2026 REGIONAL SIX Preview for NCAA DIII (Fri Feb 27th & Sat Feb 28th)

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Only a freshman & even among the depth of immense talent in Regional 6, Aidan Gruenfelder is likely to be our *1 seed.  25-3 on the season has a very impressive 6-3 s.v. over Brayden Parke. 

Speaking of Parke, he was a pretty impressive freshman in his own right last season, winning Regional 6 & finishing 5th in the D3 nation. 18-4 on the year, he owns both a 12-0 major & a 4-3 decision over Brett Birchman.  A Coe invite champ & a North Central 3rd place finisher. 

Birchman, the Regional runner-up last season owns wins over both Gruenenfelder & Parke.  A 4-2 decision over Gruenenfelder & a 8-5 s.v. over Parke.  He won the Under Armor Invite earlier this season. 

As to Jase van Pelt? I know the Ram is going to have to wrestle the best he's ever wrestled in his collegiate career in order to make it D3 nationals this year, but I do think he's more than capable.  He gave Gruenenfelder a close 6-4 match earlier on the year.  I'll say this too.  A two-time Cliff Keen Mike Duroe (CKMD) champion, & a two-time Pete Willson place-winner (5th & 4th) he is the fourth best wrestler in this bracket this weekend.  7th-6th-7th thus far in the Regional, an upset and he's hoping on HWY 30 towards Cedar Rapids. 

133

Gawd there is going to be some really good wrestling here in Regional 6 & I am thankful that I will have a front row seat for all the action.  Things are gonna be fire here at 133 lbs! 

Former Utah Valley Wolverine, Patrick Mullen leads the way.  A CKMD champ, with a 20-4 record.  Owns a 2-1 decision over Connor Fiser, a 7-3 decision over Eli Sneed & a 6-0 decision over Brody Neighbor. 

Connor Kidd, silver in the Regional last season & a D3 All-American, is 25-3 on the season. An 8-5 win over Sneed & a 5-3 win over Neighbor. 

Fiser, bronze in the Regional last year, is only carrying an 8-5 record.  However, two of those 8 wins consist of an 8-6 win over Kidd & an 8-6 win over Neighbor. 

Fred Roger's favorite wrestler? He won the Coe Invitational, finishing runner-up at the North Central invitational.  Owns a 5-0 win over Sneed. 

U.R. don't mean a thing to Eli Sneed, he could still be one of our three NCAA D3 qualifiers. 6th at last year's Regional, owns not only a 5-4 decision over Kidd but also an 11-1 major over Neighbor!  A Coe Invite runner-up, earned 7th place honors at Pete Willson. 

141

One of D3's standout freshmen this year, Kade Blume is currently 17-2 on the season. A 14-4 major over Dresden Grimm & a 5-2 decision over Pierre Baldwin, he is our favorite for Gold this weekend. 

Very anxious to see the highly probable semi between Baldwin & Grimm.  These two met earlier this season with Baldwin squeaking by with a 4-3 decision.  Baldwin has been 2nd & 1st thus far in the Regional, and 5th in the D3 nation.  Champion at this year's Auggie Invite. 

Grimm has been 6th & 4th the past two Regionals, this year 2nd at the Coe Invite & 3rd at the North Central Invite. 

149

Remember how I said there was going to be some really good wrestling in Regional 6?  I wasn't lying.  Gold, Silver, bronze?  I do think I have the three that will earn these positions, but I'm not set on what order they earn them in. 

Cade Siebrecht, 6th at last year's Regional is currently 21-1 on the year.  Owns two wins, a 4-1 sudden victory & a 6-5 tiebreaker over Chase Fiser.  Also owns a 4-1 s.v. over Caleb Olson.  Was 2nd at the Auggie Invite. 

Fiser, 19-5 on the year was 2nd at last year's Regional.  Owns a 7-4 s.v. over Olson. 

Olson has 14 wins on the season. 

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A lot to unpack here at 157 lbs. 

First off, I believe that Gold & Silver are spoken for.   Charlie Dojan, 3rd in the D3 nation back in 2024, took 2025 off & has been back on an absolute vengeance in '25-'26.  23-0 on the year, owns two shutouts over Eric Kinkaid 10-0 & 5-0. 

Kinkaid, a three-time D3 qualifier & two-time Regional champion in his own right. Not to mention, a two-time NCAA D3 All-American with 4th & 3rd place finishes.   24-3 on the year.

Now, as to bronze?   Ha ha....here we go. 

The battle for bronze is going to be an all out war between four very talented wrestlers, many of which are right on par with one another. 

Colton Weiler 17 wins on the year, owns a 4-1 sv over Christian Stanek. 

Stanek, a former Iowa State Cyclone, is 18-4 on the year. 

A.J. Parrish is 25-6 on the year.  4th at Regionals last year & 5th at this year's Pete Willson.  Owns both a 5-4 decision over Stanek & a 4-1 s.v. over Zach Montez.

Montez, owns a 4-2 decision over Weiler. 

Can you say fun?  Yeah, this is gonna be a fun weight class. 

165

*NOTE* - One wrestler per weight, per team.  Well aware of that at the D3 level of collegiate wrestling.  However, I want you to know just how good Carter Martinson is, even though I believe Wartburg is going with Aiden Brosinski this weekend.  Martinson owns a 16-12 win over Bo Koedam & a 20-9 major over Kale Roth.  Not to mention, he's one of the only wrestlers Clayton McDonough hasn't bonused this season. 

Clayton McDonough, what a season this Norseman has had. 40-0 on the year and only three of those wins are decisions.  Can you believe that 37 of his 40 wins have been via bonus & get this, 32 have been via fall!! 32 falls! There are many wrestlers that don't even get 32 falls in their careers & he has them in a single season.  Bronze the past two regionals in a row, I think the medal he brings home this weekend will be GOLD.  4th & 8th thus far in the D3 nation. 

