BRISTOL, R.I., February 20, 2017 — Three Connecticut wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament after a weekend of regional tournaments. Newington senior Chris Chorzepa (184) of Williams College won the Northeast Regional and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for a fourth time.
Middletown native Devon Carrillo (197) of Wesleyan lost in the Northeast Regional finals, 10-8 in overtime but still qualified. In the Central Regional in Iowa, Trumbull’s Cross Cannone (141) of Wartburg College finished second to qualify for the tournament. In the Eastern Regional in Virginia, Southington sophomore Zack Bylykbashi (133) of Washington and Lee finished third to earn a berth to the tournament.
Wrestlers have to finish in the top three of their weight class to earn an invitational to the NCAA Division III national championships on March 10-11 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
New Britain’s Geovanni Medina (174) of Springfield College, Windsor Locks’ Khamri Thomas (197) of Johnson & Wales, Somers’ Kyle Foster (285) of Roger Williams and Colchester’s Howard Kilpatrick (165) of King’s College all finished fourth and missed qualifying. Medina, Thomas and Kilpatrick each lost one-point decisions.
Chorzepa won his second straight Northeast Regional title with a 7-2 win over Michael Gallagher of Rhode Island College.
“Chris has made a jump,” Williams coach Scott Honecker said. “Even in the twilight of his career in a Williams singlet, he is still getting better with every practice and every match. The younger guys need to pay close attention and model the emphasis on improving his wrestling that Chris has maintained all four years. His best wrestling is still ahead of him at the NCAAs in Wisconsin.”
Carrillo, the No. 1 seed at 197 who finished third overall at the Northeast Regional a year ago, dropped his first match of the season in a rematch against Carlos Toribio from Ithaca in the championship bout. After winning four straight matches, the two met in the finals as Toribio edged Carrillo in an overtime thriller, 10-8. Carrillo defeated Toribio earlier this year by a 13-11 decision on Saturday, Feb. 4.
A dual-sport athlete in his second wrestling season, Carrillo is returning to the NCAA championships for the second year in a row. He is an incredible 22-1 overall.
Wartburg, the No. 1 team in the country, won the Central Regional for the fifth straight year with 10 wrestlers qualifying for the NCAA Division III tournament.
Cannone (27-4) lost in the Midwest Regional final at 141 to Clint Lembeck of Loras by pin in 6:07. It snapped a 15-match win streak for the sophomore from Trumbull.
Bylykbashi went 4-1 at the Eastern Regional tournament beating Ursinus’ Trey Harkness, 9-0, in the first round and Dylan Luciano of Centenary (NJ), 8-2 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Bylykbashi (28-5) dropped a 9-5 decision to second-ranked Nathan Pike of NYU after leading for a majority of the match. Pike was the runner-up in the 133-pound weight class at the 2016 Division III national championship. Bylykbashi recovered to notch a 4-1 win over Noah Malamut of Gettysburg in the consolation semifinals, and then he recorded a 15-7 major decision over Luciano in the third-place match to earn his berth to nationals.
Kilpatrick, a junior from Colchester who wrestled for Bacon Academy, advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern Regional tournament before falling to Nick Herrig (23-2) of the College of New Jersey, 6-1. Kilpatrick stayed alive in his first wrestleback match with a 7-1 overtime victory over Ferrum’s Andrew Tolbert.
But in the consolation finals, Kilpatrick (25-8) dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to No. 1 seed Colin Navickas (32-6) of Stevens Tech to place fourth, one spot away from a national tournament berth. Navickas was upset in the first round but won three straight wrestle-back matches to reach the consolation finals.
Former Fairfield Warde wrestler Daniel Ebert of Gettysburg College earned a medal at the Eastern Regional event. Ebert finished sixth at 174 pounds.
Johnson & Wales had five wrestlers finish in the top three to qualify for the NCAA tournament and lead the Wildcats to the Northeast Regional title with 171½ points. It’s the most qualifiers in school history for Johnson and Wales.
