KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Riding on the back of a three-dual winning streak while gearing up for one last ride under 25th-year head coach Robert Fisher, the 22nd-ranked Kutztown University wrestling team seeks continued success as it competes at the NCAA Super Region I Championships this Saturday, Feb. 28, inside Koehler Fieldhouse on the campus of East Stroudsburg University.

The first of three sessions begins at 10 a.m., with doors opening one hour prior. General admission is $15, while tickets for students in college or under 17 years old, as well as seniors, are $10 each. Tickets are only available at the front entrance of Koehler Fieldhouse; there are no online ticket sales.

12 teams are set to compete in Saturday's competition, with the top three finishers in each weight class earning a spot at the NCAA DII Championships, which will take place at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 13-14. Notable teams in Kutztown's Super Region include No. 4 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 5 Gannon of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and No. 18 Frostburg State and No. 23 Fairmont State of the Mountain East Conference.

The Golden Bears (6-4, 4-2 PSAC) finished dual competition with three straight wins, the last of which - a 46-0 win over East Stroudsburg - was the team's largest margin of victory in a conference matchup since 2019. The Maroon and Gold also claimed the top spot at the Tonee Ellis Memorial Tournament and had five champions at the Bridgeport Open.

Redshirt juniors Nic Allison (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) (12-6, 125 pounds) and Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) (19-3, 133 pounds) represent the Golden Bears in the first two weight classes, as each of them has an inside shot at claiming one of the three SR1 berts after recording stellar seasons in comparison to their weight class counterparts.

Sophomore Joey Ortega (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) will put his 9-5 record to the test at 141 pounds, while Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) will do the same after competing to a 7-2 mark at 149 pounds. Graduate student Hunter Horton (James Creek, Pa./Tussey Mountain), who finished his regular season off with a dominant, 8-1 decision against ESU, will try for a spot at 157 pounds after an 11-8 campaign.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) once again views the Golden Bears as one of the best back-half teams in the country, as the organization named a KU wrestler in each of the final five weight classes in its latest top 15 individual polls.

No. 14 Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg), who is tied for the team lead in technical falls, will look to return to the top of the podium at 165 pounds, a place he held last year after defeating his four opponents on his way to his second career All-American honor. Brother Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg), ranked 10th at 174 pounds, looks to do the same after compiling 18 wins on the year, eight of which came by either technical fall or pin.

First-year Golden Bear Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg), an eighth-ranked 184-pound grappler, will set his eyes on the top of a tight podium that could likely feature a trio of PSAC grapplers heading to Sioux Falls when it is all said and done. The same goes for 197 pounds, where 11th-ranked Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North), the winner of a team-high 10 bouts by fall, looks to continue his successful campaign that has seen the East Stroudsburg, Pa., native battle to a 17-2 record on the year.

Closing out the projected lineup is senior Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown), who returned to the NWCA rankings at No. 13 after starting the year ranked third at 285 pounds. After defeating the top overall seed in the NCAA DII Championships a season ago, the dual-sport athlete is once again looking to make noise as an underdog with a 2-1 dual record on the year. The reigning All-American has notched bonus team points in both of his victories, winning his first by fall and the second by major decision to close out the season against ESU. He will look to put up another stellar postseason in 2026.

In 2025, Kutztown finished third in the region for the second straight season while sending six grapplers to nationals, the most since the program joined Super Region I in 2011. This year's Golden Bears lineup is extremely familiar to a season ago, but the team looks to enter uncharted waters in the upcoming postseason.

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NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION 1 CHAMPIONSHIPS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2026 | EAST STROUDSBURG, PA. | KOEHLER FIELDHOUSE

KUTZTOWN PROJECTED STARTERS
125: Nic Allison (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) (12-6, 4-1 PSAC)
133: Javien DeLeon (Allentown, Pa./Liberty) (19-3, 4-1 PSAC)
141: Joey Ortega (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) (9-5, 2-3 PSAC)
149: Aliazer Alicea (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) (7-2, 2-2 PSAC)
157: Hunter Horton (James Creek, Pa./Tussey Mountain) (11-8, 1-4 PSAC)
165: No. 14 Bailey Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) (13-3, 2-2 PSAC)
174: No. 10 Dalton Gimbor (Bernville, Pa./Hamburg) (18-3, 4-1 PSAC)
184: No. 8 Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg) (11-1, 4-1 PSAC)
197: No. 11 Wayne McIntyre (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg North) (17-2, 4-1 PSAC)
285: No. 13 Freddie Retter (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) (2-1, 2-1 PSAC)