Wrestling tournaments seem to always have banquets or socials associated with them. Division III is no different. On Thursday night on the top floor at the Crowne Plaza in Cedar Falls, LeRoy Gardner, Steve Gliva, Dave Mitchell, Don Montgomery and K. Donald Shelbourne were honored.

With the temperature in the room rising every minute, three of the five honorees were in attendance. Because many wrestling fans focus on just one team or division, it’s nice to be around humble coaches and wrestlers as they are rewarded for their past achievements.

After rolling into Cedar Rapids in the afternoon and checking into my hotel, I met wrestling fan and blogger extreme Jim Brown in the lobby of the Marriott. Jim typically hosts a small gathering of Division III wrestling fans at the facility. Well, tonight, Jim’s event was cut short. He had to go over to the aforementioned banquet.

Why? Well, Jim was honored by the NWCA as the recipient of the Dan Gable “America Needs Wrestling” Award. Jim’s impact as solely a wrestling fan has been far-reaching … and near reaching as well. A Cedar Rapids native Jim has done a number of things aimed at supporting wrestling, not just through his blog, but through a tickets for kids program to get local wrestlers (and those not so local) free tickets to the Division III championships.

I interviewed Jim and my former boss, Mike Moyer of the NWCA. You can watch that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2QUHXI41Zo

I got a chance prior to going over to the Crowne Plaza to meet up with a few fans, along with Kent Sesker (Craig’s brother) and Kyle Klingman of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Museum and Institute. Always good to catch up with those two.

As I mentioned yesterday, this trip hasn’t been the same (so far) without Kyle riding shot gun in my truck. Last year was a blast, and I can’t mention that enough.

Got to catch up with some D3 coaches I’ve met and befriended over the years: Bruce Haberli at NYU, Roger Crebs at Lycoming, Mike Clayton at Stevens Tech, Leo Kocher at Chicago and Drew Black of Wesleyan, just to name the few. Also talked shop with E-Town coach Eric Walker – whom I didn’t recognize without an eyepatch. Backstory: Walker was poked in the eye working out with 125-pounder Tyler Erdman last year, and went through the tournament with one eye.

With the festivities winding down and the YouTube videos uploading, check TheMat.com’s D3 Special Section for all the happenings on Friday and Saturday.

I like to call my blogs before any festivities get started “Day Zero.” Basically, it signifies the pre-start to what’s happening with tournaments. I started the “Day Zero” thing a few years back when I was blogging for InterMat. I think I was mentioning going to a White Zombie-Anthrax concert (which I never made), and it wasn’t about wrestling.

Well, the trip so far has had zero to do with wrestling, other than driving through Kansas on the way east to Cedar Rapids (I’ll explain why in a second). Two towns I drove near were Colby, home of Colby Community College and Steve Lampe’s program, then Hays, Kansas, home of the Fort Hays State Tigers.

Sadly, Colby’s dropping the sport, but we’ll see Lampe at Northwest Technical Community College next year, as they started the sport.

My coworker, Cody Bickley, was the head coach at Fort Hays State for a number of years. I see FHSU cups and degrees every day. Cody does a great job with our National Coaches Education Program and managing the certification levels (Gold, Sliver, Bronze and Copper).

Anyway, I’m currently holed up in Lincoln, Neb., after putting 7 ½ hours in on the road. I nearly ran out of gas, and thanks to Short Stop in Concordia, Kan., that didn’t happen.

I went through Kansas, then up US-81 to catch I-80 after starting the trip from Colorado Springs and picking up I-70 in Limon (home of Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley). I’d never driven through Kansas, except for a short trip into Kansas City (the Kansas side) back in 2003.

Upon updating my Facebook status about my whereabouts, Willie Saylor of The Open Mat (who got his Masters at Nebraska) mentioned I should hit up DeLeon’s for a breakfast burrito before heading out. In talking with Willie via Facebook after said comment, I told him where I was staying, and as luck would have it, it’s right across the street from said burrito establishment. Hopefully, it won’t hamper the final 4 ½ hours of my drive into Cedar Rapids.

One thing was notably missing on this year’s trip to Division III’s … last year’s co-pilot Kyle Klingman. I left Kyle a voicemail earlier in the day saying, “There’s no skinny runner guy next to me asking about my favorite movies.”

Last year’s trip still ranks as one of the best wrestling excursions I’d ever undertaken, followed closely by the first year I drove to Fargo (2002) and saw a few Major League Baseball games on the way out and did some fishing on the Mississippi down in Wabasha, Minn.

Right now, I’m planning for some interviews from the pre-tournament banquet/Hall of Fame thingy that goes on at the Crowne Plaza, the hotel attached to the U.S. Cellular Center.

