Turns out the third time was indeed the charm for Ben Adams (Livonia, MI, Livonia Churchill).

In his third trip to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, John Carroll's senior 184-pounder achieved his long sought after goal of becoming an All-American by winning two of his first three matches at the 2010 national meet Friday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Complete Brackets

Adams, whose two prior appearances at the Division III Championships ended one win short of earning All-American status, began this year's meet as unseeded wrestler despite a 28-3 record. In his opening bout, Adams picked off the #6 seed Todd Becker of Wartburg, 6-5.

In the championship bracket quarterfinals, Adams went up against #3 seed and 2009 Division III runner-up Phil Moenkedick of Concordia-Moorhead. The match did not go Adams' way, however, as Moenkedick prevailed by a 5-2 count.

Facing a similar situation as he experienced in 2008 and 2009, Adams would need to win his consolation match in order to earn All-American accolades. Squaring off against unseeded Nate Murren of Ursinus, Adams used a five-point move to establish the cushion he needed for a 6-1 victory.

His second day of matches presented a tough draw for Adams, as he lost (8-2) to the #2 seed Ben Engelland of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and then (8-7) to the #5 seed Mike Denver of the College of New Jersey. Adams would finish eighth in his weight class.

Adams becomes John Carroll's first wrestling All-American since Ryan Summers in 2007.

With his 4.5 team points, Adams help John Carroll finish in 37th place in the team standings.