2017 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional
At Bristol, Rhode Island
Team results – 1. Johnson & Wales 171½, 2. Ithaca College 139½, 3. Cortland (NY) State 111½, 4. Roger Williams 95, 5. Oneonta (NY) State 72½, 6. Springfield College 68½, 7. Coast Guard and Wesleyan 59½, 9. WPI 52½, 10. Southern Maine 51½, 11. Williams College 49½, 12. Rhode Island College 35½, 13. Castleton 33, 14. Plymouth State 28½, 15. Norwich University 24½, 16. Trinity College 13, 17. Bridgewater State 7½, 18. New England College 5, 19. Western New England University 0
Individual results
125 — Bobby Jordan (Johnson & Wales) dec. James Kaishian (Ithaca College) 9-4; 3. Joey Aumann (Plymouth State University) dec. Peter Del Gallo (University Of Southern Maine) 5-4; 5. Tyreek Staton (Castleton University) dec. Nick Barbaria (Roger Williams University) 8-5
133 — Jay Albis (Johnson & Wales) dec. Maverick Passaro (Cortland State) 3-2; 3. Austin Sisco (Oneonta State) dec. Jason Jacobi (Roger Williams University) 6-4; 5. Stephen Jendritz (WPI) dec. Ian Tolotti (Springfield College) 14-4
141 — Joseph Ferinde (Johnson & Wales) dec. Zak Hale (Castleton University) 10-4, OT; 3. Brendon Seyfried (Williams College) dec. Nick Wahba (Ithaca College) 6-4; 5. Richard Dennison (Oneonta State) dec. Matthew McAllister (Coast Guard) 9-0
149 — Sam Schneider (Ithaca College) pin Dan Del Gallo (University Of Southern Maine) 0:31; 3. Carter Armendarez (Wesleyan) dec. Tyler Marsh (WPI) 3-2; 5. Tyler Gazaway (Roger Williams University) dec. Thomas Grippi (Johnson & Wales) 12-4
157 — Robert Dierna (Cortland State) tech fall Zach Joseph (Springfield College) 17-2, 5:07; 3. Ty Herzog (Roger Williams University) dec. Christopher Sullivan (Coast Guard) 15-4; 5. CJ Luth (University Of Southern Maine) pin Danny McBrinn (Johnson & Wales) 1:07
165 — Stephen Jarrell (Johnson & Wales) dec. Nick Velez (Ithaca College) 7-4; 3. Zach Zupan (Cortland State) dec. Alec Golner (Roger Williams University) 4-3; 5. Nick Remke (Coast Guard) pin Evan Wallace (Oneonta State) 2:06
174 — Jaison White (Ithaca College) dec. Michael LaBell (Johnson & Wales) 6-3; 3. Colin Barber (Cortland State) dec. Geovanni Medina (Springfield College) 3-2; 5. Michael Palomba (Coast Guard) win by forfeit over Dominic Pirraglia (Wesleyan)
184 — Christopher Chorzepa (Williams College) dec. Michael Gallagher (Rhode Island College), 7-2; 3. Deuly Espinal (Cortland State) dec. Jake Ashcraft (Ithaca College) 6-3; 5. Michael DiNardo (Johnson & Wales) pin Dan Wensley (WPI) 5:34
197 — Carlos Toribio (Ithaca College) dec. Devon Carrillo (Wesleyan), 10-8, OT; 3. Hunter Ayen (Springfield College) dec. Khamri Thomas (Johnson & Wales) 1-0; 5. Nick Bellanza (Cortland State) dec. Phil Azzari (Coast Guard) 5-3
285 — James Bethel (Oneonta State) dec. Jake O`Brien (Ithaca College) 6-1; 3. John Georges (Rhode Island College) dec. Kyle Foster (Roger Williams University) 4-2; 5. Jonah Aurelio (Johnson & Wales) win by medical forfeit over Isaiah Bellamy (Wesleyan)
NEWA Div. III rankings,
February 20, 2017
125 Pounds
1-Bobby Jordan, Johnson & Wales
2 Peter Del Gallo, Southern Maine
3 Brian Amato, WPI (Newington)
4 Tyreek Staton, Castleton
5 Joey Aumann, Plymouth State
6 Matt Morris, Williams
133 Pounds:
1 Jay Albis, Johnson & Wales
2 Steve Jendritz, WPI
3 Jason Jacobi, Roger Williams
4 Ian Tolotti, Springfield
5 Jacob Forsman, Norwich University
6 Dylan Jones, Wesleyan
141 Pounds:
1 Zak Hale, Castleton
2 Justin Cochran, Roger Williams
3 Joe Ferinde, Johnson & Wales
4 Brendan Seyfried, Williams
5 Matt McAllister, Coast Guard (Colchester)
6 James Matias, Wesleyan
149 Pounds:
1 Dan Del Gallo, Southern Maine
2 Tyler Gazaway Roger Williams
3 Tyler Marsh, WPI
4 Matt Vieira, Coast Guard
5 Carter Armendarez, Wesleyan
6 Kearney Gutierrez, Springfield
157 Pounds:
1 Zach Joseph, Springfield
2 Chris Sullivan, Coast Guard
3 Ty Herzog, Roger Williams
4 CJ Luth, Southern Maine (Milford)
5 Dan McBrinn, Johnson & Wales
6 Ben Swanson, Norwich University
165 Pounds:
1 Steve Jarrell, Johnson & Wales
2 Nick Remke, Coast Guard
3 Alec Golner, Roger Williams
4 Jared Costa, Castleton
5 Anthony Cote, Bridgewater State
6 Josh Smith Southern Maine
174 Pounds:
1 Geovanni Medina, Springfield (New Britain)
2 Mike Labell, Johnson & Wales
3 Taylor Shay, Roger Williams (New Fairfield)
4 Mike Palomba, Coast Guard
5 Dominic Pirraglia, Wesleyan
6 Lucas Muntz WPI (West Hartford)
184 Pounds:
1 Chris Chorzepa, Williams (Newington)
2 Joe Hennessey, Norwich University
3 Joe Albina, Roger Williams
4 Mike Gallagher, Rhode Island College
5 Dan Wensley, WPI
6 Dan Fiorvanti, Coast Guard
197 Pounds:
1 Devon Carrillo, Wesleyan (Middletown)
2 Khamari Thomas, Johnson & Wales (Windsor Locks)
3 Hunter Ayen Springfield
4 Martin Strenk, Williams
5 Phil Azzari, Coast Guard
6 Chris Francis, Roger Williams
285 Pounds:
1 Kyle Foster, Roger Williams (Somers)
2 Isaiah Bellamy, Wesleyan (Bozrah)
3 Joe Fusco, Springfield
4 Austin Shrewsbury, WPI
5 John Georges, Rhode Island College
6 Mike Risti, Southern Maine
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.
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