Late into the overtime period, Riley Lefever grabbed Brian Broderick’s ankle and worked the two-time national finalist to the mat. He stretched to keep his foot inbounds, holding Broderick in place, waiting for the referee’s signal. When the whistle finally blew, Lefever had earned a 3-1 sudden victory. The freshman had become the first-ever wrestling national champion for Wabash College.
It was a national championship that almost didn’t happen.
If not for a change of heart as a freshman in high school, Lefever might have been a top goal scorer for the Wabash soccer team instead of earning the title in the 184-pound class.
Lefever had struggled as a freshman wrestler at Carroll High School in Fort Wayne, IN. After competing in middle school, he wasn’t certain he wanted to wrestle at the high school level, and he posted an 11-18 record at 125 pounds.
“I had been wrestling forever, but I really hated the sport,” says Lefever. “I wasn’t even going to wrestle as a high school freshman.
I wanted to play soccer. My parents, my brothers, my teammates, and friends talked me into going out for wrestling, mostly because my brothers were so good, and I wasn’t.”
Riley’s changed of heart began after he realized how much his brothers, Conner and Reece Lefever, now Wabash juniors, enjoyed the sport.
“The atmosphere of the Carroll High School wrestling program made it a better experience,” Lefever says. “It made me want to work to get better, because I saw how much fun my brothers and all their friends were having. We were a pretty good high school team and my brothers were crushing kids in competition.“
Lefever worked hard the summer of his sophomore year.
“I doubt I took a single weekend off from the sport. Once the high school season ended, I was either at a tournament or working out every day.”
Lefever’s newfound passion for a sport he’d nearly abandoned led him to the precipice of his first individual title as a high school senior. He owned a 46-0 mark at 170 pounds entering the championship bout of the Indiana High School Athletic Association Tourna-ment in February 2013 when he faced another undefeated wrestler, Bobby Stevenson from Merrillville. Stevenson won 5-4 to take the state title, and Lefever’s lone loss of the year was a painful one. But from that defeat Lefever learned of the support he would receive at Wabash.
“After I finished as the Indiana high school state runner-up in 2013, Coach [Danny] Irwin came up to me and said ‘It’s OK. Next year at this time you’ll be a national champion.’ I heard that and of course thought ‘Oh you’re just trying to build me up after I just lost a chance at a state title.’ But I really started to believe him during the summer, particularly after wrestling at the Junior National Tourna-ment in Fargo, North Dakota.”
There Lefever competed against some of the top talent in the country, finishing runner-up once again in the 182-pound weight class. The boost of confidence the experience provided was wiped away the first day of practice at Wabash.
“I wasn’t sure whether to be confident or scared. I was worried some people might be thinking, This guy thinks he’s a big shot, he
finished second at Fargo. I still remember wrestling against Josh Sampson ’14 (a national qualifier at 165 pounds). He put me on my back twice in the first few minutes. I was so mad, but it helped me get better.”
That’s exactly what he did. The freshman wrestled an impressive streak of 38 consecutive wins during his rookie year to become one of six Wabash wrestlers earning berths at the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in Cedar Rapids, IA. Lefever was joined by both of his brothers as well as Sampson, Tommy Poynter ’15, and Austin O’Neal ’14.
“I was so excited to be wrestling at nationals. But I was also really nervous, and I never get nervous before matches. I was shaking before every match. Between sessions we would go back to the hotel to rest, but I would still be thinking about wrestling. I went to bed and woke up thinking about the matches and how I performed, what I did well and what I could do better.”
Lefever scored three decisions to move to the championship bout against Broderick. The College of New Jersey student owned an
18-4 mark before picking up four victories leading up to his championship showdown with Lefever. The match would prove to be just as tough as his title bouts in high school. With the score tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, the wrestlers entered a sudden death
one-minute overtime period. Lefever grabbed Broderick’s right ankle in the closing seconds before securing a two-point takedown to become the College’s first wrestling national champion.
“I side-stepped his attempt to grab my leg and got his ankle,” Lefever recalls. “I made sure my toe stayed in so we did not go out of bounds. I brought the leg up, dove for it but missed. I went low to the ankle, put my head into his hip, and he just fell over.
“I watched the video on the ride home, smiling the whole time. Then I watched it again back on campus, this time listening to the commentators, and I started shaking again, thinking I might still lose the match! I had to get up and pace it was so nerve wracking, and such a close, tight match.”
Lefever’s victory was part of an all-time best season for the Little Giants. The six wrestlers matched the most ever to participate at a national tournament for Wabash. Riley’s brother Reece finished fourth at 157 pounds to earn All-America honors for the second consecutive season. The Little Giants posted their highest team finish ever, taking ninth place overall. In addition, Wabash was named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America team with five individuals—Ethan Farmer ’16, Reece Lefever, Poynter, Sampson, and Drew Songer ’14—also receiving Scholar All-America honors.
The wrestler who almost turned his back on the sport realizes that his change of heart and hard work have led him to one of the best moments of his young Wabash career.
“Conner and Reece really dragged me along and it turned into one of the best decisions I ever made. I really fell in love with the sport.”