Takedown Report

Amateur Wrestling Reports

Regional Tournaments News & Results

TDR Editor’s Notes ; The first four stories are from Division II Regionals and the following five stories reports are from some of the Division III Regionals. These competitions determine which wrestlers will qualify to compete in their National Championships two weeks later on March 10th & 11th.
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1 } – No. 2 Wrestling rolls over the competition at Super Regionals – Nine wrestlers qualify for the national championship
PEMBROKE, N.C. – For the first time in program history, the No. 2 Lander wrestling team has taken home the Super Region II title after blitzing past the competition with 164 team points.

The Bearcats saw nine wrestlers qualify for the Div. II National Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa., on March 10 and 11.

After Lander’s 164 team score, the next closest team was Mount Olive’s 115. Newberry College rounded out the top three with 111.5 points.
The Bearcats also set a new scoring record at the Super Region II championships with their 164 team score. The Bearcats have increased the number of wrestlers they’ve sent to the National Championships each year. 2021 saw two wrestlers qualify while 2022 saw four. Lander finished Super Regionals with nine national qualifiers, seven Super Region championships, one second-place finish and one third-place finish.

James Joplin – 125 (3-0)

After getting a bye in the first round, James Joplin took down Lens Mathurin of Mount Olive with his seventh pin of the year to advance to the semifinals. Joplin would take care of business in the semifinals as he earned a 13-2 major decision over Kevin Radcliff of Limestone to advance to the finals. … rest of story at Landerbearcats.com/news/2023/2/25/no-2-wrestling-rolls-over-the-competition-at-super-regionals-nine-wrestlers-qualify-for-the-nationals

2 } – D2 Insider: A Look At Super Regional Weekend
The duals are done for the D2 season and it’s time to get prepared for the postseason
The dual portion of the Division 2 wrestling season has come to an end and teams are gearing up for a postseason run starting with this weekend’s Super Regional tournaments. This is the opportunity for wrestlers to punch their tickets to the national tournament. 

The Super Regions are divided across the country at the following sites: 

Super Region 1: Host school — East Stroudsburg
Teams: #10 Pitt-Johnstown, #11 Mercyhurst, #19 (tied) Millersville, #23 (tied) Gannon, Alderson Broaddus, American International, East Stroudsburg, Fairmont State, Kutztown, Seton Hill, Shippensburg. 

Super Region 2: Host school — UNC-Pembroke
Teams: #2 Lander, #16 UNC-Pembroke, Belmont Abbey, Coker, Emmanuel, King, Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, Mount Olive, Newberry.

Super Region 3: Host school — Tiffin
Teams:  #4 (tied) West Liberty, #12 Glenville State, … rest of story at Flowrestling.org/articles/10615928-d2-insider-a-look-at-super-regional-weekend

3 } – Grizzlies qualify five for Nationals; Win Super 6 Regional
CHADRON, NEB. – The No. 8 ranked Adams State University wrestling team proved they are a tournament team on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Super 6 Regional. The Grizzlies were able to climb to the top and win the team title with 114 points, four points behind No. 3 ranked University of Nebraska Kearney.
Of those five wrestlers, four of them were regional champions. Qualifying at 125 pounds was No. 3-ranked Brendon Garcia, qualifying at 149 pounds was No. 3-ranked Josiah Rider, at 157 pounds and remaining undefeated on the season was No. 1 ranked Noah Hermosillo, at 165 was Aaden Valdez and at 184 was Hunter Tobiasson at third place.
At 125 pounds, Brendon Garcia, the No. 1 seed and ranked No. 3 at the weight in the latest polls, won his quarterfinal match with a 12-2 major decision over University of Nebraska Kearney’s Bishop Murray. He won his semifinal match 5-3 over Chadron State’s Quade Smith. He capped of the night with a 3-1 decision in the title bout over Western Colorado’s Patrick Allis.
At 133 pounds, Dale Van Matre dropped his first match to Weston Diblasi … rest of story at ASUgrizzlies.com/news/2023/2/26/wrestling-wres-grizzlies-qualify-five-for-nationals-win-super-6-regional

4 } – Mountain Cats Capture Second Straight and 25th NCAA Regional Wrestling Crown With Four Champions
FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS     |     TOURNAMENT WEBSITE