25-6 on the year, Bo Koedam will be one looking for NCAA D3 qualification this weekend.  10-3 & 6-1 wins over Brian Petry, he has a 4-1 win over Aiden Brosinki & a 19-3 tech over Kale Roth. 

Petry was 3rd in the Reginal last year & one match shy of D3 All-American honors.  24-7 on the year with 6-3 s.v. & 7-2 victories over Brosinski & Roth respectively.  A CKMD champion & 2nd at the Coe Invitational he earned his second Pete Willson medal with a 3rd place finish (was 2nd a year ago). 

Brosinki finished one match shy of qualification last year, has a 4-3 win over Roth. 

Roth 20-3 on the year, 6th at Regionals last year, an 11-8 win over Brosinski. 

Did I mention the wrestling was going to be good at Regional 6 this weekend? 

174

A win's a win right?  That's pretty much been the case with Dustin Bohren this season.  The two-time D3 qualifier, 2025 Regional Champion may not be racking up the points, but he gets his hand raised at the end of the day, that's what matters.  1-0 wins over both Bryce McDonough & Mike Slade. 

McDonough has made JT1Wrestle's list in 2023, 2024 & 2025 for the best not to qualify for the D3 national tournament.  5th-4th-5th at Regionals, I'm very confident that this will NOT be the case in 2026 & we will see McDonough a 2026 NCAA D3 qualifier.  Owns a 10-3 win over Slade. 

Slade, a former Campbell Camel has a 20-8 record. 

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A two-time Regional champion, 5th in the D3 nation a year ago & currently 20-0 on the season, I believe we're looking at a three-time Regional champion when we look at Kasey Ross.  The Knight owns both an 8-1 dec & 18-3 tech over Landry Barker. 

With that said, I do believe Barker is the second best wrestler in this weigth here in Regional 6. 22-5 on the year, he was 7th here a year ago. 

As to bronze? A bit more up for debate, but my pick here is Austin Wilkins. 16 wins on the season, 6th at Pete Willson. 

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19-4 on the year, Cal Dorota looks to be our *1 seed here at Regional 6.   Ranking Vs result will determine our *2 seed.  Sam West has the ranking, but Jackson Brinker has the 2-0 win.  West 13-4 on the year has 6th & 4th place showings thus far at the Regional.  Brinker 24-6 on the year, placed 4th at Pete Willson. 

HWT

Last year's NCAA D3 champion, it's hard to believe that Mitch Williamson hasn't won a Regional title yet.  The Knight has been 2nd & 3rd the past two championships, but I believe he'll see that gold this weekend.  A 4-0 & 2-0 win over Jonah Clark, he has a 4-0 win over Wyatt Smith & a 4-2 win over Justin Matson. 

Clark, who wrestled for the school I wrestled my last match in, was 4th at last year's Regional.  11-2 on the year, owns a 20-6 major over Smith & a 11-3 major over Matson. 

Smith is 22-7 on the year, a 2-1 tiebreaker over Matson. 

Matson, 15-6 on the season, has been 7th & 5th the past two Regionals. 

Ka'Ron Lewis?  I've thought the guy could qualify for the NCAA D3 championships since his freshman year.  Now it's his last chance.  Certainly has the tools & the ability.   19-3 on the season. 

2026 REGIONAL FIVE Preview for NCAA DIII (Fri Feb 27th & Sat Feb 28th)

 

125

20 ranked wrestlers at 125 lbs & 30% of them are right here in Regional 5.  Can you believe that? 6 ranked wrestlers in the top 20 & when it is all said & done three of these guys are staying home.  Life isn't fair & apparently neither is NCAA Division III wrestling. 

Chip Guzman, what do you say? A three-time Regional champion, with NCAA D3 finishes of 3rd-2nd-2nd.  Won multiple titles over the years at North Central, New Standard, & the Collegiate Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW).  The only thing this living legend has left to do is win an NCAA D3 title. 30-0 on the season.  99.99999999% sure that Guzman will be our champ. 

Silver & bronze?  Well, rankings have a bit to say about that, but so do results. 

Andrew Punzalan has 19 wins this season, a champion at Millikin, while taking runner-up honors at North Central & the Mid-States Invite.  

Adrian Rosas although ranked below Punzalan owns an 8-0 major over Punzalan. He also owns an 18-4 major decision over Mason Jones. 4th at Regionals a year ago, he is 14-0 on the year, a Petrofes champion. 

Jones was 5th at last year's Regional.  22-2 on the year, he too has a major of Punzalan 10-2, plus a 2-0 win over Matt Barlay. 

Barlay, a freshman that displays the phenomenal recruiting job that Matt Gentry is doing in the Windy City, is currently 20-5 on the season.  He too owns a win over Punzalan!! Albeit, a 2-1 tiebreaker.   He was also 6th at Pete Willson. 

Brady Phelps, another tough freshman in this group, has racked up 20 wins.  3rd at Pete Willson. 

When I say 125 is loaded, I mean 125 is loaded. 

133

It amazes me sometimes how much talent there can be in one Regional.  Ethan Spacht 5th in the Regional last season, currently carries a 32-1 record.  Titles won at North Central, New Standard & the CCIW.  He will be our *1 seed. 

5th-4th-4th in the Regional, not only do I believe that Art Martinez is one of the best yet to make the NCAA D3 tournament, I believe he's one of the best yet to All-American.  Matter of fact, I think the Spartan has the tools & talent to be a national champion.  Let's make it out of the Regional first.  28-3 on the year he's a two-time Pete Willson place-winner & he won Baldwin Wallace. 

