Div. III star Endene seeks third national title, after amazing summer on U23 World Team

When he wrestled in high school in Dallas, Texas, Massoma Endene never would have imagined where the sport would take him.

The first step after high school was reaching the NJCAA national finals for Iowa Lakes Community College. Next was NCAA Division III, where this weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, he will attempt to become a three-time national champion. And over the summer and fall, Endene earned a spot in freestyle at 97kg and competed for the United States at the U23 World Championships in Albania.

"That was awesome, one of the best memories I've had in my life," Endene said after being named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Division III Region 6 national-qualifying tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "Starting off in high school I never could have imagined being where I am and being where I was this summer and being surrounded by such amazing adults that this is what they do for a living.

"Jordan Burroughs, James Green, ... just a handful of names I could think of right now, people I've trained with, along with and just being surrounded by those amazing mindsets. To soak in what they have for me is just something I could never compare to anything."

He is grateful to the sport for helping him reach such heights.

"Wrestling has brought me tremendous places," he said. "I could talk about this past summer being in Colorado Springs around amazing people. I gave it all to God and to wrestling for bringing me where I am today, and I think knowing what wrestling has done for me has ultimately made me want to be the best I can be when it comes to wrestling. I just know how grateful I am for it. Just like anything you're passionate about, you want to keep on growing and being the best you can be in it."

At the college level, Endene has not lost since his first season at Wartburg (2022-23), going 27-1 that year and 28-0 last season. He takes a 16-0 record and the top seed at 197 pounds into the NCAA Division III Championships that takes place Friday and Saturday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

"To me the biggest thing is not being content," he said. "I come into this year with the same goals — I want to be OW at regionals, I want to be OW at nationals — so not coming in content. I could think two times is enough and go into the year like that and settling for that is just going to lead to not learning and stuff like that, so ultimately just keep setting goals for myself and I believe that's why I am having success this year. I just want to keep on growing, being the best I can be."

His wrestling journey took a brief detour this fall. He entered the transfer portal in the offseason and decided to try Division I wrestling for Wisconsin. But after a brief stay in Madison he returned to Waverly, Iowa, and Wartburg.

"I just wanted to be back with people I can call family," Endene said.

"Everyone there was amazing at Wisconsin. There is no bad blood or anything like that, I just felt like I wanted to be chasing this title with this team at Wartburg. I went in there trying to figure out if I wanted to compete in Division I, but family was just really important to me and that's where I went back to."

He believes he has taken another step this year, winning half of his matches by fall and scoring bonus points in 12 of his wins.

"Absolutely. I just want to keep on growing, I want to dominate everyone and be able to say I majored everyone I wrestled," he said. "That's the biggest thing, just being able to dominate every single person I wrestle. With those goals in mind, the sky's the limit."