Competing in the 125-pound weight class, North Central College senior Chip Guzman took first place at the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Wrestling National Championships.
Guzman becomes a four-time All-American
It was a dominant run through the bracket for Guzman, who became a four-time All-American with a pair of wins on Friday night over Andrew Marchese from VTSU Castleton and Bret Birchman from Wartburg.
Starting in the semifinals on Saturday, the Cardinal earned a 17-1 technical fall victory over the No.4 seed Malik Asfour from Eastern University.
That set up a championship matchup with Brayden Park of Coe College. Once again, Guzman controlled the match from start to finish, winning the national title with a 19-3 tech fall. Chip Guzman became the fourth individual champion in NCC men’s wrestling history.
An incredible season to conclude a historic career
Guzman finishes the 2025-26 season with a perfect 37-0 record with 26 wins coming by way of technical fall. His overall career record ends at 140-9, the fifth most wins in program history.
Wartburg claimed its second consecutive Division III national championship with 110 team points. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse finished in second place with 68 team points, while Augsburg University rounded out the top three with 67.5 points. North Central finished tied for 13th place with 33 team points.
Please visit the Community Sports page for more stories.
