Watch the championship match here - the 285-pound finals begin at the 2:02.00 mark

CEDAR RAPIDS (IA) – Delaware Valley University junior Zach Roseberry has reached the top of the 285-pound podium at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships as he defeated defending champion Donald Longendyke of Augsburg College, 5-4, in the finals.
 
The Aggies finished in 16^th place at the NCAAs with 23.5 points. Wartburg College ran away with its sixth straight national title as the Knights racked up 129.5 points while runner-up Messiah College had 100. DelVal and Messiah, which is also in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), combined for three champions to give the conference the most individual titlists at the tournament.
 
Roseberry, who finished fourth as a freshman in 2014 and third last season, secured the 10^th national championship in Aggie wrestling history and the first since Mike Wilcox won the 184-pound crown in 2009. Roseberry joins the exclusive list that includes current assistant coach Shaun Smith (1985, 1986, 1989), Mark Ambrose (1989), Randy Worrell (1989), Brandon Totten (1995, 1996), Jamal Johnson (2006) and Wilcox. In addition, he is just one of six DelVal wrestlers to earn at least three All-America accolades in a career as he placed fourth as a freshman in 2014 and took third last year.
 
"It's the greatest feeling," Roseberry said. "I work year round at this and all of that work paid off. To accomplish something that you work so hard for is just an amazing feeling."
 
What made the championship even more special for Roseberry is that he dedicated the win to his late brother Trae (20), who was killed in a car accident was Zach was in eighth grade. In fact, his brother is the one who got him interested in the sport of wrestling.
 
"Ever since then, I decided that I wanted to do this for him, my parents, my family, my school and my friends," Roseberry said. "To just try to be my best and it really paid off."
 
Longendyke entered the match with a 39-2 record and had pinned his first three opponents at the NCAA Championships. However, it was Roseberry who was the aggressor and he picked up the first points of the bout with a takedown with 31 seconds left in the first period. Longendyke escaped the grasp 11 ticks later, but Roseberry took a 2-1 lead into the second.
 
Longendyke chose the bottom position to start the second and escaped in just 16 seconds to tie it up. At the midway point of the period, Roseberry made a quick move inside and added another takedown for a 4-2 lead. He held him down flat for nearly the remained of the period but Longendyke escape late to make it 4-3. However, Roseberry had 1:04 of riding time, which would prove to be vital.
 
Roseberry chose to go neutral to begin the final two minutes. He was given a stalling a warning with 47 seconds remaining. Soon after, Roseberry avoided a throw attempt by Longendyke and nearly got a takedown at the edge of the mat, but the two went out of bounds with 36 seconds left. The two were tied up until another restart came with 14 ticks to go. Roseberry stayed away for the remainder of the time and another stall was called, giving a penalty point to Longendyke, However, Roseberry still had the riding time that was over a minute, which was a point in his favor. He raised his arms in victory, a 5-4 decision over the reigning champion.
 
The win was the 30^th in 31 matches for Roseberry this season and it upped his career record to 93-12. His lone loss was to a Division I competitor from the University of Wisconsin in the Navy Classic finals back on November 1, 2015.  In fact, he did not give up a takedown to a Division III wrestlers all season as the only offensive points scored on him on the level was a reversal at a dual meet at The College of New Jersey. Roseberry also beat the best along the way as he defeated six of the other seven heavyweights that took the podium as All-Americans as he faced them at the East Regional two weeks ago or the last two days at the NCAA Championships.
 
Roseberry advanced to the championship round thanks to a solid, 8-6 decision over third-seeded Lance Evans of Wartburg in Saturday afternoon's semifinals. Roseberry quickly got inside for a takedown just 26 seconds into the match. Evans escaped 35 seconds later but it was Roseberry again with a takedown with 1:06 remaining in the first. Evans picked up an escape to trail by two after one period.
 
Evans opened the second with an escape to make it 4-3 and it was the lone point of the period. Roseberry started the third period on the bottom and was able to get a two-point reversal just five seconds after the warning for a 6-3 lead. It was 6-5 when Roseberry got inside again and took Evans down with 43 seconds left for a three-point lead. An escape came five seconds later but that was it as Roseberry reached the finals.  
 
Roseberry reached Saturday's action with a pair of dominating wins on Friday. He began his tournament run with an 11-3 major decision over unseeded Jesse Judge (Olivet). In the quarterfinals, Roseberry faced No. 7 seed Conner Herman (Luther) and he finished with a 10-2 major decision and a berth in the semifinals.
 
Junior 165-pounder Ben Schweiger and sophomore 125-pounder Brenden Velez also competed at the tournament for DelVal and the two combined for three wins before being eliminated on Friday.
 
  
DELAWARE VALLEY UNIVERSITY COMPETITORS
 
285 pounds – Zach Roseberry (Nokesville, VA/Brentsville) – Seeded 2^nd out of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Won by major decision over Jesse Judget (Olivet), 11-3
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by major decision over #7 Connor Herman (Luther), 10-2
Championship Semifinals (Saturday): Won by decision over #3 Lance Evans (Wartburg), 8-6
Championship Finals (Saturday): Won by decision over #1 Donald Longendyke (Augsburg), 5-4
- Roseberry claims his first national championship and finishes with a 30-1 record on the season-

165 pounds – Ben Schweiger (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers
Championship Preliminaries: Lost by decision to #7 Tom Gerszewski (Wisconsin-Whitewater), 3-1
Consolation First Round: Won by major decision over Timothy Garripoli (Williams), 9-1
Consolation Second Round: Won by decision over #4 Nick Herring (College of NJ), 7-4
Consolation Third Round: Lost by major decision to #3 Nolan Barger (Lycoming), 14-0
- Schweiger is eliminated from the tournament. He finishes the year with a 16-12 record and his first trip to the NCAAs -
 
125 pounds – Brenden Velez (Bristow, VA/Brentsville) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Lost by maj. decision to #3 Jakob Stageberg (Concordia-Moorhead), 13-4
Consolation First Round: Won by decision over James Goman (Augsburg), 4-2
Consolation Second Round: Lost by decision to Cole Ferguson (Wisconsin-Platteville), 6-2
- Velez is eliminated from the tournament. He finishes the year with a 23-13 record and his first trip to the NCAAs -