Coming in at #5 in the #NYUAthleticsTop10 for 2016-17 is the New York University wrestling team sending a program-record-tying four qualifiers to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in La Crosse, WI. The four-man unit helped NYU close another successful season with a 15th-place national finish.

Jacob Donato (125 pounds), Nathan Pike (133 pounds), captain John Messinger (174 pounds), and Blaise Benderoth (184 pounds) all qualified for the NCAA's following successful performances as NYU finished second at the NCAA East Region Championships in Rocky Mount, VA. Benderoth won his bracket and Pike placed second while both Donato and Messinger took third in their respective weight classes.

At the NCAA Championships, both Pike and Benderoth earned All-America accolades. Pike won the 133-pound weight class (more details to come later on this list), while Benderoth took sixth place and became NYU's first-ever freshman All-American.

The foursome combined for 30.5 points in attaining the 15th-place finish.

The grapplers also captured their record sixth-straight University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship, defeating both Case Western Reserve University and the University of Chicago as hosts on February 12 at the prestigious New York Athletic Club in Manhattan.

Messinger collected a one-season program-best 36 wins at 174 pounds, while his 66 career wins at that weight also put him #1 on the all-time list. He graduated with 115 overall victories, the fourth-highest total in program history. Pike's 63 career wins at 133 pounds also leaves him #1 in the record book, while Benderoth ended his campaign with an outstanding .900 winning percentage (18-2). 

2016-17 #NYUAthleticsTop10:
No. 1 - Week of August 14
No. 2 - Week of August 7
No. 3 - Week of July 31
No. 4 - Week of July 24
No. 5 - Four Wrestlers Reach NCAA Championships
No. 6 - Men's Volleyball Earns First DIII NCAA Tournament Bid
No. 7 - Fencing Combines for 11th-Place NCAA Finish
No. 8 - Tennis Squads Finish Season Ranked Nationally
No. 9 - Varsity Athletes Make the Grade
No. 10 - Senior Student-Athlete Academic Achievement