James Day is a three-time NCAA D3 qualifier with Regional finishes of 2nd-3rd-3rd.  A two-time D3 All-American with finishes of 4th & 3rd.  He's proven he can beat Spacht in the past & he is currently standing at 32-6. Titles at Millkin & the Mid-States Invitational. 

Jackson Rustad throws his name in the hat as a possible qualifier.  16 wins on the year, he so far has 6th & 7th place Regional finishes. 

The monkey wrench in this whole operation will be Jordan Rasof.  Freshmen usually come into these events ready to rumble, kitchen sink in hand.  Compared to upperclassmen often wrestling reserved with it in their mind this is their last shot. This poses in favor of the Warhawk.  A Pete Willson Invite runner-up, he already owns wins over both Martinez & Rustad. 

141

There sure is a lot of talent in Regional 5 huh?  Son of  gun.  All four of these guys are pretty familiar with one another.  Three are heading to Cedar Rapids, one is staying home. 

A WIAC champ & a Pete Willson champ, Justin Fortugno is 22-5 so far in '25-'26.  Owns a 13-11 win over Hunter Keane, a 5-3 win over Sean Conway & he's defeated Josh Robison on three occasions. 

Robison, 13-4 on the year was the CCIW runner-up & he owns three wins over Conway. 

Conway, one of the biggest surprises at the end of 2025, was silver at both the Regional & the NCAA Division III championships.  This year he stands at 32-5 on the year.  Titles won at Trine & Al Hanke, he earned his third Pete Willson top 8 finish (5th-8th-3rd).  Owns Two wins over Fortugno & a 6:20 fall over Keane. 

Kean 34-9 on the year made the finals of Pete Willson & he owns a 5-4 decision over Conway. 

149

Dom Mallinder makes the second wrestler this weekend who will be going for his fourth Regional 5 title. 23-2 on the season, he already picked up his fourth WIAC title, his second North Central title & his second Pete Willson title.  6th & 5th in the D3 nation thus far, the Warhawk owns a 10-6 win over M². 

M² aka Maskim Mukhamedaliyev has proven to be one of the best freshmen in NCAA D3 wrestling today. 37-5 on the year, he was 3rd at Pete Willson.   

Look for Kyle Bizjak to be our bronze medalist.  The Junior Blue Streak is 12-1 on the year, looking to earn his third Regional placing with 8th & 7th place finishes thus far. 

157

Don't kid yourself, it's not that the competition isn't very good & very fierce, it is.  It's simply that Aiden Smith IS that good.  The Bulldog makes it look easy.  Both Rhenzo Augusto & Luke Swan are very good wrestlers.  Both All-American candidates.  Keep that in mind when I tell you Smith majored Augusto 8-0 & tech'd Swan 15-0.  A Regional champion last year & 4th in the D3 nation, he is 18-1 on the year, a Petrofes champion. 

As to Augusto, it is hard to believe as much as he has accomplished, he is only a sophomore.  25-2 on the year, he won his second Pete Willson title, a title at Millikin, a title at North Central & a title at CCIW.  Owns a 5-2 decision over Luke Swan.  He was 2nd at last year's Regional, a match shy of D3 All-American honors. 

Swan himself is a multiple time Pete Willson place-winner & the champion of the WIAC. 6th in the Regional last year, he is 22-7 on the year. 

Three-ranked wrestlers in the weight class, is it even feasible that someone else could come in here and steal a spot?  

Well if there is anyone in this bracket capable, that someone is Tom Wagner.  33-7 on the year, he was a match shy of qualification last year.  

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A Regional champion last year & 4th in the D3 nation, I'm pretty confident that our gold here is going to be Braydon Peet. The Warhawk is 18-6 on the year, 3rd at North Central & 2nd at the WIAC.  On top of that he's also now a three-time Pete Willson Place-winner with finishes of 6th-1st-5th. 

As to Silver & bronze?  Well here's the peculiar thing about it.  Peyton Brooks has the ranking & a better record of 10-4, compared to Nick Cheshier's 11-11 record.  Yet Peet destroyed Brooks 14-2 & he barely squeaked by Cheshier 4-3.  Parity running wild, makes for an interesting semi-final doesn't it? 

174

Waters a but rougher up at 174 than what it was at 157, but nevertheless, Jermaine Butler still remains the *1 man in Regional 5.  The Warhawk who finished one match shy of NCAA D3 All-American honors in 2024, currently carries a 12-7 record, which includes a 3-1 decision over Jace Luce.  He was 6th at Pete Willson earlier this season. 

Luce carries a record of 24-8 & he will challenge Butler for a title this weekend.  A New Standard champion. 

I can't see anyone knocking off Butler or Luce on their way to the semi-finals.  I do think they are, whether they finish 1st & 2nd or 2nd & 1st, the two best wrestlers in this bracket.   As to bronze? I think that is a bit more up for grabs, but my gut is telling me Joey Jens. 11-5 on the year, he was 5th at last year's Regional. 

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A match shy of NCAA DIII qualification a year ago, Casey Aikman is poised and ready to make the trip to Cedar Rapids this year!  21-9 on the season he finished an impressive 3rd at Pete Willson. 


Finishing ahead of Aikman at Pete Willson with a 2nd place finish, is Jackson Davis who pinned Aikman at the 5:26 mark.  Davis is 28-9 on the year. 

As to bronze?  A 30-9 record on the year, here's the interesting thing about Zach Huckaby.  Davis tech'd him 15-0 in a dual & then he turned around and gave Davis a very close 5-4 match at the Concordia (WIS) invite.  

I hate being negative, but it's also my responsibility to be honest.  A Regional runner-up last season, Wills Bronson does not seem to be the same wrestler he was a year ago.  Sometimes wrestlers find their magic towards the end of the season & I keep that in mind. Maybe he'll get hot again this weekend. 

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17-2 on the year, Gunnar Garriques has easily established himself as the *1 seed here in Regional 5.  A Pete Willson runner-up, he was 3rd in the Regional a year ago. 

