By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
Junior Nick Sacco took home the Division III NCAA national championship for 165-pounds on March 16, highlighting an impressive weekend for the Lions. Fifth-year Peter Wersinger and junior Mike Conklin also earned All-American titles during the NCAA Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Lions finished ninth in the competition, with 37.0 points.
Sacco became the College’s 24th individual champion of all time, and he was the first to do so at the 165-pound mark. He also is the first Lion to win an individual championship since 2019, when fifth-year Ryan Budzek won at 149-pounds.
His weekend started with a first round matchup against Teagan Hendricks of Ohio Northern on March 15. As the No. 2 seed of the 165-pound bracket, Sacco easily took care of business in this bout, winning a comfortable 14-2 major decision.
Next up for Sacco was the quarterfinals, where he took on No. 7 Alex Villar, who was representing North Central College. Like Sacco in his first round matchup, Villar also had a comfortable first round victory.
When it came to this matchup, though, nothing was comfortable for Villar. Sacco took control early on and ended up with a 2-0 decision in his favor.
Sacco then moved on to the semifinals on March 16, where he faced Coe College’s No. 6 Will Esmoil. Esmoil had pulled off an upset in his quarterfinal matchup, and was looking for another one against Sacco. He got out to an early lead, but Sacco was quickly able to rejoin control of the match and ended up with a 4-2 decision victory.
In the final, Sacco was matched up against No. 4 Noah Leisgang from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Leisgang had knocked off the bracket’s No. 1 seed in the semifinals, and was trying to use his advantage of being in his home gym again in the final. However, Sacco was not going to allow that to happen in this match, as he came away with a tight 2-1 decision, making him the 165-pound champion.
“Winning the national tournament is a feeling that can’t be expressed into words,” Sacco said. “The rush of emotions that hit me as and after I won is something I can never replicate.”
This is the second year in a row that Sacco has been an All-American in his weight class, as he finished in fourth place in last year’s NCAA Championships.
“I had visualized and manifested myself in that match for over a year now. With that, being there didn’t feel like something new or an event I hadn't placed myself in before.”
To go along with Sacco’s brilliance from this weekend, Conklin finished in seventh at 149-pounds. He lost his first round matchup to the No. 1 seed, but then won two straight consolation matches to guarantee an All-American finish.
On March 16, Conklin lost his first match, but then won his second against the No. 8 seed to claim his seventh place finish, making him the Lions’ second All-American. This was Conklin’s second time earning All-American honors, as he also did so as a freshman in 2022.
Wersinger also had himself a nice weekend, finishing in eighth at 285-pounds. Like Conklin, Wersinger lost his first round matchup, but he was then able to win two straight consolation matches to guarantee an All-American finish. He ended up losing both of his matchups on March 16, but he was still able to finish in eighth, and was the College’s third All-American. This was Wersinger’s first time earning All-American honors.
Sacco’s title, three All-Americans and a ninth place finish gave the Lions a great ending to a very respectable season. They went 13-5 in dual meets, and the ninth place finish was the highest for the College in the past five seasons.
