PARK CITY, Kan. – It was a strong opening day at the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships for 18th-ranked Kutztown University, Friday. Returning All-American Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) was dominant in a pair of victories to reach the semifinals at 184 pounds, Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) locked up his first All-America honor after winning three times and all four Golden Bear qualifiers won at least one match.
 
Weinberg, third-ranked and third-seeded in the tournament, earned bonus points for the Golden Bears in the team standings by dispatching of Owen Butler (Indianapolis) by technical fall in the first round and Jaquez Bostic (Limestone) by major decision in the quarterfinals. The Philadelphian is assured his second consecutive All-America honor but has his sights set on a national championship.
 
Weinberg actually fell behind in the opening period of his first-round match against Butler but recovered with an escape and takedown in the second to take a 4-3 lead to the third. The redshirt junior erupted for 14 points on a takedown, a pair of three-point nearfalls, four penalty points and a riding time point to claim an 18-3 victory.
 
Against Bostic, Weinberg collected four takedowns and led start-to-finish in a 15-3 win. The fourth-place finisher in last year's 184 NCAA DII bracket, Weinberg will go up against seventh-ranked Damon Ashworth of Central Missouri in the semifinals Saturday morning. Ashworth advanced to the semis by knocking off second-ranked Daniel Beemer of Ashland in the quarterfinals.
 
Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) is in the midst of an extremely impressive nationals debut at 157 pounds and All-America honors are well-deserved after his performance on Friday. Gimbor picked up a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents, took defending national champion Nick Novak to the wire in the quarterfinals and is into the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
Gimbor had to square off with ninth-ranked Ryan Wilson of Western Colorado in a preliminary round match and came through with an 8-0 shutout. That vaulted him into a first round match against eighth-ranked and eighth-seeded Keegan Roberson of UNC Pembroke.
 
Roberson took advantage of Gimbor's decision to start from bottom in the second period of a scoreless bout with a four-point nearfall and added a takedown with just over 30 seconds remaining to lead 7-2 heading into the final period. Roberson's lead increased to 8-2 on an escape with 54 seconds left but Gimbor staged a furious rally with three takedowns in the final 40 seconds. The final takedown with 12 seconds to go put turned out to be the winning move in an 11-10 decision.
 
Gimbor battled defending national champion and top-ranked Nick Novak of St. Cloud State for all seven minutes of their quarterfinal bout. Novak led 4-0 before ceding a pair of stalling penalty points in the final 30 seconds. He added a riding time point to escape with a 5-2 decision.
 
With a coveted All-America honor on the line, Gimbor concluded his day with a 9-3 victory over PSAC rival Ethan Richner of Gannon. The victory avenged a loss to Richner in the Super Region 1 semifinals and gave Gimbor a 2-1 edge over Richner this season. The Bernville, Pa., native will face fourth-ranked Devin Bahr of Northern State in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
 
Making his second straight trip to nationals, Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) captured his sixth win over a nationally ranked opponent this season before suffering a pair of defeats.
 
Gimbor scored a takedown 1:11 into overtime to fend off 10th-ranked Sevriano Garza of Ashland, 4-1, in his first round match at 165 pounds. He fell to third-ranked and third-seeded Cory Peterson of McKendree by major decision, 15-5, in the quarterfinals and bowed out of the tournament with a 5-2 loss to Maryville's Cole Ritter in the second round of consolations. Gimbor trailed Ritter by just a point, 3-2, heading to the third period but Ritter used an escape and riding time point to gain his final advantage.
 
Gimbor finishes the 2023-24 season with a career-high 28 wins (28-8), eight pins, seven technical falls and a regional runner-up finish.
 
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) notched his first national tournament victory with a 10-3 decision over West Liberty's Mason Christian in a preliminary round match at 197 pounds. The redshirt freshman from East Stroudsburg, Pa., jumped out to an early 5-0 lead courtesy of a takedown and two-point nearfall. McIntyre added a pair of escapes to push his lead to 7-3 by the end of the second and registered one more takedown in the final seconds.
 
The third-place finisher at regionals fell to eighth-ranked and eighth-seeded Jackson Kinsella of Nebraska-Kearney, 12-4, in the first round and ninth-ranked Nicholas Johnson of Glenville State, 16-5, in a consolation first-round match. McIntyre ends his season 9-7 overall.
 
Kutztown is currently in a three-way tie for 11th place with Gannon and UNC Pembroke in the team standings after picking up 19 points, Friday. Central Oklahoma sits atop the standings with 59.5 points, five ahead of second-place Lander (54.5). St. Cloud State (47.0), McKendree (42.5) and Nebraska-Kearney (40.0) complete the top five.
 
Weinberg and Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) will be back in action, Saturday, when wrestling resumes at Hartman Arena beginning at 11 a.m. ET. A victory by Weinberg would put him in the 184 lb. national championship match, with championship finals set for 8 p.m.
 

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NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 15-16, 2024 | PARK CITY, KAN. | HARTMAN ARENA
KUTZTOWN RESULTS
 
157 LBS.
Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg)
PR– WIN MD #9 Ryan Wilson (Western Colorado), 8-0
R1 – WIN DEC #8 Keegan Roberson (UNC Pembroke), 11-10
QF – LOSS DEC #1 Nick Novak (St. Cloud State), 5-2
CR2 – WIN DEC Ethan Richner (Gannon), 9-3
Saturday
CQF – vs. #4 Devin Bahr (Northern State)
 
165 LBS.
#6 Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) (6th seed)
R1 – WIN DEC #10 Sevriano Garza (Ashland), 4-1 (SV-1)
QF – LOSS MD #3 Cory Peterson (McKendree), 15-5
CR2 – LOSS DEC Cole Ritter (Maryville), 5-2
 
184 LBS.
#3 Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (3rd seed)
R1 – WIN TF Owen Butler (Indianapolis), 18-3 (7:00)
QF – WIN MD Jaquez Bostic (Limestone), 15-3
Saturday
SF – vs. #7 Damon Ashworth (Central Missouri)
 
197 LBS.
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North)
PR – WIN DEC Mason Christian (West Liberty), 10-3
R1 – LOSS MD #8 Jackson Kinsella (Nebraska-Kearney), 12-4
CR1 – LOSS MD #9 Nicholas Johnson (Glenville State), 16-5