23-3, with a 7-0 win over A.J. Frescura, Mateo Casillas looks to be our silver.  He won the Millikin Open earlier this year. 

Frescura is 25-9 on the season. 

HWT

26-3 on the season, Titus Waters last year's Regional champion looks to be the favorite to once again take the gold this weekend. 

The battle for silver could very well end up between Mason Knight & Bode Brown.  Brown owns a 4-1 decision over Knight, whereas Knight owns a 3-1 tiebreaker over Brown. 

The Monkey-wrench in all of this?  Cayden Bell.  A member of Alma's football team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Division III championships, Bell got a late start to the '25-'26 wrestling season.  Nonetheless, in the dozen matches he has wrestled this season, a 10-5 win over Brown is one of them.  So is an 8-1 loss to Knight. 

2026 REGIONAL FOUR Preview for NCAA DIII (Fri Feb 27th & Sat Feb 28th)

 

125

2nd in the Regional & 8th in the D3 nation back in 2024, after taking '24-'25 off, Mac Cafurello is back with a vengeance. 15-0 on the year & a gold medal at the Pete Willson Invitational. 

With that said, former Ferrum standout Adrian Samano is having himself a pretty respectable '25-'26.  Champion of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), he took Cafurello into sudden victory before dropping a 4-1 match.  He's been one match shy of qualification in the past. 

The other guy to watch for here is Kurt Mokros, a tough freshman for the Polar Bears who has already claimed 29 wins this season & a 5th place showing at Pete Willson. 

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Another Maroon who took last year off, Jude Robson is having an outstanding '25-'26.  4th at the Regional in 2024, this year he is 18-2 & a Pete Willson Champion. Owns an 8-2 decision over Vince Ziccardi. 

Ziccardi although currently unranked, was 3rd in the Regional a year ago & one match shy of D3 All-American honors.  An ODAC champion, he was 2nd at Messiah.

Ironically enough, as was 125, the other guy to look for here is Chase Vanderhorst, 10-2 on the year, 6th at the 2025 Regionals. 

141

3rd in the D3 Nation in 2024 & a D3 National champion in 2025, those credentials say enough, but to add to the resume, Mark Samuel is also 6th-3rd-3rd with the Regional.  Currently 13-0 on the year. 

Although he is 0-6 overall Vs Samuel, Skyler Hickman has given the 2025 National champion a couple of close scares.  Once took him to a 2-0 decision & even took him into the tiebreakers once before dropping a 7-6 decision.  4th in the Regional a year ago, Hickman currently stands 15-3 on the year with a runner-up showing at the New Standard. 

In my estimation the battle for bronze here will be between Keegan McMahon & Casper Caizzo.  McMahon also with a 15-3 record, won John Summa earlier this year.  Caizzo 28-7 on the year, was 5th at Pete Willson. 

149

A transfer of Washington & Jefferson, Taylor Smith enters Regional Four looking to become a three-time champion this weekend. 19 wins on the season, he owns two decisive wins over Evan Lindner & two decisive wins over Tony Orlandini.  He was also this year's Pete Willson champion. 

Lindner not being ranked is a bit surprising to me, but then again not. Despite being a two-time NCAA D3 qualifier & very likely to become a three-time NCAA D3 qualifier, he also heads into Regionals with some puzzling losses.  None the less he was 2nd & 3rd the past two Regionals & this year he's won both Messiah & the New Standard. 

Orlandini, who finished last season with a losing record doesn't even look like the same wrestler this year.  He shed the glasses, ripped open the shirt, said, "goodbye Clark Kent", "Hello Superman!" and is currently 27-3 on the year. 

157

24-0 on the year, Liam Flanagan is having an outstanding season for the Generals, winning the Messiah Open.  Here to challenge him for a Regional title will be Casey Smith, another former Washington & Jefferson President, now Roanoke Maroon.  20-6 on the year, he was 3rd at last year's Regional & 3rd this this year's Pete Willson.  Flanagan & Smith have met twice, Flanagan winning a 4-1 s.v. & Smith winning a 2-1 decision.  Let's not kid ourselves, Thane McCoy is in the mixup for a title here at 157 as well.  27-1 on the year, his only blemish is when he moved up to 165 to challenge Andrew Supers.  Other than that, his record is clean. 

165

31-2 on the year, Andrw Supers is closing in on what has thus far been a pardon the pun, "Super" career.  3rd & 1st thus far in the Regional & 5th last year in the D3 nation, Supers is looking to earn more Regional gold this weekend.  A three-time Baldwin Wallace champ, he's also a two-time North Central runner-up. 

On paper his finals opponent looks to be Cade Parent, a tough freshman for the Maroons, 6th at Pete Willson with a 22-8 record.  

To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what is up with Mark Troni.  The General is a three time Regional place-winner, 7th-5th-3rd.  A four-time ODAC finalist/two-time champion & a two-time Messiah runner-up.  It's very surprising that he's only batting .500 as we had into Regionals this weekend.  I still think he's the 3rd best wrestler in this bracket & honestly he might even be the 2nd best.  I don't see him beating Supers, but he gave Parent a very close 6-5 match only a few weeks ago.  The old saying, "it ain't how you start, it's how you end" applies heavily here. 

174

Taking '24-'25 off, two-time NCAA D3 qualifier Tommy West returns looking to make a third trip to the national tournament. 25-3 on the year, he won the Baldwin Wallace Open.  He'll face some good competition in both Xavier Preston & Jessie Orbin.  Preston has posted back-to-back 3rd place finishes that past two Regionals. Is the 1 in the 26-1 record of Orbin, defeating the Waynesburg Yellow Jacket (ironically enough, Baldwin Wallace is also the Yellow Jackets) 9-6 in sudden victory. 

