunter started down and escaped to make it 3-1.  Down 3-1, Broukal began to push the action and ended up getting a penalty point for stalling to make the match 3-2 at the end of the second period. He chose down to start the third and got a quick escape to tie up the match. The two weathered each other's attacks the rest of the third, and the match went to overtime. In overtime, Gunter snapped Broukal into a front headlock. But when Gunter tried to circle around for the takedown, Broukal reshot underneath Gunter and hit a cutback finish for the takedown to secure his spot in the finals.
 
Riley Lefever became the fifth NCAA champion in Wabash wrestling history with a 12-4 major decision over third-seeded and four-time All-American Josh Thomson from Messiah. With his championship, Lefever became only the 16th wrestler in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive national titles. He was also named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament by the Nationals Wrestling Coaches Association and earned the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler Award for the second consecutive season.
 
"There were no nerves out there," Lefever said. "The whole goal was to go out there, have fun, and put on a show. That's what I did. It was honestly just a blessing to be out here to compete with my teammates for a national title. I'll take the team trophy over an individual title any day."
 
Lefever dominated 184-pound fourth seed AJ Kowal from Stevens Institute of Technology in a 15-6 major decision to secure his third consecutive championship match appearance. Lefever pushed the action from the start of the match firing off leg attack after leg attack, which was too much for Kowal to handle. Lefever scored three takedowns in the first and built up a 6-3 lead. In the second period, he got another takedown sandwiched in between two Kowal escapes. With the score 8-5 heading into the third, Lefever chose down and got an escape. He added two more takedowns, a penalty point for stalling, and a riding time point to reach the final score of 15-6. 
 
Nick Bova dropped his first match of the day to Larry Cannon of Messiah by a 16-3 major decision to put him in the seventh place match. Bova dropped an 8-3 decision to Grant Parker from Augsburg in the finals to finish in eighth place. Parker got a couple of early takedowns, but Bova battled the entire time, throwing Parker at the end of the match but was unable to keep Parker on his back. 
 
"I definitely came here to do better than eighth, but I'm still really happy to be up on the podium and to help our team win a trophy," Bova said. "I know I can use this experience going forward to next year and get higher on the podium, while also helping some more guys make the jump to nationals, as well."    
 
Despite their careers being over after tough losses on day one of the NCAA tournament, seniors Michael Venezia and Ethan Farmer were so proud to be a part of this team this year and for the past four years.
 
"It obviously didn't end the way I wanted it to last night as far as my individual accomplishments, but I could not have been prouder to get another team trophy this year and contribute to the team points," Venezia said. "We just laid it all on the line and walked out of here with a team trophy. It's really a fantastic feeling."
 
"It's awesome, and it speaks volumes about the program," Farmer added. "From the national qualifiers to the rest of the team to the coaches to the managers, it was a complete team effort this year, and it paid off with another trophy. Looking at where this program was when we got here as freshman to where it is now, it's pretty unbelievable. We helped to set a standard of excellence, and I'm just happy to have been a part of it."
 
The Little Giants ended the season ranked second in the team dual ranking, behind only Wartburg. It was another great season filled with many accomplishments. The 2015-16 wrestling team epitomized the "Wabash Always Fights" motto and is truly Some Little Giants.