Coast Guard’s Chase Randall became the first Bear in team history to win a national championship on Saturday. (Geoff Riccio photo courtesy of Coast Guard Academy)
Wrestlers at the Coast Guard Academy have been wrestling since the late 1940s with athletes earning bids to compete at the NCAA Division I, II and III national championship meets throughout its history.
Never has a Coast Guard wrestler brought home a national championship – until today.
Chase Randall, a junior from Spokane, Washington, won the NCAA Division III national championship at 133 pounds on Sunday at the University of Wisconsin in LaCrosse. Russell (25-2) pinned Jaden Hinton of Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio in 5:52.
Randall was one of six wrestlers with ties to Connecticut that earned All-American honors this weekend at the NCAA Division III nationals. Two wrestlers – Fairfield’s Peter Kane (157) of Williams and Berlin’s Ryan DeVivo (184) of Johnson and Wales – each finished second in their respective weight classes.
Coast Guard, with three All-American wrestlers, had their best-ever finish in a national championship meet finishing seventh with 52½ points. It’s the most points the Bears have ever scored at a national championship meet. The previous best performance came last year (2023) when when the Bears were ninth with 40½ points.
Carl Digiorgio (285) finished third for Coast Guard while Coy Spooner was sixth at 197 pounds.
Randall never won a state championship in Washington State during his high school days, finishing second twice. But in college, he is a two-time All-American and the first national champion from Coast Guard.
Randall, seeded fifth at 133, opened the tournament with a 15-3 win over Jacob Blair of Delaware Valley and pinned No. 4 Dominick Mallinter of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1:05. In the semifinal, Russell beat No. 1 seed Robbie Precin of North Central College in Illinois, 8-5 in overtime.
133# INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL CHAMPION 🏆
Chase Randall@cg_athletics_#D3wrestle | #WhyD3 pic.twitter.com/GXy3csPxty
— NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) March 17, 2024
Randall got an escape with 1:53 left in the third period to tie the match at 5-5. He got the match-winning takedown with 33 seconds left in overtime. Randall, who was eighth at 133 a year ago, was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.
Two other Coast Guard wrestlers had made the NCAA Division III finals with Paul Detwiler finishing second at 184 pounds in 2022 and Chris Fertig finishing second at 165 in 2000 and 2001.
Williams’ Peter Kane earned All-American honors for the second straight year by finishing second Saturday at the NCAA Division III national championships. (Photo courtesy Williams College)
Kane, who is from Fairfield and wrestled for Greens Farms Academy in Westport, earned All-American honors for the second straight year.
The Williams College sophomore beat Wilkes College’s Jaryn Hartanft, 8-2 in the first round and advanced with a medical default in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he pinned Cooper Pontelardolfo of New York University in 1:35. Pontelandolfo beat Kane two weeks earlier at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regionals, 2-1.
Kane (21-2) lost in the final to No. 1 seed Nolan Hertel of Wisconsin LaCrosse, 4-2. The match was tied at 1-1 after Kane escaped with 1:25 left in the third period but Hertel got a takedown with 44 seconds left to take a commanding 4-1 lead.
“Peter had an amazing weekend, becoming the third national finalist in Williams’ history,” Williams coach Scott Honecker said. “We couldn’t be prouder of him. He knows the things it took to make it here, and he is prepared to do the things it will take to make the next step, becoming the dominant wrestler in Division III. We’re excited for the opportunity to keep pushing forward.”
DeVivo, a graduate student from Berlin who competed at Xavier, beat two seeded wrestlers to earn a spot in the final at 184 pounds for Johnson & Wales in Providence.
DeVivo (19-5) opened the tournament with a thrilling 9-6 win over No. 2 seed Charles Baczek of Wabash College (Indiana). Trailing 6-2 in the third period with riding time factored in, DeVivo got a takedown and four-point near fall with 20 seconds left in the match to take the lead for good.
He followed that with a 19-3 win by technical fall over No. 7 Marcus Orlandoni of Wisconsin-LaCrosse with three takedowns and three four-point near falls in the win. He advanced to the final with a 4-2 win over Niall Schoenfelder of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. DeVivo lost by technical to No. 1 seed and four-time All-American Bentley Schwanebecj-Ostermann of Augsburg College, 19-2.
From left, Johnson & Wales Ryan DeVivo, Oneonta State’s Jack Ryan and Williams’ Peter Kane. (Photo courtesy Connecticut USA Wrestling)
Digiorgio (25-1) won his first match of the tournament but dropped his first match of the season when he was pinned in the quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Dylan Walker of Elizabethtown. Digiorgio responded with four straight wins, including a pin and a technical fall, to finish third and earn All-American honors for the second straight year.
Coy Spooner (18-3) went 3-3 in the tournament and finished sixth at 197 pounds. Spooner gave up a takedown with 20 seconds remaining to lose in the quarterfinals to Wilkes’ Cameron Butka. Spooner won consecutive consolation round bouts to earn All-American honors for the third time.
Oneotna State’s Jack Ryan of Trumbull earned All-American honors by finishing seventh at 184 pounds. Ryan (30-4), who is a sophomore, went 3-2 in the tournament.