184

Ironically enough, both Vitali Daniels & Blaine Chrisman are former Edinboro Fighting Scots.  I mean what are the chances of that happening?  On paper this looks to be Daniels' bracket to lose, but that might not be the case on the mat.  The President is currently 22-2 on the season, but Chrisman gave him a very competitive 6-3 match.  Remington Bauer was 2nd here a year ago, riding a 23-9 record.  Chrisman owns a 6-1 decision over Bauer. 

197

This is certainly one of the more competitive weight classes here in Regional Four.  It should be noted that before I say too much about our likely *1 seed Lorenzo Pellot, that in his 14-1 record his only loss is to teammate Hunter Moore.  Moore himself was 5th at the Regional last season & carries an 18-5 record.  Nevertheless, having won the Pete Willson Invitational, I feel confident that the Maroons give the nod to Pellot. 

Joey Petrella, last year's Regional champion looks to be our *2 seed.  4th in the D3 nation a year ago, he is currently 16-1 on the season. 

Myles Johnson & John Stantowksi to duke it out for the bronze that will send them to nationals? Maybe.  I wouldn't count Johnson out from pulling off an upset & making the finals. 26-4 on the year, he's already upset Petrella once in a 4-2 decision.  He was also 5th at Pete Willson.  Santowski is 10-2 on the year. 

HWT

5th at last year's Regional, Carter Stack currently stands at 23-0 on the season.  The one thing you can say about him is that with four majors & a pin, he certainly has Nick Cook's #.   What's weird about it though, is that Cook owns a 10-8 victory over Andrew Vanscoy & Vanscoy took Stack into the tiebreakers.  We talk about parity & styles clashing a lot in this sport, and there you have an excellent example. 

4th in last year's Regional & a two-time Pete Willson place-winner with finishes of 6th & 4th, Steve Marra is happy to add to the parity.  He owns a 4-3 win over Cook & he's actually stuck Stack in the first period before.   Cook for the record was 6th last year in the Regional & 5th at this year's Pete Willson.  Vanscoy was 7th in the Regional last year. 

2026 REGIONAL THREE Preview for NCAA DIII (Fri Feb 27th & Sat Feb 28th)

 

125

Five ranked wrestlers here at 125 lbs, three of them in the top five and only three of them will be heading to the NCAA DIII wrestling tournament. We often like to talk about "tough" and while it can be subjective, I think it's pretty objective when evaluating just how difficult it is to call yourself an NCAA D3 qualifier. 

22-0 on the year, Alex Diaz is having an outstanding sophomore season for the Violets. A New York States champ, he scored a vital 8-6 victory over Matt Griffin earlier this year. 

Malik Asfour, looking to make history in the Eagles first appearance at Regionals, returns an NCAA D3 qualifier from last year having placed 3rd at Regionals.  He has four wins in total against Matt Griffin, some rather decisive & he also owns a major over Ethan Liptzen.  On the Year he won the Middle Atlantic Conference & John Summa, placing 3rd at the New Standard.  22-4 record. 

Griffin is a three-time NCAA D3 qualifier looking to become a rare four-timer.  Thus far his Regional finishes include two bronzes & a silver.  Owns a 12-7 decision over Asfour among those four losses mentioned & a 2:35 fall over Liptzen. 

Liptzen a qualifier from 2024, was the Middle Atlantic Conference runner-up & owns a 10-7 decision over Griffin.  Horvath was 6th at last year's Regional, champion of the Centennial Collegiate Conference. 

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Garrett Totten returns to defend the Regional title he won a year ago.  6th in the D3 nation last season, '25-'26 is currently standing on a 24-4 record with an 8-2 win over Jacob Blair & both a 19-4 tech & 2:47 fall over Jake Venezia.  Runner-up of the New Standard. 

Jacob Blair, a three-time NCAA D3 qualifier for Delaware Valley, looks to become a rare four-time qualifier & make history by becoming Arcadia's first ever D3 qualifier.  Thus far he has been 2nd-2nd-3rd at the Regional.  Carrying a 24-2 record, he won Messiah, while placing 6th at Pete Willson.  Does have a 4-1 win over Totten, and very recently nearly tech'd Venezia 16-2. 

24-5 on the year, Venezia looks to be our bronze medalist this season, although I wouldn't put it past him to pull off an upset.  I mean he did last year, sticking Blair at the 5:00 mark.  Doesn't seem real likely, considering Blair did beat him 16-2, but this is collegiate wrestling. Stranger things have happened.  Venezia was the Regional runner-up last year. 

#5
Vinnie Santaniello
TCNJ
141

Vinnie Santaniello is another example of a DI wrestler now in D3 wrestling, that if still in D1, would be a top 33 wrestler.  As I've said about other D1 to D3 guys, some are those that couldn't cut the mustard up at the D1 level. Some however, could have & Santaniello is one of them. Nic Bouzakis, Tyler Ferrera, Tony Madrigal, Gable Strickland...recognize any of those names? Yeah, they're all wrestlers that Santaniello has beaten.  I point this out so that wrestling fans have a clear understanding of how deep the talent can be at the D3 level.  Ignorance says things like, "he's just a D3 guy."  Paying attention knows how stupid of a comment that can be to make. 

Santaniello is 17-1 on the year & pretty much a shoe-in for the gold this weekend.  The rest of the weight class is a pure mess of parity.  Could pretty much throw in about any name among the bracket, and over half are eligible for silver and/or bronze. 

149

*NOTE* - We all know that teams in D3 can only send one wrestler per weight to the Regional.  However, I'm not sold that the one guy Messiah sends is Levi Snyder.  Very well could be, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it is Dalton Monger.  Either way, Messiah has someone contending for NCAA D3 qualification.  Monger, 5th at last year's Regional, won the Racich Rumble & he is a three-time Pete Willson place-winner with finishes of 6th-3rd-5th.  Not to mention, he owns three wins over Mikey Williams, two of which are first period pins!  For whatever it is worth, in the many matches he has had with Snyder, an 8-2 victory.  