Head Coach Pat Pecora, the Regional Coach of the Year, and the Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team captured their second straight and 25th overall NCAA Division II Regional crown with four champions and a total of eight national qualifiers, Saturday evening in East Stroudsburg.
Pitt-Johnstown won the team title with 148.0 points, 14.5 points better that second-place Gannon.  Mercyhurst (109.5 pts.), Kutztown (77.5 pts.) and Millersville (71 pts.) rounded out the top-5 in the 11-team field.
The Mountain Cats came away with four champions, one runner-up, and three third-place finishers to account for their eight national qualifiers, who advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 10 and 11.
All 10 Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers earned pre-tournament seeds, including Trevon Gray (125 lbs.), Caleb Morris (133 lbs.), Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.), Nate Smith (157 lbs.), and Alex Weber (174 lbs.), who were all seeded first in their respective weight classes.
Gray, Ealy, Smith, and Biddle all won titles, while Vance was the runner-up at 285 lbs.  Daubert, Morris, and Rodgers all finished third to round of the eight national qualifiers.
Gray won an 11-3 major decision over Gannon’s Jose Diaz to win the title at 125 lbs., before Ealy, the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 149 lbs. who is 26-0 on the year, held off second-ranked Nick Young (Gannon), 5-4, in the finals at 149 lbs. … rest of story at Pittjohnstownathletics.com/news/2023/2/25/mountain-cats-capture-second-straight-and-25th-ncaa-regional-wrestling-crown-with-four-champs

5 } – Eight Wrestlers Qualify for Nationals, No. 4 Men’s Wrestling Wins Central Regional Championships
CLEVELAND – Eight Baldwin Wallace University men’s wrestlers qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships as the No. 4 nationally ranked and Ohio Athletic Conference Champion Yellow Jackets won the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championships hosted by Case Western Reserve University in the Veale Center.

BW was first of 20 teams with 175.5 points.   The Yellow Jackets have now won the regional championship in three of the last five years and have finished in the top two in seven straight seasons. 

The top-three wrestlers in each weight class earn All-Central Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships.

The eight BW qualifiers included four champions, three runner-up wrestlers and one third place finisher.

Qualifying Yellow Jackets

Senior No. 3 nationally ranked and regional top-seeded All-American 125-pounder Jacob Decatur (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) – Champion

6 } – Three-Peat! No. 9 Wrestling Wins Third Straight Regional Title; Seven Ducks Advance to Nationals
Five regional champions highlight impressive team victory
YORK, Pa. (February 25, 2023) – First-year Nico Diaz, senior Hunter Gutierrez, first-year Ryan Smith, junior Stefan Major and graduate student Michael Dooley were each crowned regional champions as No. 9 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling captured its third straight Southeast Regional title Saturday at the M&T Bank Field House. 

Junior Luke Hoerle finished third at 125 and senior Kyle Slendorn finished second at 141 as the Ducks will send seven wrestlers to the NCAA Division III National Championships to match a program record. The regional titles were the first for Diaz, Smith and Gutierrez, while Major and Dooley each captured their second. 

As a team, Stevens amassed 181 points over the two-day event, which was hosted by York College of Pennsylvania, to finish atop the 21-team standings and claim the program’s third straight regional title. Stevens finished 36.5 points ahead of second-place Alvernia, who totaled 144.5 points. Washington & Lee finished third with 109 points, with York (97) and Wilkes (87.5) rounding out the top five. Lycoming’s Gable Crebs won the award for the most falls, while Greensboro’s Josh Wilson took home Outstanding Wrestler honors. Washington & Lee swept the coaching accolades as Alex Radsky was named the region’s Staff Person of the Year and Nathan Shearer was named Coach of the Year to round out the individual awards.

“The effort that was shown this weekend by our 10 wrestlers was amazing to watch,” head coach Joe Favia said. “Win or lose, the product that was put on the mat this weekend was something this program should be proud of and that starts with Harrison who rattled off five victories in row after dropping his opening match … rest of story at Stevensducks.com/news/2023/2/25/wrestling-2023Regionals

7 } – Auggie men win regional, send 8 to national tourney
FULL RESULTS | AUGSBURG RESULTS

MEQUON, Wis. — Qualifying eight individuals to the NCAA Division III National Championships and winning two regional titles, the Augsburg University men’s wrestling team won its 20th straight regional championship, taking the crown at the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional, held Friday and Saturday at Concordia University-Wisconsin.

