LA CROSSE (WI) – Delaware Valley University seniors Zach Roseberry (heavyweight) and Ben Schweiger (174 pounds) have each advanced to the semifinals and have assured themselves of All-America accolades at the 2017 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.
 
Juniors Tim Ambacher and Brenden Velez also competed for the Aggies at 141 and 125 pounds respectively, but were eliminated from the tournament on Friday.
 
As a team, DelVal ended day one in 10th place with 20.5 points. Wartburg College (IA) is well on its way to its seventh consecutive national championship as the Knights have a 36-point lead over second-place Augsburg College. 
 
Roseberry and Schweiger have become the 80^th and 81^st All-Americans in the storied history of the DelVal wrestling program. The Aggies have had at least one All-American for 22 consecutive year and multiple All-Americans in nine of the last 10 campaigns.
 
For Roseberry, he is just the third DelVal wrestler to garner All-America honors (top eight finish) all four years. He took fourth as a freshman and third as a sophomore before capturing a national championship last season. It is Schweiger's first All-America accolade after coming up just one win shy of getting on the podium last year. They will both return to action for the semifinals on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. (CST).
 
Roseberry began the defense of his 2016 NCAA championship with a first-round bout against unseeded Sam Weinger (RIT). An early takedown was followed by an escape by Weinger for a 2-1 Roseberry advantage. The next 16 points went to the top seed thanks to three takedowns, a pair of two-point near falls, a four-point near fall, an escape and riding time. The 18-1 technical fall victory took just 5:42 and it put Roseberry into the quarterfinals where he will face No. 8 seed Austin Belle (Milwaukee School of Engineering).
 
Roseberry's takedown 68 seconds in gave him a 2-0 lead over Belle. An escape by Belle 36 ticks later put him on the board and he got another escape early in the second for a 2-2 score. However, Roseberry went up for good thanks to a takedown with 32 seconds remaining in the second period. He added another one midway through the third while a stalling penalty on Belle and riding time made it an 8-2 decision.
 
Roseberry has now won 58 matches in a row, including 39 this season, and his career record now stands at 132-12. He will put all of that on the line against fourth-seeded James Bethel of SUNY Oneonta (41-2) in the semifinals. Second-seeded Lance Evans (Wartburg) and No. 3 Donny Longendyke (Augsburg) will battle in the other semifinal contest. Roseberry beat Evans in last year's semifinals and took down Longendyke, the 2015 champion, in the finals.  
 
Schweiger, the fourth seed at 174, drew a preliminary match against Michael LaBell (Johnson & Wales) in his second trip to the NCAAs. He fell behind on a first-period takedown, but tied the match at 2-2 with a reversal 30 seconds into the second. It stayed tied until Schweiger got a takedown with 38 seconds left and he turned into a pin 16 ticks later, his team best 15^th pin of the year.
 
Schweiger next faced Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead). After a scoreless opening three minutes, Schweiger took the bottom to start the second and escaped just 12 seconds in. He then registered a takedown midway through the period and was awarded a penalty point for Johnson's stalling for a 4-0 lead. Schweiger added a late takedown in the third for the 6-0 blanking
 
With a spot in the semifinals on the line, Schweiger faced fifth-seeded Jon Goetz (Wisconsin-Platteville) during the evening session. Neither wrestler scored in the first period and an escape by Goetz near the midway point of the second gave him a 1-0 lead. However, Schweiger got inside for a takedown with 21 ticks to go in the period and he rode him the rest of the way for the one-point lead. Choosing bottom for the third, Schweiger escaped with 50 seconds remaining and he kept Goetz off the board the rest of the way to earn All-America honors.
 
Schweiger, who is now 35-7 on the season, will face defending champion and top-seeded Ben Swarr of Messiah (37-3) in Saturday's semifinals. The other 174-pound bout will feature No. 2 Eric Devos (Wartburg) and third-seeded Richard Carlson (Wisconsin-La Crosse).
 
Ambacher, the fourth seed, was matched up with unseeded Kody Azarian (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) in his first-ever NCAA championship bout. After a scoreless first period, Ambacher opened the second with an escape. Azarian registered a takedown, but Ambacher escaped again for a 2-2 score. Neither wrestler garnered a point in the third, sending the match to overtime. In the extra session, it was Azarian who got a takedown 35 seconds in for the 4-2 triumph.
 
That dropped Ambacher into the consolation bracket where he met unseeded Gregory Warner (York). The match was scoreless through two periods, but Warner had two minutes of riding time after keeping Ambacher down for the entire second frame. Warner took the top to start the third and he turned Ambacher over for a four-point near fall with 37 seconds left. With riding time, it was 5-0 decision as Ambacher was eliminated from the tournament.
 
Ambacher finished the year with a 28-8 record, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and NCAA East Regional crowns and a berth to nationals.
 
Velez, who was an NCAA qualifier last year, suffered an injury 49 seconds into his opening round match with fourth-seeded Victor Gliva (Augsburg). He continued on, but was clearly hobbled and Gliva led 12-0 before pinning Velez with 12 seconds left in the second (4:48).
 
Unfortunately for Velez, the injury was serious enough that he had to forfeit his consolation round match and it ended his run at the tournament. He notched a 23-13 record for the year.
 
DELAWARE VALLEY UNIVERSITY COMPETITORS
285 pounds – Zach Roseberry (Nokesville, VA/Brentsville) – Seeded 1^st out of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Won by technical fall over vs Sam Weinger (RIT), 18-1; 5:42
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by decision over #8 Austin Belle (Milwaukee Engineering), 8-2
Championship Semifinals (Sat): vs #4 James Bethel (SUNY Oneonta)
- Roseberry, a senior, advances to Saturday's semifinals and is just the third wrestler in school history to become a four-time All-American. He has is 39-0 on the season and has won 58 matches in a row –
 
174 pounds – Ben Schweiger (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) – Seeded 4^th out of 18 wrestlers
Championship Preliminaries: Won by fall over Michael LaBell (Johnson & Wales), 6:38
Championship First Round: Won by decision over Jake Johnson (Concordia-Moorhead), 6-0
Championship Quarterfinals: Won by decision over #5 Jon Goetz (Wisconsin –Platteville), 3-1
Championship Semifinals (Sat): vs #1 Ben Swarr (Messiah)  
- Schweiger, a senior, advances to Saturday's semifinals and has assured himself of All-America accolades for the first time in his career. He is 35-7 on the season –
 
141 pounds – Tim Ambacher (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North) – Seeded 4^th of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Lost by decision to Kody Azarian (Wisconsin-Oshkosh), 4-2 SV-1
Consolation Second Round: Lost by decision to Gregory Warner (York), 5-0
- Ambacher, a junior, is eliminated from the tournament. He finishes the year with a 28-8 record –
 
125 pounds – Brenden Velez (Bristow, VA/Brentsville) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Lost by fall to #4 Victor Gliva (Augsburg), 4:48
Consolation Second Round: Lost by medical forfeit to Travis Jones (Milikin)
- Velez, a junior, is eliminated from the tournament (injury). He finishes the year with a 23-13 record–