Onward to the rest of the weight....

35-0 on the season, Thomas Monn has had one hell of a career & has certainly been the highlight of McDaniel wrestling in recent years.  35-0 on the year, he's already accomplished an assortment of credentials.  Three-time Messiah champ, three-time Centennial Collegiate conference champ, two-time Blue Jay Classic Champ & he also won the Wilkes Invite.  1st-4th-1st at Regionals, he's a two-time All-American with 6th & 5th place finishes. 

23-6 on the year, Mikey Williams has impressed by turning a series of very ugly losses into wins.  Including an 8-4 decision over Levi Snyder & a 4-2 decision over Chance Babb. 6th in the Regional last year, he was recently 2nd at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). 

Two-time NCAA D3 qualifier Chance Babb is 21-5 on the year.  12-3 & 13-2 majors over Williams, he owns a 7-4 decision over Caden Frost.  A Racich Rumble runner-up, he was 3rd at Petrofes. 

Snyder, 3rd at the MAC, owns both a 4-2 decision over Williams & a 6-5 tiebreaker over J.J. Giordano. Giordano has 18 wins on the year. 


Am I completely bananas for including unranked Caden Frost in a group that already has five ranked wrestlers? No.  It took a while to adjust to the 149 lbs weight class having moved up from 133 lbs, but let's keep in mind that Frost was an NCAA D3 qualifier last season. 21-9 on the season, he gave Babb a very good 7-4 match as mentioned earlier & he has majored Williams before.  His name belongs in the list of potential NCAA D3 qualifiers, and that's why I included it. 

157

Here's something you don't see every day.  Over 100 wins & a national qualifier in his NCAA Division II career, Trent Mahoney has decided to spend his final season of collegiate eligibility in the world of D3.  So far, so good. 28-1 on the season we're talking titles at Wilkes, the Blue Jay Classic & the Middle Atlantic Conference.  It's very likely he's our gold medalist. 

Silver & bronze?  Those are more up for grabs, and perhaps more than just the names I have mentioned.  16-2 on the year, Gavin Pascoe was an NCAA D3 qualifier last year with a Regional finish of 3rd.  A Petrofes runner-up, he defeated Clay Gainer 4-1 s.v. 

Kmak has wrestled very well this season, having already racked up 35 victories, among only 6 losses. 

One of those losses to Clay Gainer, the Racich Rumble champ.  Now Gainer has lost some ugly matches this year, but the thing about it is, he usually shows up and wrestles pretty tough come Regionals.  Thus far the Falcon has been 6th & 5th the past two seasons. 

165

41-1 on the year, Keegan DeMarest has racked up a series of majors, techs & pins into a very dominant season.  Titles won at Messiah, the Racich Rumble, & the Middle Atlantic Conference, he was 2nd at the Pete Willson.  Hard to believe he was one match shy of qualification a year ago. 

While positive DeMarest is gold, I believe silver & bronze are more open.  Ethan Composto is 17-3 on the year whereas Justice Hockenberry-Folk carries a 31-5 record, champion at the Blue Jay Classic. He was 6th here a year ago. 

Still, two unranked wrestlers stick out as plausible NCAA D3 qualifiers for 2026.  Viviano Gutierrez 15-6 on the year, took Composto into sudden victory.  Nick DeLorenzo wrestled Folk to a one takedown match. The MAC runner-up, he stands 23-9. 

174

This almost seems unfair.  With talent like Hunter Mays & Ty Finn in the bracket, it doesn't leave much room for anyone else.  19-0 on the year, Hunter Mays was the Regional champion last year & 5th in the D3 Nation.  Against the competition owns a 12-1 major over Tony Cerulli & a 9-4 decision over Zach Needles. 

Ty Finn makes yet another D1 to D3 transfer, with notable DI credentials.  Placed at both Keystone & the Southern Scuffle while competing for Virginia Tech.  22-0 on the year, with a 16-0 tech over Cerulli & an 11-0 major over Needles.  Does own a 5-2 decision over Mays. 

So baring the biggest upset of Regional 3 should the highly unlikely happen, gold & silver are spoken for. 

Bronze I see being a war between Needles and Cerulli.  A Centennial Conference champ, Cerulli took runner-up honors at Messiah, Racich Rumble & New Standard.  Needles, an NCAA D3 qualifier in 2023, 18-5 on the year.  A Messiah champion & 7th at the prestigious Pete Willson.  The two have met twice, with Needles securing two pins, 4:30 & 4:23. 

184

Gold? We'll talk about gold. 

Ganon Smith, a three-time NCAA D3 qualifier, with a 2025 4th place All-American honor is currently standing at 32-0 on the year.  Titles won at Wikes & the Blue Jay Classic, I can't see anyone stopping him in a quest for Regional gold this weekend. 

Silver & Bronze? We're looking at a war between four talents.  

Hayden McLellan 8th at last year's Regional has shown tremendous stride.  37-4 on the year owns a 5-2 decision over Justin Mayes & a 21-5 tech over Abdoul Akala. 

Akala, a very talented freshman stands at 25-4. 

Mayes, a former Cornell Big Red, stands at 24-2, a New York States champion.  

Austin Brass an NCAA D3 qualifier last season, is 23-5 with a title won at the Racich Rumble. 

197

It should be illegal for this much talent to be in one Regional.  I mean seriously.  There is a ton of talent at this weight class. Far more than I have listed here. It's simply that my job in this preview is to provide you who I think will contend for NCAA D3 qualification.  Yet I left a lot of names out, of some very good wrestlers.  James Lledo, 6th at Pete Willson.  Tucker Seidel who won the Racich Rumble & placed 8th at Pete Willson.  Sean Cowan, runner-up at both Racich Rumble & New Standard.  You place top 8 at 197 in Regional 3, you have my respect. 