2024 NCAA Division III national championships
At Lacrosse, Wisconsin
Team results (top 20) – 1. Augsburg (Minnesota) 95, 2. Wartburg College (Iowa) 87½, 3. Wisconsin-LaCrosse 82½, 4. Johnson & Wales 76, 5. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 69, 6. Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) 61½, 7. Coast Guard 52½, 8. North Central College (Illinois) 42½, 9. TCNJ (City College of NJ) 37, 10. Loras (Iowa) 34, 11. New York University 27, 12. Vermont State-Castleton 24½, 13. Luther (Iowa) 22½, 14. Roanoke College (Va) 21½, 15. Westminister (Missouri) 20½, 16. Greensboro (NC) and Stevens (NJ) 20, 18. Williams 19, 19. Millikin (Illinois) 18. 20. Wabash (Indiana) and Averett (VA) 16½
Individual results
125
Final: Joziah Fry (Johnson and Wales ) dec. Christian Guzman (North Central) 18-8
3. James Day (Wabash) dec. Jacob Decatur (Baldwin Wallace) 1-0
5.Mason Barrett (Averett) dec. Zac Blasioli (Millikin) 4-2
7. Gavin Bradley (Castleton) dec. Mac Cafurello (Roanoke College) 7-4
133
Final: Chase Randall (Coast Guard) pin Jaden Hinton (Baldwin Wallace) 5:52
3. Joe Pins (Wartburg) pin Robbie Precin (North Central) 3:27
5. Jacob Blair (Delaware Valley) dec. Dominik Mallinder (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 4-1
7. Isaias Torres (Ithaca) pin Desmond Diggs (Mount St. Joseph) 3:54
141
Final: Josh Wilson (Greensboro) dec. Jacob Reed (Ohio Northern) 4-2
3. Mark Samuel (Roanoke College) dec. Josiah Gehr (Messiah) 10-7, OT
5. Kyler Romero (Wartburg) dec. Victor Perlleshi (Johnson and Wales ) 12-11
7. Alex Samson (St. John Fisher) dec. Ethan Pogorzelski (Wisconsin-Whitewater) 4-2
149
Final: Michael Petrella (Baldwin Wallace) pin Tyler Goebel (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 4:19
3. Charlie Dojan (Wartburg) dec. Eric Kinkaid (Loras) 7-2
5. Zach Sato (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) tech fall Colby Frost (Southern Maine) 15-0, 3:35
7. Michael Conklin (TCNJ) dec. Mike Glynn (RIT) 6-3
157
Final: Nolan Hertel (Wisconsin-La Crosse) dec. Peter Kane (Williams College) 4-2
3. Cooper Pontelandolfo (NYU) dec. Clayton McDonough (Luther) 7-3
5. Blake Jagodzinske (Augsburg) dec. Ryan Smith (Stevens) 8-5
7. Gabriel Smith (Cornell College) dec. Xavier Howard (McDaniel) 9-6
165
Final: Nicholas Sacco (TCNJ) dec. Noah Leisgang (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 2-1
3. Matt Lackman (Alvernia University) dec. Tristan Massie (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) 4-2
5. Cooper Willis (Augsburg) dec. Will Esmoil (Coe) 7-5
7. Dustin Bohren (Loras) dec. Patrick Wisniewski (Johnson and Wales ) 9-6
174
Final: Jared Stricker (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) dec. Zane Mulder (Wartburg) 10-3
3. Zeb Gnida (Loras) dec. Jason Geyer (NYU) 7-2
5. Charlie Grygas (Oswego State) dec. Dejon Glaster (Millikin) 7-3
7. Seth Goetzinger (Augsburg) pin Stefan Major (Stevens) 4:26
184
Final: Bentley Schwanebeck-Ostermann (Augsburg) tech fall Ryan DeVivo (Johnson and Wales ) 19-2, 6:36
3. NIall Schoenfelder (Wisconsin-Eau Claire) dec. Sampson Wilkins (Castleton) 11-2
5. Sean Malenfant (Alfred State) dec. Dylan Wellbaum (Adrian) 10-1
7. Jack Ryan (Oneonta State) dec. Max Borton (Ursinus) 8-0
197
Final: Massoma Endene (Wartburg) dec. Gabriel Zierden (Concordia-Moorhead) 12-4
3. Montgomery Mills (Westminster) pin Cameron Butka (Wilkes) 1:44
5. Dylan Harr (Johnson and Wales) dec. Coy Spooner (Coast Guard) 3-1
7. Parker Venz (Augsburg) pin Ben Kawczynski (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 0:59
285
Final: Tyler Kim (Augsburg) dec. Michael Douglas (Wisconsin-La Crosse) 4-2
3. Carl DiGiorgio (Coast Guard) dec. Robby Bates (North Central) 5-2
5. Rayshawn Dixon (Ferrum) dec. Dylan Waller (Elizabethtown) 3-2, 2 OT
7.Walter West (Luther) dec. Peter Wersinger (TCNJ) 9-0
Outstanding wrestler: Chase Russell (133), Coast Guard
2024 NCAA Division III national championships (Track Wrestling.com)
