CLEVELAND (OH) — Delaware Valley University's Brenden Velez capped his career by finishing in eighth and earning All-America accolades in the 133-pound weight class at the 2018 NCAA Division III Championships.
 
The 82^nd All-American in the storied history of the Aggies wrestling program, Velez reached Saturday's action with three thrilling victories in the consolation bracket on Friday. The first two wins came against the No. 2 and No. 6 wrestlers in the bracket. The third triumph, a 7-2 win with six of the points coming in the final 11 seconds, guaranteed the senior a spot on the national podium and a 23^rd straight year of DelVal having at last one All-American.
 
The question on Saturday was which spot would Velez take on the podium. In the consolation quarterfinals, he met fifth-seeded Anthony Munoz (Elmhurst) and fell behind 4-2 after one period of action. An escape by Munoz was the lone point in the second and Velez took the top position to start the third. He held Munoz down for the entire two minutes and garnered a point for riding time, but it wasn't enough in a 5-3 setback.
 
That dropped Velez to the seventh-eighth place match against Owen McClave (Coast Guard), who he lost to in Friday's preliminary match. Velez found himself sown 3-0 going into the third. He chose the top again and earned a penalty point as McClave was called twice for stalling. Velez kept McClave on the mat, but couldn't turn him and McClave escaped with the 3-2 win.
 
Velez wrapped up his four-year career with 72 wins (27 this season), three trips to the NCAA Championships and one All-America accolade. He was a Scholar All-American in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 and is expected to earn a spot on this year's squad as well.
 
Teammates Kordell Rush (125) and Tim Ambacher (141) also competed at the NCAA Championships but were eliminated from the tournament on Friday. As a team, the Aggies finished tied for 37^th place with 6.5 points.  
 
 DELAWARE VALLEY UNIVERSITY COMPETITORS
133 pounds – Brenden Velez (Bristow, VA/Brentsville) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers
Championship Preliminaries: Lost by decision to Owen McClave (Coast Guard), 5-3
Consolation First Round: Won by decision over #2 Owen Doster (Wabash), 6-1
Consolation Second Round: Won by decision over Tyler Demo (Wisconsin-Eau Claire), 8-7
Consolation Third Round: Won by decision over Brendan Gould (Augustana), 7-2
Consolation Quarterfinals (Saturday): Lost by decision to #5 Anthony Munoz (Elmhurst), 5-3
Seventh-Eighth Place Match (Saturday): Lost by decision to Owen McClave (Coast Guard), 3-2
- Velez finishes his season with a 27-18 record -
 
125 pounds – Kordell Rush (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers
Championship First Round: Lost by decision to #6 Christopher Doyle (Baldwin Wallace), 5-0
Consolation First Round: Lost by decision to #1 Clarren Pestano (Central), 7-4
- Rush finishes his season with a 19-13 record -
 
141 pounds – Tim Ambacher (Newtown,PA/Council Rock North) – Unseeded out of 18 wrestlers

Championship Preliminaries: Lost by decision to Brendan Ladd (Alma), 6-5 Consolation First Round: Lost by decision to #8 Chase Wilson (Manchester), 3-2 - Ambacher finishes his season with a 22-9 record –