Which is why I think Josh Stahl's story is so inspirational.  A two-time Pennsylvania state qualifier in high school, he never placed.  Then he was a backup his first two seasons at York (PA).  Had a good year last year at 174, but he's just been something else this year at 197.  It's clear that he spent a lot of long, hard hours in the weight room & the 23 lbs he put on was all muscle.  28-0 on the year, 16 techs, 7 falls & 4 major decisions.  He'll have super tough competition this weekend though. 

D.J. Henry is currently 21-3 on the year, a Regional champion last season & one match shy of D3 All-American honors. 

Iranian Mo Talebi, whose first year of American folkstyle was a season of CCCAA at Mt. San Antonio, has only wrestled 6 matches this year, but that's all he's needed to establish himself as the #4 wrestler in the D3 nation. 

Tyler Withers is the returning Regional champion & he was 6th in the D3 nation last season.  He hasn't wrestled all that much this year either, currently standing at 10-1, a Centennial Conference champion. 

Will Davis, yet another returning NCAA D3 qualifier, 2nd in the Regional last year.  29-3 on the year, he won the Blue Jay Classic & finished 2nd at the Wilkes Invitational. 

I asked Ron Simmons what he thought of that talent in Regional 3, 197 lbs.  He replied, "Damn!!" 

HWT

Along with Jacob Blair & Caden Frost, I'm sure that Logan Flynn is excited about the opportunity to be a first on many levels for Arcadia.  A first qualifier, a first Regional champion.  3rd in the Regional last year, standing at 27-0, that looks like a very real possibility.  Winning the prestigious Pete Willson Invitational, Flynn has defeated likely finals opponent Mo Abdelatty twice by scores of 7-3 & 9-2.  He's also defeated my pick for bronze, Matt Coon 8-1, 7-3 & via fall 4:00.   

Abdelatty is currently 23-1 this season & he's pinned Coon at the 4:13 mark. 

2026 REGIONAL TWO Preview for NCAA DIII (Fri Feb 27th & Sat Feb 28th)

 

125

No ranked wrestlers here at 125 lbs, but don't let that deter you.  There is still some solid talent here in Regional 2.  Three spots available for qualification and in my opinion it'll come down to three of the four I have listed above.  Tomah Gummow was an NCAA D3 qualifier last year as a freshman with a 3rd place Regional finish.  10-4 on the season, he won an Ithaca Invitational title & he nearly tech'd Dominic Terracciano 16-2.  Evan Whiteside is 14-3 on the year, a AMCC champion. Terracciano was 6th the Regional a year ago.  Jack Thode, 4th in the Regional last year has wrestled Gumow to both 6-5 & 4-2 decisions, while teching Terracciano 19-1 earlier this season. 

133

This is the kind of thing that rubs you wrong as a wrestling fan.  Four guys all ranked in the top 20.  Four guys who have earned it all season. Doesn't matter.  Only three of these guys are headed to nationals & one of them is staying home.  There's more than something about that, that isn't right. Matter of fact, there's nothing right about it at all.  Nonetheless, it is the way it is. 

Ironically enough, none of these guys have met this season.  So, it'll be a first for all.  Lucas Torres was a match shy of qualification last year.  Trevor Cortright a former Utica Pioneer, finished one match shy of NCAA DIII qualification the last two years in a row.  Now competing for SUNY-Oneonta, he is 15-2 on the year, now a two-time SUNY-Athletic Conference champion. 

More irony? Sure.  Both Jay McDonnell & Bobby Gardner are former NCAA DI athletes.  McDonnell a former Binghamton Bearcat with a current record of 24-2.  Gardner, 13-0 on the year, a former Clarion Golden Eagle. 

141

Go back and read the first paragraph I wrote concerning 133 lbs.  Now take that by about 1,000.  That's 141 lbs, Regional 2.   SIX ranked wrestlers in the top 20!  SIX! And three of them are staying home this year!  Insane! 

An NCAA D3 qualifier in 2023, Nico Diaz at 22-1 on the year looks to be our *1 seed.  Titles won at both the Middle Atlantic Conference & the MSOE Invite, he has a total of four wins over Isaias Torres, albeit all of them have been very close.  He also owns a very close 4-3 victory over Avery Leonard & he owns a 9-2 decision over Dean Costantino. 

Isaias Torres is a three-time NCAA DIII qualifier with Regional finishes of 1st-2nd-1st, R12-7th-R12 at the NCAA D3 Championships.  Despite four closes losses to Diaz, he did get him once in a 5-2 decision.  He also owns both a 3-1 & 7-2 decision over Danny Haws, defeating Kaden Ware in two close 4-1 & 4-2 decisions, one of them a tiebreaker.  A 13-4 major over Leonard. 

Leonard, one match shy of qualification last year, is 25-4 on the year.  Champion at Wilkes & the New York States, he is a two time SUNY-Athletic Conference runner-up.  Owns a 6-4 decision over Diaz. 

Haws? Another three-time NCAA D3 qualifier.  3rd-3rd-1st the past three Regionals.  23-10 on the year, a 4-1 decision over Costantino.  The past three seasons I called him easily one of the best wrestlers yet to All-American at the D3 level.  Now he's in a situation where now isn't the time to concern yourself with being top 8.  The focus at the moment is top 21. 

 Ware & Costantino 11-1 & 18-8 respectively on the season. 

