Shutout at Div. I level, state wrestlers qualify for NCAA D2 and D3 events

Williams’ All-American Peter Kane (Fairfield, top) is one of several state wrestlers competing at the NCAA Division III national championships in Providence this weekend.

For just the second time since 2011, no Connecticut wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division I wrestling championships next week in Philadelphia.

Several wrestlers with Connecticut ties qualified for this weekend’s NCAA Division III national championship meet at Johnson & Wales in Providence along with Bristol’s Tommy Nichols of American International College, who qualified for this weekend’s Division II national championships in Indianapolis.

At the Division I level, Connecticut hasn’t struck out at the NCAA Division I level since 2019.

Four-time NCAA qualifier Jakob Camacho (125) from Danbury and North Carolina State saw his season come to an end in December when he was injured in a dual meet against Virginia Tech.

Danbury’s Ryan Jack (141) redshirted this year for North Carolina State along with Stratford’s Nick Provo (125) at Stanford. Jack had qualified for the last three NCAA Division I tournaments while Provo had wrestled in the last two.

Binghamton’s Will Ebert of Fairfield was the top seed at 184 pounds in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) conference tournament last weekend at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Ebert (17-16) won his first bout with a takedown with eight seconds remaining to  beat Long Island’s Anthony D’Alesio but lost to eventual NCAA qualifier Ross McFarland of Hofstra, 3-2, in the quarterfinals at 184 pounds. McFarland got a key reversal with 1:37 left in the bout.

Ebert finished the tournament with a 4-1 loss in overtime to Drexel’s Giuseepe Hoose and lost his final bout by technical fall.

Devin Matthews, a graduate student from Gilbert-Winsted, was in the starting lineup all season for Long Island University at 141 pounds and lost his two EIWA bouts, including one to eventual NCAA qualifier Jordan Soirano of Drexel. Matthews completed his collegiate career with a record of 44-55.

In Division II, Bristol’s Tommy Nichols (157) will be the final wrestler in school history to wear an AIC singlet in varsity competition. AIC announced in December that this would the final season sponsoring a varsity team.

Nichols (16-6) finished second at the Super Region I championships in Fairmont, West Virginia on March 1.

All three of his bouts were close. He opened with an 8-4 decision over Ali Alicea of Kutztown University and followed by taking a 7-3 decision against Cooper Warshel of the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown thanks to a takedown with 46 seconds remaining.

In the final, he came up just short, losing 4-2 to Mike Zacur of Seton Hill University, who got a three-point takedown with 12 seconds left in the third period.

Nichols will face top-seeded Joel Jesuroga of St. Cloud State (23-0) in his first match on Friday.

In Division III, eight state wrestlers qualified with a top three finish at one of eight NCAA regional championship meets. Four wrestlers from Coast Guard and two from Wesleyan qualified to compete in Providence.

Two-time All-American Peter Kane (Fairfield/Greens Farms Academy) of No. 25 Williams qualified for the NCAA tournament along with All-American Jack Ryan (Trumbull) of Oneonta State.

Oher state wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Division III championships in Providence include Washington and Lee’s Evan Linder (New Milford, 149), Western New England University’s Cam Hines (Haddam-Killingworth, 174), Oneonta State’s Carson LiCastri (Joel Barlow, 197); Johnson and Wales’ Jack Richardson (Killingly, 165), Wesleyan’s C.J. Shea (Milford, 165), Vermont State-Castleton’s Elijah Cyr (Middletown, 149).

Coast Guard had four individual qualifiers – defending national champion Chase Randall (133), Jacob Woodburn (157), Gabe Monroe (184) and Carl DiGiorgio (285). Shea and Hayden Myers (141) earned NCAA berths for Wesleyan.

Kane, Shea, Hines and Ryan each won regional championships.

Kane beat Vermont State-Castleton’s Nate Camiscioli, 8-0 to win a Northeast Regional championship and secure his third straight NCAA tournament bid. Kane is ranked No. 2 at 157 in the Open Mat NCAA Division III rankings with a 37-0 record.

“The biggest thing I have come to learn is that the NCAA championship is just another tournament,” said Kane. “I have wrestled in hundreds of tournaments throughout my life and this one is not special. It is important, but it is not different. I just have to trust my preparation.”

Hines (174) used a 15-2 win over Springfield College’s Nick Rogers to earn his first NCAA Division III national championship bid. Hines is 32-10 with nine pins.

Shea (165) got a late takedown to beat Killingly’s Jack Richardson of Johnson and Wales to win the Northeast Regional championship. Richardson was the top seed in the tournament but Shea (33-1) became the first Wesleyan wrestler to win a regional title since Marco Gaita in 2020. With the win, Shea secured the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award.

Richardson, who is one of seven Johnson & Wales wrestlers to qualify for the nationals, is 28-5 this season.

Ryan (184) finished 4-0 for No. 8 Oneonta State with his second consecutive NCAA Region II championship. He defeated Joel Martsinovsky in the semifinals in an 8-0 major where he scored a takedown in the first two periods then an escape in the third plus riding time. The Red Dragon faced Ithaca’s Xavier Pommells in the final and won in a 6-3 decision.

LiCastri. Ryan’s teammate at Oneonta State (197), had four pins and finished third to qualify for the NCAA championships for the first time. After dropping his first match of the tournament, LiCastri won five straight matches. In the consolation final, he beat Oswego’s Anthony Cascen for the fourth time.

Cyr (149) is one of eight wrestlers from Vermont State-Castleton in the tournament. Cyr secured his first NCAA championship bid with a third period takedown to finish third, 4-2, at the Northeast Regional two weeks ago in Middletown.

Coast Guard has four wrestlers in the Division III nationals, including defending national champion Chase Randall (133) of Spokane, Washington. Two-time All-American Carl DiGiorgio (285) will also be wrestling for the Bears along with Jacob Woodburn (157) and Gabe Monroe (184).

Division I national championships
At Philadelphia (March 20-22)
No qualifiers

Division II national championships
At Indianapolis (March 14-15)

Division III national championships
At Providence (March 14-15)

NCAA Division III schedule
At Providence
Friday, March 14
Session 1: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Preliminary rounds one and two / consolation first round
Session 2: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Championship quarterfinals / consolation second and third rounds

Saturday, March 15
Session 3: 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Championship semifinals / consolation quarterfinals and semifinals / consolation matches for third, fifth and seventh place
Session 4: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Finals (all weight classes) & awards presentation