I’ve got some ideas, and in the words of fictional sports writer Dickie Dunn (of Slap Shot! Fame), I just want to capture the spirit of the thing (Reg).

I don’t think I’ll go through Kansas on the way back, although with stops, the time difference is negligible. Although, when moving to Colorado, there’s something ominous about a sign that reads “No gas for 71 miles” and a town called “Last Chance.”

Also, while we’re not staffing it, the NAIA championships start tomorrow (Thursday) in Oklahoma City – there’s a link on the front page of TheMat.com with how to follow the event and how to watch the finals live.

With the college postseason already underway, it's time to pack up the truck and head East. Wait, head EAST? Yes, I'll be heading east this time to cover and broadcast three NCAA National Championships the next three weekends. Last year, when Kyle Klingman and I were with Wrestling 411, we had the unique and what we thought was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cover four national championships in four weeks.

Well, we're not going to hit four in four this year, but we will be hitting three in three -- all three NCAA championships in successive weekends. We'll be webcasting the finals of the Division III championships, all four sessions of the Division II championships and the first day of the Division I championships through NCAAsports.com. More information is coming on the times, schedules, etc. for the webcasts, so stay tuned.

I'll also be blogging about the journey. Last year, Kyle and I saw the Alamo, the "Smith"-sonian, drove through Arkansas and put about 5,000 miles on my then-new Chevy Trailblazer. So stay logged in to the USA Wrestling Nation for my daily updates on the trip. I set out on Wednesday, with Cedar Rapids in my sights. The Division III championships were a ton of fun last year.

This year, I'll be keeping a count on how many times the Iowa Confernece fans and the Augsburg fans start the "East Coast Time-Out" chant. It's one of the more ingenious chants many wrestling fans miss by not going to the D3's.

Stay tuned!

While the Junior Colleges started up their post-season last week with their district qualifiers, the first NCAA post-season championship started -- and ended -- on Tuesday in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Wartburg claimed yet another Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, edging Coe College 176.5-167. Cornell College finished third with 120 points. The Knights, based in Waverly, Iowa, came in ranked second in the country and would be tested by third-ranked Coe, at least, that's how it would have appeared going into the event.

Wartburg put eight into Tuesday night’s finals, but only came away with two champions – 133-pounder Sean White and 197-pounder Byron Tate.

Interestingly enough, Coe, Cornell, Luther and Dubuque also crowned two champs apiece, giving five schools all 10 championships, but none picking up more than three.

Clayton Rush of Coe solidified his standing as the nation’s top 125-pounder, dispensing rival Mark Kist of Wartburg 5-1 in the championship final. It’s the second time this season Rush has beaten Kist and the sixth in a row.

White edged returning Division III runner-up Nick Nothern of Cornell 3-0, but the Rams would bounce right back as another returning All-American, Kevin Donahue, knocked off Coe’s Chris LeClere 7-5 at 141 pounds.

After championships by Luther’s Jason Pyle (149) and Cornell’s Nicholas Loughlin (157), Wartburg had a chance to roll into the Division III championships by closing the Iowa Conference tournament with five finalists in the final five weights. But the Knights would drop four of the five, with Tate’s 8-3 victory over Coe’s Rob Kramer the only victory.

Dubuque’s Josh Terrell earned outstanding wrestler honors after winning the championship at 165 pounds. The victory over Wartburg’s Carrington Banks was Terrell’s 21^st of the season and eighth in a  row. Terrell avenged a Jan. 23 loss to Coe’s Nick LeClere with a 6-3 semifinal victory.

Returning NCAA champion Evan Brown of Dubuque kept the Spartans rolling, with a 5-0 win over Wartburg’s Dylan Azinger in the finals at 174. Tyler Burkle of Coe followed with a 7-5 triumph over Wartburg’s Todd Becker.

Joining Pyle as champs for Luther was heavyweight Allyn Plattner, who upset John Helgerson of Wartburg in the final. Interestingly enough, Plattner’s only loss within Division III came to David Wyper, Helgerson’s backup, back in January.

Coaches Jim Miller and John Oostendorp will bring solid teams into the U.S. Cellular Center next month in Cedar Rapids for the finale of the Division III season. Having the opportunity to cover and broadcast four national championships last year, the Division III tournament was by far the best in terms of intimate atmosphere, energy, fan interaction and most of all, excitement. Remember, these guys aren’t wrestling for the glory of Division I fame, or even for scholarships. These guys wrestle because they love wrestling and they love competing.

The Iowa Conference championship is just the start of what should be a great tournament season.

Brackets & Team Scores available here.