The post season is upon us and now it is time to take a look at the Super Regions in NCAA Division II and try and figure out who our national qualifiers will end up being. Each weight class is awarded the top 3 to the NCAA DII tournament. In some ways as you'll soon discover it is really a shame because at some weight classes, there are more than 3 kids who deserve to go. It is an illustration of just how incredibly tough it is to even qualify. Here's how I see things going.
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| 125 lbs |
I'm anxious to see who ends up getting the #1 seed between Kutztown's Matt Wilde and Gannon's Jacob Dunlop. As to rankings (at the time this was written) Dunlop has a slight advantage over Wilde & it also helps his case that he was an All American last season with an 8th place finish. Yet, it should be noted that head to head, in their only meeting Wilde won 6-3. My guess is that Dunlop takes the #1 seed, which pits Wilde against Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Matt Siszka in the semi-finals. Wilde defeated Siszka 5-2 at the end of January. The loser here, should be our 3rd place finisher.
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| 133 lbs |
This will be an interesting weight class. Despite seedings, I think the man to beat here is going to be TyShawn White. Lock Haven, Clarion, Glenville State & now finally Shippensburg, I think he's finally found his final destination as far as his collegiate wrestling career is concerned. The only reason he isn't currently ranked higher (as of the time this was written) is because of his lack of matches this season. In a head to head match up, he owns a 16-5 major decision over Eric Bartos of Mercyhurst. If White does take the #1 seed, that should pit Bartos against Kutztown's Collin Wickramaratna in the semi-finals. Despite who takes the #2 & who takes the #3, the last the two met it was Wickramaratna who won by fall in 3:51 the last the two met. I wouldn't necessarily say that the loser here is a sure shot bet at taking 3rd either. Millersville's Devin Flannery will be looking to take that spot as well. While Wickramaratna pinned him at the 3:25 mark, he took Bartos to an 11-9 decision. Out of these four talented wrestlers, unfortunately one will be staying home.
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| 141 lbs |
Anxious to see who ends up taking the #1 seed here between American International's Sean Johnson and Mercyhurst's Alex Soriano. As of the time this was written, Johnson slightly favors over Soriano per ranking, yet it is Soriano who returns with two NCAA DII qualifications & an 8th place finish from 2019. Look for Seton Hill long time veteran Joel Cawoski to finally see a career of hard work & sticking out the grind finally pay off. He took Cawoski into sudden victory the last the two met & is more than capable of upsetting his way to the finals. If not, look for him to finish 3rd.
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| 149 lbs |
This will be an interesting weight class, the fight for a top 3 finish will be quite the war. Gannon's Dom Means is quite a bit higher than Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Jacob Ealy in the rankings, but it was Ealy won won a 3-2 decision at last year's Super Region I. Ealy despite being a #1 or a #2 seed, I don't see having any trouble getting into the finals. He took care of Kutztown's Michael Cusick 19-4 technical fall and he also tech'd Seton Hill's Logan McKoy 15-0. Means on the other hand, might have a bit of trouble. He's 2-0 against Cusick, but both matches have been rather close in 5-2 and 3-2 decisions. He defeated McKoy 4-0. If the final ends up Means against Ealy, I think that gives us a consolation final of Cusick Vs McKoy. A ton on the line in this one. These two are 1-1. Cusick with a 7-5 sudden victory and McKoy with a 6-4 victory.
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| 157 lbs |
It's about to get real my friends. 157 lbs Super Region I is going to be a barnburner. Placing top 3 here is going to be a chore. Three time NCAA DII qualifier, 2021 7th place finisher JoJo Gonzalez of American International leads the way. He owns victories over every one else including a 17-5 major decision over Gannon's Nick Young, an 8-4 victory over Alderson Broaddus' Jamar Williams, a 10-4 decision over Mercyhurst's Max Stedeford and a 5-2 decision over Seton Hill's Tyler Alberts. The catch here though is that he also owns a 4-3 victory over Nate Smith of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, but Smith also owns a victory over him by an 8-5 decision. The parity here, if you will is that Young owns a 1:57 first period fall over Smith.
Within this mess, Smith owns a 14-10 victory over Alberts, as Alberts owns an 8-5 decision over Stedeford. Somewhere Williams fits into all of this too. Seeding goes according to rankings (as of the time this was written) I think we're looking at some quality matchups in the quarters, semis, finals, consolation semis and consolation finals. This will be a tough bracket.
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| 165 lbs |
A final between Gannon's Alex Farenchak and Pittsburgh-Johnstown's Dillon Keane could very well end up being the match of the night. Farenchak was an NCAA DII runner-up last season, but technically still freshman Keane gave him a very respectable 5-3 match at last year's Super Region I. Between both of these guys (as of the time this was written) there only losses have been to NCAA Division I opponents. Look for Alderson Broaddus' Justin Henry to take 3rd here.
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| 174 lbs |
Five wrestlers ranked (at the time this was written) in the top 16 and only three of them get to go to nationals. Just doesn't seem right does it? It really doesn't. #1 seed and likely champion Brock Biddle of Pittsburgh-Johnstown brings in All American finishes of 4th & 6th, as everyone else here is looking for their first NCAA DII qualification. Who will be Biddle's opponent in the finals? Most likely either true freshman Dillon Walker of Mercyhurst or Joey Petrella of Gannon. The last the two met, Walker escaped with a 2-1 tiebreaker. That's if of course, this semi-final even happens. The last Petrella & Millersville's Anthony Yacovetti met, Petrella won a close 4-2 match. Depending on seeding, this is a plausible quarter-final we could see. Then there is also Ethan Baney, a talented freshman who transferred from Division I Campbell this season. No matter how you slice it, two of DII's best 174 lbs'ers will be watching this years tournament rather than participating in it.
184 lbs
Pretty sure we're looking at Mercyhurst's Luke McGonigal as our champion here and I'd bet on Millersville's Anthony Giampietro being his finals opponent. While some of the weight classes in Super Region I are loaded with talent, 184 doesn't seem to have the depth. I don't even want to take a stab at who might take 3rd here.
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| 197 lbs |
The last that Alderson Broaddus' Gino Sita and Gannon's Joel Leise met, Sita walked away with a 4-2 sudden victory. Look for this to be an exciting final between the two, with Brian Kennerly of Kutztown likely taking 3rd.
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| HWT |
Four top HWT's. Four of them ranked. Four of them returning NCAA qualifiers. Only three of them get to go this season. Kutztown's Andrew Dunn, a 2019 NCAA DII champion is looking for his second DII title this season, but he needs to worry about winning the Super Region I first. While he owns a 17-6 major decision as well as a 3:39 fall over Jacob Robb of Mercyhurst, the last two times the two have met, Dunn has escaped with 3-2 decisions. For the record, Robb also does own a victory over Dunn by an 8-4 decision. Dunn was also given a decent match out of Oggie Atwood of Pittsburgh-Johnstown who he defeated 6-3. Take all of this into consideration, Freddie Nixon of Gannon is already a three time NCAA DII qualifier & by all means doesn't plan on staying home this season.
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Happy that 9 out of 11 teams in Super Region I look to have at least one qualifier. Been a rough year for Fairmont State as well as for East Stroudsburg. East Stroudsburg has one senior in the varsity line up among eight freshmen and one sophomore. It'll take time to rebuild.
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