WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Messiah College highlights a group of four ranked teams that will head to Lamade Gymnasium on Friday, Jan. 8, for the start of the two-day, 16-team 28th annual Budd Whitehill National Duals hosted by Lycoming College, as the field is again a very strong and deep one according to the schedule released by the rankings committee on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
 
One of the premier events in Division III wrestling, the tournament is named for legendary coach Budd Whitehill, who coached the Warriors for 37 years and won 374 matches and 10 Middle Atlantic Conference titles.
 
The tournament will once again feature four groups of four competing in a round robin on Friday, with the winners of the four groups being reseeded into a championship bracket on Saturday, Jan. 10 and competing in a four-team tournament for the championship. Brackets for Friday's second, third and fourth-place group finishers on Saturday will ensure each team five duals during the event.
 
Messiah, ranked sixth in the nation, earned the top seed and will head Group A, which also features Ohio Northern, Olivet and Oswego. The group will begin its run at the tournament at 9 a.m. on Friday, also hitting the mat at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
 
The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), ranked 14th in the nation, earned the second seed and will head Group D, which also features Wesleyan, Thiel and RIT. Group C will feature top seed Williams, ranked 16th in the nation, Lycoming, Trine and Millikin. Both groups will begin their run at 10:30 a.m., also wrestling at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
 
Rounding out the tournament, Group B, which will wrestle alongside Group A at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., features top-seed York (Pa.), ranked 22nd, Springfield, Waynesburg and King's (Pa.).
 
Six rounds of the duals will take place on Friday, Jan. 9, with four matches taking place in each round on mats spread across Lamade Gymnasium. On Saturday, Jan. 10, the tournament will conclude with four rounds of wrestling. The championship round is set for 1:30 p.m. with the tournament awards following at 3 p.m.
 
Lycoming enters the duals with an 8-3 overall record, which includes most recently sweeping the Pa./N.Y. Duals for the third straight year with a 37-5 win over Oswego and a 33-12 win over RIT.
 
The squad is paced by two wrestlers in the most recent NWCA Division III Individual Rankings in juniors Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) and Seth Lansberry (Klingerstown, Pa./Line Mountain). Barger, a returning All-American, is second at 165 pounds with a perfect 15-0 record and Lansberry is 10^th at 149 pounds with a 15-1 mark.
 
The Warriors are looking to place at the event for the 19th time in its 28 years. In 2015, the Warriors won their group during the first day of the duals, upsetting 28^th-ranked Coast Guard in the final match of the day to reach the championship bracket of the tournament, finishing third after falling to Williams in the semifinals.
 
Lycoming is seeded second in Group C and will open the duals by facing Trine at 10:30 a.m. before facing Millikin at 1:30 p.m. and top-seed Williams at 4:30 p.m. The Warriors are 72-42 (.632) all-time at the duals and have won titles in 1997 and 1999.
 
Round 1 – Group A + B - 9 a.m.
Mat 1    Messiah vs SUNY Oswego                             
Mat 2    Ohio Northern vs Olivet                                 
Mat 3    York (Pa.) vs King`s (Pa.)                                
Mat 4    Springfield vs Waynesburg                           
 
Round 1 – Group C + D – 10:30 a.m.
Mat 1    Williams vs Millikin                            
Mat 2    Lycoming vs Trine                           
Mat 3    TCNJ vs RIT                          
Mat 4    Wesleyan vs Thiel                             
 
Round 2 – Group A + B – 12 p.m.
Mat 1    Messiah vs Olivet                              
Mat 2    Ohio Northern vs SUNY Oswego                                
Mat 3    York (Pa.) vs Waynesburg                             
Mat 4    Springfield vs King`s (Pa.)                              
 
Round 2 – Group C + D – 1:30 p.m.
Mat 1    Williams College vs Trine University                          
Mat 2    Lycoming vs Millikin                         
Mat 3    TCNJ vs Thiel                       
Mat 4    Wesleyan vs RIT                                
 
Round 3 – Group A + B – 3 p.m.
Mat 1    Messiah vs Ohio Northern                            
Mat 2    Olivet vs SUNY Oswego                                
Mat 3    York (Pa.) vs Springfield                                 
Mat 4    Waynesburg vs King`s (Pa.)                        
 
Round 3 – Group C + D – 4:30 p.m.
Mat 1    Williams College vs Lycoming                       
Mat 2    Trine University vs Millikin                          
Mat 3    TCNJ vs Wesleyan                             
Mat 4    Thiel vs RIT