TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The 2025 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships will be held this weekend at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I., and three wrestlers from Washington & Jefferson College will be competing for national championships and All-America honors when the event gets underway Friday morning.

The three Presidents who will compete this weekend include sophomore Taylor Smith (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) at 149 pounds, sophomore Casey Smith (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) in the 157-pound bracket and sophomore Christian McChesney (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) at 285. This marks the first time three PAC wrestlers advance to nationals since 2020 when W&J's Hunter Neely (174) and Michael Heinl (149) and Waynesburg's Rocky McGeary (285) qualified. 

Taylor Smith, who has won back-to-back PAC titles at 149 pounds, also moved his streak to two straight seasons of making the NCAA Championships after he went 4-0 to win that weight class at the Region IV Championships on March 1. In the semifinal round, Smith bested Josh Carman of Mount Union by decision (4-2) to advance to the first-place match. In the 149-pound championship match, Smith won in thrilling fashion in sudden victory over Cael Vanderhorst of Ohio Northern (SV-1, 4-1).

In last year's NCAA Championships, Smith posted a 2-2 record. He opened the tournament with a 14-3 major decision and then an 11-6 victory, but dropped his next two matches to fall one win short of All-America status.

For this year's opening round of the Championships, Smith will take on seventh-seeded Daniel Uribe of Wabash College, who won the 149-pound title at the Lower Midwest Regional Championships and has a 26-2 record so far this year. The winner will wrestle Elijah Cyr from Castleton State in the second round. Cyr, who is 26-12 this season, drew a first-round bye.

Taylor's brother and teammate Casey Smith worked his way to Nationals with a 3-0 day on day two of regionals to finish third in the 157-pound bracket. The PAC champion at 157, Smith kicked off his run with a win by decision over Joseph Olalde of Ferrum (4-2) before besting Colin Bridges of Washington & Lee by tech fall (TF 6:20, 19-3) in the consolation semifinals to advance to the third-place match. In the third-place bout, Smith edged Andrew McDougal of Roanoke in a 3-2 decision to advance to NCAA Nationals for the first time in his collegiate career.

The initial match for Smith at NCAAs will be a stern test. He is matched up with Peter Kane from Williams College, who enters the Tournament seeded second in the 157 bracket with a 37-0 record after winning his weight class in the Northeast Regional. The winner of that bout moves on to round two to take on Oswego State's Tyler Rossini (28-8), who has a first-round bye. 

Also earning a trip to nationals after a third-place showing at the Region IV meet was McChesney. Despite a loss in the Region semifinal round, McChesney fought back in the consolation semifinals with a victory by tech fall over Nicholas Cook of Roanoke (TF 6:43, 17-1). In the third-place match, McChesney defeated Steven Marra of Mount Union by decision (8-7) to earn his first trip to NCAA Nationals.

McChesney's NCAA run starts with a first-round match-up against Robby Bates from North Central University. A fourth-place finisher at NCAA Championships last year and this season's runner-up at the Lower Midwest Regional, Bates has a 24-4 record this year. The winner of the McChesney/Bates bout draws the top seed in the 285 bracket in Wisconsin-LaCrosse's Michael Douglas (23-1), who has a bye into the second round. 

Story contribution from W&J Athletic Communications