FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The 17th-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team secured a program record six tickets to the national championship, headlined by top finishes from No. 11 Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) at 165 pounds and second-ranked Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) at 184 pounds as the Golden Bears finished third out of 12 teams at the NCAA Super Region I Championships on Saturday inside Joe Retton Arena, hosted by Fairmont State University.
In addition to the first place finishes from Gimbor and Weinberg, the Golden Bears are also sending Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) at 149, No. 9 Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) at 174, Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) at 197 and Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) at 285. The team scored 122 points at the regional postseason tournament.
Kutztown had eight grapplers place, with 133-pound Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) coming in sixth and 141-pound Joey Ortega (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) reaching the consolation final round to earn fourth to join the above qualifiers on the podium. Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) and McIntyre placed second in their respective weight classes, while Ryan and Retter won the wrestleback side of their brackets to claim third-place finishes.
Ryan makes his second appearance on the national stage after making the trip as a 141-pound member of the Gannon Golden Knights a season ago. Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) seeks a second All-American honor after earning one at 157 pounds last year, while brother Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) looks to crack into that threshold after falling short at 165 last season.
Weinberg will look to make it three straight All-American honors while seeking the title he fell one win short of claiming a season ago. McIntyre, still a redshirt sophomore, seeks his first All-American honor after a strong performance on last year's national stage, while fellow redshirt sophomore Retter will look to leave his mark in his first season wrestling at the collegiate level.
No. 18 Pitt-Johnstown (148 points) and No. 14 Gannon (141.5 points) preceded Kutztown (122 points) atop the team standings, as the top five was rounded out by Millersville (79 points) and Frostburg State (77 points).
The six national qualifiers will take the big stage on Friday, Mar. 14, where their quest will begin for national titles at the NCAA DII Championships through Saturday, Mar. 15, at the Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind.
NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION 1 CHAMPIONSHIPS
SATURDAY, MARCH 1 | FAIRMONT, W.VA. | JOE RETTON ARENA
KUTZTOWN RESULTS
TEAM: 3rd/12 (122 pts.)
125 LBS.
None
133 LBS.
Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty)
R1 – Bye
QF – WIN DEC. Nate Pelesky (Fairmont State), 6-3
SF – LOSS PIN #10 Thierno Diallo (Frostburg State), 4:11
CSF – LOSS DEC. Tyson Cook (Pitt-Johnstown), 10-5
5th – LOSS FOR. Nate Pelesky (Fairmont State)
6TH PLACE
141 LBS.
Joey Ortega (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson)
R1 – LOSS DEC. Nick Cottone (Millersville), 4-1
CR1 – Bye
CR2 – WIN MD Ben Makaritis (East Stroudsburg), 10-0
CQF – WIN DEC. Nikolas Ferra (Seton Hill), 4-2
CSF – WIN DEC. Mason Myers (Pitt-Johnstown), 10-4
CF – LOSS PIN Caleb Chaves (Gannon), 1:26
4TH PLACE
149 LBS.
Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell)
R1 – Bye
QF – WIN DEC. Alex Blake (Frostburg State), 3-0
SF – LOSS DEC. Chad Ozias (Pitt-Johnstown), 13-10
CSF – WIN DEC. Daniel Sinclair (Millersville), 9-3
CF – WIN TF Michael Trainor (Shippensburg), 15-0 (2:35)
3RD PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
157 LBS.
Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township)
R1 – WIN DEC. John D'Amico (Frostburg State), 10-5
QF – LOSS DEC. Tommy Nichols (American International), 8-4
CR2 – LOSS PIN Anthony DeAngelo (Shippensburg), 4:19
165 LBS.
#11 Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg)
R1 – WIN DEC. Macon Myers (Pitt-Johnstown), 8-5
QF – WIN MD Chase Bish (Millersville), 14-3
SF – WIN PIN Nick Coreno (Gannon), 4:21
F – WIN INJ. DEF. Eddie Terreri (Felician), 3:50
1ST PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
174 LBS.
#9 Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg)
R1 – Bye
QF – WIN PIN Robert Burke (East Stroudsburg), 3:00
SF – WIN PIN Andrew Vogelbacher (Millersville), 6:24
F – LOSS DEC. #13 Patrick Jackson (Gannon), 5-1
2ND PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
184 LBS
#2 Matthew Weinberg (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan)
R1 – WIN PIN Gaetano Savelli (Gannon), 1:01
QF – WIN PIN Austin Hinzman (Wheeling), 1:10
SF – WIN TF Jack MacKiernan (American International), 17-1 (4:06)
F – WIN TF Noah Gnibus (Pitt-Johnstown), 19-4 (3:37)
1ST PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
197 LBS
Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North)
R1 – WIN TF Darby McLaughlin (American International), 15-0 (7:00)
QF – WIN PIN Ethan Babay (Fairmont State), 0:29
SF – WIN PIN Eli Reese (Gannon), 1:29
F – LOSS DEC. #6 Dakoda Rodgers (Pitt-Johnstown), 9-2
2ND PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
285 LBS
Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown)
R1 – Bye
QF – WIN DEC. Gavin Harper (Wheeling), 5-3
SF – LOSS PIN #6 Dorian Grosby (Gannon), 6:01
CSF – WIN MD Layton Schmick (East Stroudsburg), 8-0
CF – WIN PIN Bishop McCoy (Millersville), 0:58
3RD PLACE – NATIONAL QUALIFIER
