Green to wrestle for national championship

Published 12:36 pm Thursday, March 12, 2015

Former Buchanan standout Mack Green will wrestle for a Division III national championship weekend. (Leader photo/File)

Former Buchanan standout Mack Green will wrestle for a Division III national championship weekend. (Leader photo/File)

ANGOLA, Indiana — Trine wrestlers Mack Green and Brandon Preston will compete in the NCAA Division III National Championships this weekend.

Green (Buchanan, Mich./Buchanan) will be seeking All-America honors in the heavyweight division for the second-consecutive year. Preston (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) will be making his third-straight appearance in the national meet, and his second-consecutive appearance in the meet at 133-pounds. The national meet follows a double-elimination format. The top eight placing wrestlers in each class earn All-America honors.  The National Championships are being hosted by Elizabethtown College at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

Green enters the national meet with a 34-3 overall record and ranked second in the nation by the NWCA. He will face Kyle Foster of Roger Williams in the first round. Foster carries a 30-5 record into the match. The winner faces either Matan Peleg of Ursinus, or Oneonta State’s James Bethel. Last season, Green earned All-America honors by placing fifth in the nation at the National Championships.

Green won the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships to advance to the national meet. The senior also picked up wins in the Trine University Open and Al Hanke Invitational. He notched a second-place finish in the Pete Willson Invitational and added third-place finishes in the Ben McMullen Open and Ohio Northern Invitational. Green has won nine matches by pin this season.

Preston carries a 20-7 overall mark into the national meet and is ranked eighth in the nation by the NWCA. He will face Nathan Pike of New York University in the opening round. Pike enters the match 21-6 on the year. The winner advances to square off with Ithaca’s Alex Gomez, the no. 2 seed in the bracket. Preston has finished the last two national meet’s with a 1-2 record.

Preston placed third in the NCAA Midwest Regional to punch his ticket to the national stage. After battling injuries in the first half of the season, the senior rounded into form in the second half by winning his class at the Al Hanke Invitational and placing fourth in the Pete Willson Invitational. Preston has won six of his last seven matches. He has won three matches by pin this season.

National championship matches are slated to begin Friday at 11 a.m.