149

Former Cornell Big Red, Cole Handlovic is currently 19-0 on the year.  I know when I mention some former DI wrestlers now competing D3, fans sometimes think guys that rode the bench occasionally taking beatings here and there.  NOT the case with Handlovic.  We're talking a series of wins over multiple NCAA DI qualifiers including Jason Miranda, Max Brignola, Cesar Alvan & Ty Whalen.  This isn't just some third stringer who could never make the line up.  This is a guy, if he were still in DI, would easily be in the top 33.  I think that's an important distinction to make when discussing the Middle Atlantic Conference champion. 

Here to challenge him for a title will be last year's Regional champ, as well as D3 runner-up, Angelo Centrone.  12-1 on the year, looking to defend his Regional gold. 

As to bronze? I predict a consolation final between Trevor Bishop & Jackson Maby.  I am aware that when these two met a year ago, Maby took it to Bishop in an 11-0 major.  However, it is very clear at 20-2 on the year, Bishop is a much improved wrestler.  Regardless of the outcome, I see it being a much closer contested match. 

157

Silver & Bronze are yet to be determined but I'm pretty confident that gold is already spoken for.  Three-time Regional champion Ryan Smith will be going for his fourth regional title this weekend.  8th-6th-7th in the D3 nation, he has had one heck of a good career for the Ducks.  Also including 2nd-1st-1st-2nd finishes at the Middle Atlantic Conference championships.   He is 20-4 on the year, an 11-2 win over Jaryn Hartranft & 8-2 over Tyler Rossini. 

Hartranft is looking for his fourth Regional placing in his own right. An NCAA D3 qualifier in 2024, he's been 5th-2nd-4th at the regionals.  Already 40 matches under his belt this season, he stands at 33-5.  4th at Pete Willson & a Ned McGinley champion.  

Although unranked, both Tyler Rossini & Kobin Karper are not only threats for the bronze medal, but they're also threats to the silver as well.  Matter of fact, Rossini WAS a silver medalist at last year's Regional, R12 at D3's.  25-5 on the year, he was runner up at both Wilkes & the New York States, taking 3rd at Messiah.  Owns an 11-7 decision over Hartranft.  

Karper 14-3 on the year, owns a 4-0 decision over Rossini & he took Hartranft into sudden victory. 

165

As to 165 lbs Regional 2, I'm pretty sure this is going to be our final.  10-0 on the year, 3rd in the Regional last year, Kaiden Wagner is a clear favorite to be this year's champion.  Especially considering the fact that I feel that Carter Davis has established himself the second best wrestler in the Regional at 165.  Wagner nearly tech'd Davis 14-1 earlier this year.  

Despite that not so purdy loss, Davis has been wrestling very well this season. 23-3 on the year, he won titles at both the Ithaca Invitational & the AMCC.  He was one match shy of being a D3 qualifier last year. 

As to 3rd place?  It's the wild, wild west as far as I'm concerned. Truly anybody's for the taking.  Parity and result says so. 

174

Both Regional runner-ups last season, I believe between Konrad Parker & Nolen Zeigler one of these guys is gonna be a Regional champion this year.  Zeigler also D3 R12, is currently 24-2 on the season.  Parker is 33-4, with titles won at both the Ithaca Invitational & the SUNY-Athletic Conference. 

Short & sweet, that's my analysis at 174.  Like 184, I believe the rest of the field is going to duke it out for that third and final spot that secures a trip to the national tournament.  

184

Right back to where we were when talking 133 & 141.  Way more than three quality, qualifier material wrestlers & only three spots for them. 

3rd-2nd-1st in the Regional thus far, with D3 All-American finishes of 7th & 3rd, I'd be the farm on Jack Ryan being one of those three. 12-1 on the season, he has wins over Sean Malenfant, Eli Crum & Xavier Pommels.  All fairly well controlled. 

Malenfant has been rather admirable this season.  5th in the D3 nation back in 2024, he has been the heart and the soul of the Alfred State Pioneer wrestling program in '25-'26.  Taking on all comers & wrestling as much as he can, he's currently 38-4.  Titles at the New Standard & the AMCC, he was 2nd at the Williams Open & 3rd at the New York States.  He's actually beaten Ryan in the past, on two occasions & he owns a 1:44 pin over Pommels. 

Crum 20-3 on the year, was one match shy of qualification a year ago.  2nd at the RIT. 

MacIlroy is the newcomer to the group & a dangerous one at that.  The freshman owns a 20-4 record.

Lastly, don't for a minute let the U.R. next to his name fool you.  Again D3 wrestling is 126 (or more?) teams & we only rank the top 20.  Pommels IS qualifier material.  If placing 2nd here last year & 8th in the D3 nation doesn't prove it, maybe a 4:51 fall over Crum does.  2nd at New Standard, he more recently won the SUNY-Athletic Conference. 

197

An NCAA DIII qualifier in 2024, I would look for Ryan Galka to be the *1 seed this weekend, although I wouldn't necessarily consider him a shoe-in for the title.  Currently 19-4 on the year, he won the New York States. 

Here to give him a heaping helping of competition will be Carson LiCastri & Braydon Vandenberg.  LiCastri was an NCAA DIII qualifier himself last year, 3rd in the Regional.  Titles won at Wilkes, RIT & the SUNY-Athletic Conference, he was 3rd at the New York States.  24-6 on the year. 

Vandenberg, 18-4, has defeated LiCastri twice & he gave Galka a tight 4-2 match. 

#3
Josh Harkless
R.I.T. 
HWT

A mystery as to who's gonna finish 2nd and a mystery as to who's gonna finish 3rd.  Ain't not mystery as to who's gonna finish 1st.  8th and 3rd in the D3 nation so far & a Regional champion last year, Josh Harkless is 37-3 on the year.  Two of those losses to D1 opponents at the Midlands, where he placed 7th!! The other to a D2 opponent (who by the way was a two-time DI qualifier before transferring himself).   Titles won at Ned McGinley, New York States & R.I.T., look for Harkless to add some more gold to his collection.