The Wartburg Knights men's wrestling program is one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division III. They are a member of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) and wrestle for Wartburg College. Wartburg has 17 NCAA DIII National Championships while finishing as a runner-up 11 times. After the 2025 tournament they hold the record for most NCAA Team National Titles. They have also won 13 NWCA National Duals titles.

This page is exclusive to Wartburg men's wrestling. The school announced the addition of women's wrestling in 2021, with varsity competition originally set to start in 2022–23 but delayed to 2023–24. At the time, women's wrestling was part of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program; it became an official NCAA championship sport in 2025–26.

History Wartburg wrestling began in 1955. It took until 1996 when Wartburg would win their first ever National Championship. In 2022, Wartburg would go on to win its NCAA leading 15th National Championship by beating Wabash by one single point 79-78.

Battle of the burgs Since 1995 only two teams have won a DIII NCAA wrestling team title, those two being Wartburg College and Augsburg University. Both teams have gone back and forth since then, which created one of the greatest rivalries in any sport. The rivalry gained national attention when it was placed front and center on the New York Times sports section in 2012. The two teams meet every year and wrestle for a belt in a dual aptly named "Battle of the Burgs", with Wartburg winning straight, in 2023. The rivalry was featured on LG's series "the rivalries" during the 2023-2024 season. The series followed both Augsburg and Wartburg throughout the season and their battle for supremacy in DIII wrestling. Augsburg would go on to win the "Battle of the Burgs" that season and win the NCAA title, with Wartburg coming in 2nd.

Home meets Home meets are held in the Levick Arena in Waverly, Iowa.

Championships

NCAA team championships Year Coach NCAA Meet Points Duals Record (W-L-T) 1996 Jim Miller 95.5 17-2 1999 Jim Miller 117.5 17-1 2003 Jim Miller 166.5 22-1 2004 Jim Miller 156.5 27-1 2006 Jim Miller 145.4 27-0 2008 Jim Miller 147 22-0 2009 Jim Miller 117.5 15-2-1 2011 Jim Miller/Eric Keller 117 19-1 2012 Jim Miller/Eric Keller 141.5 19-1 2013 Jim Miller/Eric Keller 103 19-0 2014 Eric Keller 103.5 18-0 2016 Eric Keller 129.5 19-0 2017 Eric Keller 129.5 20-0 2018 Eric Keller 136.5 18-2 2022 Eric Keller 79 13-1 2025 Eric Keller 83.5 14-2 2026 Eric Keller 110 15-1 17 NCAA Championships

NWCA Team Championships 2021 (no NCAA Championship was held due to the COVID-19 Pandemic)

ARC/IIAC Conference Championships 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1960, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

NWCA National Duals Championship 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2024

NCAA Individual Champions

Year NCAA Champion Weight Class 1989 Dean Gavin 190 lbs 1993 Tom Hogan 150 lbs 1993 Lance Christensen 167 lbs 1994 Zane Braggs 118 lbs 1996 Tom Smith 126 lbs 1996 Jamal Fox 142 lbs 1997 Tom Smith 126 lbs 1997 Dusty Rhodes 134 lbs 1998 Ben Shane 142 lbs 1999 Zac Weiglein 125 lbs 1999 Ben Shane 149 lbs 2000 Zac Weiglein 125 lbs 2003 Heath Ropp 125 lbs 2003 Wil Kelly 141 lbs 2003 LeRoy Gardner III Hwt. 2004 Dustin Hinschberger 141 lbs 2004 Bart Mehlert 149 lbs 2004 Ryan Sturm 184 lbs 2004 Akeem Carter 197 lbs 2005 Dustin Hinschberger 141 lbs 2005 Akeem Carter 197 lbs 2006 Tyler Hubbard 125 lbs 2006 Dustin Hinschberger 141 lbs 2007 T.J. Miller 197 lbs 2007 Blake Gillis Hwt. 2008 Jacob Naig 149 lbs 2008 Aaron Wernimont 157 lbs 2008 Romeo Djoumessi 184 lbs 2009 Aaron Wernimont 157 lbs 2009 Justin Hanson 197 lbs 2010 Byron Tate 197 lbs 2011 Byron Tate 197 lbs 2011 John Helgerson Hwt. 2012 Kenny Anderson 125 lbs 2012 Kodie Silvestri 141 lbs 2012 Landon Williams 165 lbs 2012 Byron Tate 197 lbs 2013 Kenny Anderson 133 lbs 2014 Kenny Anderson 133 lbs 2014 Cole Welter 165 lbs 2014 Landon Williams 174 lbs 2015 Kenny Martin 149 lbs 2016 Kenny Martin 149 lbs 2017 Eric DeVos 174 lbs 2018 Brock Rathbun 133 lbs 2018 Cross Cannone 149 lbs 2018 Kyle Fank 197 lbs 2023 Zane Mulder 174 lbs 2023 Massoma Endene 197 lbs 2024 Massoma Endene 197 lbs 2025 Massoma Endene 197 lbs 2025 Mitchell Williamson Hwt. 2026 Kade Blume 141 lbs 2026 Kasey Ross 184 lbs

The following table counts the achievements of Wartburg Knight wrestlers by name as opposed to year.

Wrestler NCAA Championships NCAA Runners-up Kenny Anderson 3 0 Massoma Endene 3 0 Dustin Hinschberger 3 0 Byron Tate 3 0 Akeem Carter 2 1 Kenny Martin 2 0 Ben Shane 2 0 Tom Smith 2 1 Zac Weiglein 2 0 Aaron Wernimont 2 0 Landon Williams 2 0 Kade Blume 1 0 Zane Braggs1 1 Cross Cannone 1 1 Lance Christensen 1 0 Eric DeVos 1 1 Romeo Djoumessi 1 0 Kyle Fank 1 0 Dean Gavin 1 0 LeRoy Gardner III 1 0 Blake Gillis 1 3 Justin Hanson 1 0 John Helgerson 1 1 Tom Hogan 1 1 Tyler Hubbard 1 0 Wil Kelly 1 0 Bart Mehlert 1 0 TJ Miller 1 1 Zane Mulder 1 1 Jacob Naig 1 1 Brock Rathbun 1 0 Dusty Rhodes 1 0 Heath Ropp 1 0 Kasey Ross1 0 Kodi Silvestri 1 1 Ryan Sturm 1 0 Cole Welter 1 0 Mitchell Williamson 1 1 Bruce Brye 0 2 Jon Dawley 0 1 Mike Alesch 0 1 Josh Dodd 0 1 Matt Buskohl 0 1 Ozzie Saxon 0 2 Kevin Bratland 0 1 Sonny Alvarez 0 1 Cory Connell 0 1 Scott Kauffman 0 1 Jake Helvey 0 1 Brian Borchers 0 1 Drew Wagenhoffer 0 1 Zach McKray 0 1 Bradley Banks 0 2 Ryan Fank 0 1 Devin Peterson 0 1 Nick Michael 0 1 Gerard Roman 0 1 Logan Thomsen 0 2 Tyler Lutes 0 1 Zayren Terukina 0 1 TOTALS 54 41

Head coaching history

As of the completion of 2026 season Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1955–1966, 1967-1968 Norm Johansen 10 50–49–7 1966–1967 Kaye Young 1 4–7–0 1968–1990 Dick Walker 22 175-85-4 1991-2013 Jim Miller 22 411–38–2 2010–present Eric Keller 16 262–14 Totals 5 coaches 65 seasons 845–193–14

Notable Wartburg wrestlers Punahele Soriano LeRoy Gardner III Dan Ige Landon Williams

See also National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

References

External links Men's team Women's team