Brian Thomas Wahl, Claremont Mckenna, Class of 2019

Brian Wahl CMS class of 2019


Brian Wahl


Dec 10, 2018 CLAREMONT, Calif. - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior offensive lineman Brian Wahl was named a second-team Division III All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, the organization announced on Monday.

Wahl adds the award to a growing list of postseason accolades, which has also included a first-team All-SCIAC selection, and a second-team All-West Region honor from D3football.com.

During the 2018 season, Wahl was part of an offensive line that dominated games to lead CMS to its first SCIAC title since 1987. The Stags ranked second in the nation in time of possession during the regular season at over 36 minutes per game (third after an NCAA Tournament game with Whitworth), and helped pave the way for junior running back Garrett Cheadle to rush for 1,305 yards, second in program history for a single season, including a single-game school record 274 in a win over Whittier (Cheadle also missed most of the last two games with an injury, preventing him from a chance at the single-season record).

Wahl was also named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week for his role in helping CMS to a 20-10 road win over Redlands, which turned out to be the difference in CMS earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament (the Stags and Redlands tied for the SCIAC title at 6-1, with the head-to-win resulting in the tiebreaker). In that game, the Stags rushed for 187 yards against a Redlands team that was only allowing 33 yards per game, including a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that lasted for over 10 minutes (10:14) to help seal the win.

That wasn't the only long drive that the offensive line produced in key situations. CMS killed the final 9:29 of game clock before taking a knee inside the 10-yard line to finish off a 17-10 win over Cal Lutheran, and then killed the final 6:35 of a home win over Whittier. Then, with the chance to clinch the SCIAC title and NCAA bid on its home field, CMS kept the ball for over 43 minutes in a 16-9 win over Chapman, keeping the Panthers offense (38 points per game coming in) off the field.

A four-year member of the CMS offensive line, Wahl appeared in 35 games in his career, starting every game he played in over the last three seasons. He was a two-time All-SCIAC selection and is part of the winningest class in program history, as the Class of 2019 won 25 games over their four years, including seven-wins seasons as freshmen, sophomores and seniors. Wahl and the senior class also left a legacy by earning the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid this past fall.

Interview After D3 Playoffs November 10, 2018



Interview After Whittier Game October 27, 2018





Brian Wahl Named to D3 All West Region Second Team


Dec 04, 2018 CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior linebacker Mitchell Allan, junior running back Garrett Cheadle and senior offensive lineman Brian Wahl were named to the D3football.com All-West Region Second Team, the website announced this morning.

The three honorees marks the most that the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team has ever had on the D3football.com All-West Region team, which began in 2005. The 2015 squad had two honorees, cornerback Victor Bunce (first team) and defensive lineman Paul Slaats (third team).

Allan, a four-year starter and two-year captain for the Stags, was also named the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the defense with 78 tackles from his middle linebacker position. After yielding 45 points in the season opener to Puget Sound, Allan and the defense held their opponents to 10 points or less six times over the last nine regular season games, including a 20-10 road win at Redlands that decided the SCIAC title (when Redlands scored their touchdown in the final minute) and a 16-9 win over Chapman that clinched an NCAA bid for the Stags.


Cheadle, the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year finished this season with 1,305 yards, placing him second all-time in program history, behind only the 1,486 yards that Chris Dabrow rushed for in 1987. He was the first Stag to cross the 1,000-yard barrier since Ryan Gocong in 2002, and broke the single-game rushing record for the program with 274 yards in a 34-21 win over Whittier. Cheadle had a chance to break the single-season rushing record, but carried the ball for the last time early in the second quarter of the regular season finale against Pomona-Pitzer, due to injury. Cheadle appeared in the CMS NCAA Tournament game at Whitworth, but only for the first few plays as a decoy before coming out of the game for good.

Wahl was a key member of a veteran offensive line that helped pave the way for Cheadle's rushing onslaught this season. CMS finished the regular season ranked second nationally in time of possession per game (36:05) while churning out over 200 rushing yards per contest (205.6), ending with 190.3 after the NCAA Tournament game (when the Stags went to a passing offense in the absence of Cheadle and sophomore running back Jordan Leonard). Wahl was named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week after helping the offensive line put together a 10:14 fourth-quarter touchdown drive to seal the win at Redlands, finishing with almost 200 rushing yards against a team that came in allowing only 33 rushing yards per game. Wahl and the line also helped maintain the ball for over 43 minutes in the SCIAC-clinching win over Chapman, when 64 of the 74 CMS plays were on the ground.

CMS made program history in 2018, capturing the first SCIAC title for the program in 31 years since the 1987 team finished in first place. The Stags also made the first NCAA Tournament appearance in the history of the program.

Brian Wahl # 73, Offensive Lineman, Major: Economics

2018: First-Team All-SCIAC ... Second-Team All-West Region from D3football.com ... SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week following a 20-10 win over Redlands ... Started all 11 games at guard ... Part of an offensive line that paved the way for running back Garrett Cheadle (1,305 yards, including a school-record 274 against Whittier) ... CMS ranked second in the nation in time of possession at the end of the regular season (over 36 minutes per game) ... The offensive line also helped secure a 17-10 win over Cal Lutheran (by killing the final 9:29 of game clock on the final drive), a 20-10 win over Redlands (with a fourth-quarter touchdown drive of over 10 minutes) and a 16-9 win over Chapman (maintaining over 43 minutes of time of possession with 64 running plays out of 74).

2017- Appeared in all nine games earning all SCIAC honors.

2016- Started in six games on the offensive line.

2015 – Played in all nine games on the offensive line

Off the Field: Autism Tree Project Foundation funded through the CMC Student Summer Internship Program

Prior To CMS: 2014…1st Team All Avocado League… Team Offensive Lineman of the Year… Player of the Week (11/21/2014)… Offensive Player of the Week 9/19/2014 and 10/17/2014… Union Tribune Scholar Athlete… Torrey Pines Scholar Athlete…Team Captain. 2013: 2nd Team All Palomar Conference…Offensive Player of the Week (10/18/13)… Union Tribune Scholar Athlete … Torrey Pines Scholar Athlete

Personal: Son of Fred and Joyce Wahl…Biggest sports moment was beating his rivals in football 13-0.…Lists camping and going to the beach as his favorite hobbies…..Career ambition is to work in Finance/Accouting.