On to Nationals! A number of wrestlers from New York schools punched their tickets this weekend in Division III and the NCWA on Saturday and Sunday.

In a field consisting of 18 squads, Cortland took top honors at the Division III Northeast Regional in Massachusetts, with four champions. It was the first year of the new Regional format in which the top three finishers move on to Nationals.

B. Dierna, Photo by BV

Leading the way for the Red Dragons were gold medalists Bobby Dierna (149), Troy Sterling (157), Lou Puca (174) and Jared Myhrberg (197). Also getting a bid to the NCAAs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 15 and 16 were Alec Dierna (third at 133) and Corey James (third at 285).

Ithaca also had a strong showing at the event, earning bronze in the team race. Ricardo Gomez (125) and Alex Gomez (133) won titles for the Bombers, while Jules Doliscar (second at 174) and Dominick Giacolone (third at 141) are also heading to the NCAAs after notching spots high on the podium.

A few additional Empire State representatives will be joining those wrestlers in Cedar Rapids – Oswego State’s Blake Fisher grabbed second at 157, while Oneonta State’s Shaun Gillen was the bronze placer at 165.

Full brackets and results are available on http://www.trackwrestling.com.

First Qualifiers for Stony Brook . . . And Many for RPI

It may be Stony Brook’s first season in competition, but that didn’t stop the Seawolves from making their presence felt at the NCWA Northeast Regional tournament in New Hampshire.

The Suffolk County school took sixth place in the team standings and qualified six wrestlers for the Nationals, which will take place in Allen, Texas on March 14-15. Mike Shimer was the runner up at 149 pounds while Bobby Beneventano (133) and Juan Velasquez (heavyweight) were third. Also locking up spots for the big show were a trio of fifth placers, Scott Dunkirk (165), Mike Lloyd (197) and Kyle Folk-Freund (235).*

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will take seven placers to the NCWA Nationals, according to head coach Brad Nelson. Automatically qualifying by finishing in the top five in New Hampshire this weekend were: Will Bonagura (second at 165), Alec Vogel (third at 125), Stuart Curtis (fourth at 184), Omar Abdoun (fourth at 197) and Enrico Cascio (fifth at 174).

Earning wildcard spots were Brad Huzinga at 285 and Ray Douglas at 197. RPI finished seventh out of 22 teams despite not having scorers in five weight classes.

*Results from Stony Brook’s Facebook page

** RPI results from head coach Brad Nelson