THE BASICS
TEAM SCORES: Augsburg 1st/19 (176.0)
LOCATION: Concordia University-Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Two Auggies — 285-pounder Tyler Kim (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) and 149-pounder Charlie Stuhl (SO, Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth HS) — won regional titles over the weekend, with three Auggies earning runner-up honors and three Auggies finishing third to claim berths in the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will be held March 10-11 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va.  Augsburg has had seven or more national tournament qualifiers in 19 of the last 20 seasons.
• Augsburg, ranked No. 3 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III tournament national poll and No. 2 in the dual-meet poll … rest of story at Augsburg.edu/news/2023/2/25/mwr022523.aspx?utm_source=Wrestling+News

8 } – Wrestling Claims Third Straight NCAA Super Region 3 Team Title; Eight Hilltoppers Qualify For Nationals
TIFFIN, Ohio – The West Liberty University wrestling team claimed its third straight team title and qualified eight wrestlers for the national tournament Saturday at the NCAA Super Region 3 Championships hosted by Tiffin University.

Cole Laya (125) and Jacob Simpson (149) headlined the day battling to the top of their respective podiums. 

Seven Hilltoppers made the finals and nine competed in the semifinals. Vincent Scollo (133), Jamar Williams (157), Chase Morgan (174), Ty McGeary (184), and Francesco Borsellino (285) all finished second in their brackets. Alec Cook wrestled back to a third place finish at 165 to also earn a bid to the national tournament.

West Liberty totaled 137.5 team points finishing atop the 11-team leaderboard. Lake Erie (114.5), Findlay (104.0), Glenville State (103.5), and Tiffin (96.0) rounded out the top five.

Laya, ranked No. 2 nationally, won his fourth career and third consecutive super region title with a pair of falls in the quarter and semi finals, then a hard-fought 2-0 decision in the championship over No. 11 ranked Brandon Mendoza, of Tiffin, behind a second period escape and riding time advantage. Laya will be competing in his fifth national tournament and will attempt for a third straight gold medal. 

Simpson went 3-0 on the day to claim his first super region title. He dominated the quarterfinal round with a 17-0 tech fall, then earned his championship bid with a 4-2 decision. In the title bout, Simpson and Austin Fietz, of Lake Erie, were scoreless in the final period, but the Hilltopper prevailed with escape and ride time advantage points.

Scollo rolled into the semifinals after back-to-back 15-0 tech falls to start the day. … rest of story at Hilltoppersports.com/news/2023/2/25/wrestling-claims-third-straight-ncaa-super-region-3-team-title-eight-hilltoppers-qualify-for-nationals

9} – D3 Insider: Can Anyone End The ‘Burgs Three-Decade Title Run?
It’s been 30 years since a school other than Wartburg or Augsburg captured the Division III title and the D3 powers are once again 1 and 2 in the rankings

In the year 1994, Friends debuted on NBC, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by Tonya Harding’s bodyguard and Brazil won the World Cup.

The year 1994 also was the last time a team other than Augsburg University and Wartburg College won the Division III wrestling national championship.

Ithaca College owns the distinction of being the last team to win a title other than Augsburg or Wartburg, and the Bombers will host one of six regional tournaments this weekend that serve as the NCAA National Championship qualifier.

Instead of asking defending champion head coach Eric Keller from Wartburg what it takes for the Knights to repeat, he was asked what would it take for somebody other than Augsburg or Wartburg to win.

Keller’s answer was he doesn’t know because he says going down that road distracts you from what is really important.

“Honestly, for us, I don’t think about what other people need to do or what they are doing,” Keller said. “I think once you let your focus shift to other people, other teams you lose sight of what you are doing. Us personally, all we ever focus on is what we are doing.

“That is something we talk about every week when we are competing. It is about us and how we compete and the things we do. This weekend will be no different and the national tournament won’t be any different. I think that is the approach you have to have to compete at the highest level.” … rest of story at Flowrestling.org/articles/10617806-d3-insider-can-anyone-end-the-burgs-three-decade-title-run

February 28, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment