Takedown Report

Carayiannis Earns Regional Title, Five Abbey Wrestlers Qualify For Nationals

PEMBROKE, N.C. — Belmont Abbey redshirt senior wrestler John Carayiannis won all four bouts in the 149-pound weight class to earn a regional championship as he was part of five Crusaders who qualified for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Saturday at the Super Region II Championship at UNC Pembroke. Carayiannis earned his fourth spot to the national championship with three wins via tech fall and another via major decision on Saturday. He defeated UNC Pembroke’s Jake Piccirilli via a 17-2 tech fall to capture the title.
In addition, Maxwell Kiel (174) earned a regional runner-up finish to qualify for nationals for the third straight year. After finishing fourth at Super Regionals a year ago, both Elijah Boyd (133) and Kyler Pickard (184) both finished in second place in their respective weight classes to earn a spot at nationals. Those two wrestlers, along with Luke Kunath (141) have all qualified for nationals for the first time in their collegiate careers.
Caleb Moore (197) and Mason Kump (285) both finished in fourth for Belmont Abbey.
As a team, Belmont Abbey finished tied for fourth with 107.5 points with King in the team standings. The five national qualifiers are believed to be the most in program history in a single season. They will all represent Belmont Abbey in the 2025 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships that will be held March 14-15 in Indianapolis, … more at … https://abbeyathletics.com/news/2025/3/1/wrestling-carayiannis-earns-regional-title-five-abbey-wrestlers-qualify-for-nationals.aspx

March 4, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized