
Former Ellis Tech wrestler Jo Jo Gonzalez advanced to the semifinals at 157 pounds at the NCAA Division II national championships on Friday. (Hunter Julius photo courtesy American International College)
Four wrestlers with Connecticut ties advanced to the semifinals of their respective NCAA championship tournament on Friday and earned All-American honors with two other wrestlers are still alive in the consolation brackets.
Willimantic’s Jo Jo Gonzalez became the first three-time All-American at American International College by advancing to the semifinals at 157 pounds at the NCAA Division II national championship tournament in St. Louis.
Gonzalez won a pair of decisions including a 6-5 win over No. 5 seed Ty Lucas of Central Oklahoma to earn a spot in the semifinals. Gonzalez (28-5) will face top-seeded Anthony Herrera of St. Cloud State.
At the NCAA Division III national championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Michael Ross of Johnson & Wales advanced to the semifinals with a pair of victories at 174 pounds. Ross, who lives in Stratford and wrestled for Foran-Milford, beat No. 6 seed Jacob Krakow of Loras College, 11-4 in the quarterfinals.
Ross (36-0) will face No. 2 seed Zane Mulder of Wartburg in the semifinals.
Two Coast Guard wrestlers advanced to the semifinals at the Division III meet. Undefeated Paul Detwiler (184) won a pair of matches including a 5-2 win over No. 6 seed Antonio McCloud of Mount St. Joseph in the quarterfinals. Detwiler (21-0) will face No. 2 seed Kyle Briggs of Wartburg in the semifinals.
At 197 pounds, Coast Guard’s Coy Spooner advanced with a pair of tight victories. Spooner beat Camden Farrow of York College, 4-3, on riding time and got an escape with 1:38 left in regulation in a 5-4 win over Jordan Wallace of Itacha in the quarterfinals. Spooner will face No. 2 seed Jack Heidt of Wabash College in the semifinals.
Two state wrestlers are still alive in the consolation brackets at the Division III tournament.
Ryan Luth (Milford) of Washington & Lee (157) and Nicholas Arborio (Berlin) of Western New England University (125) each need one more victory to earn All-American honors.
Live scoring for both tournaments can be found at TrackWrestling.com.
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.


College
College results: Feb 12-16, 2025

Results
Results: Friday, Feb. 14, 2025

Results
Results: Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025
