Fairfield’s Peter Kane of Williams College celebrates after winning a NCAA Div. III national title Saturday night in Iowa. (Jimmy Naprestek/Kodiak Creative photo courtesy of Williams College)
Williams’ Peter Kane got a takedown with 19 seconds remaining in his national championship match at 157 pounds with Rhenzo Augusto of Elmhurst University (Illinois) to win his first NCAA Division III national championship on Saturday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Kane (32-0) tied the match at 1-1 with an escape early in the third period to set up his dramatic finish. Kane, who is from Fairfield and wrestled at Greens Farms Academy in Westport, became just the third Connecticut wrestler to win a Division III national title and the second four-time All-American at Williams College.
Kane was one of eight All-Americans with Connecticut ties at the NCAA Division III nationals. Simsbury’s Ty Finn of New York University and Killingly’s Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales each finished fifth while Westport’s Caleb Seyfried of Williams finished eighth.
Coast Guard’s Carl DiGiorgio (285) finished fifth along with Wesleyan’s Hayden Meyers (141) while Coast Guard’s Nate Fitt (149) was sixth and Gabe Monroe (197) finished eighth.
The All-American finishes from Kane, Seyfried and teammate Jamie Evarts helped Williams to their best-ever finish at the nations by taking ninth with a school record 45½ points. With four All-Americans, Coast Guard finished 12th with 84 points. Wesleyan was 33rd with 12 points.
A takedown early in the match helped Kane to a 3-1 win over Karson Otis of Augsburg College in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Kane had two takedowns in the final two periods for an 8-0 win over No. 5 seed Liam Flanagan of Washington & Lee.
In the finals, Augusto got a quick escape to open the second period and take a 1-0 lead. Kane returned the favor in the third period.
Kane is the first Connecticut wrestler to win a NCAA Division III title since Trumbull’s Cross Cannone of Iowa’s Wartburg College won at 149 pounds in 2018. The late Steve Fernandez of Southington also won a D3 national title for Trenton State in 1982.
In three previous trips to the NCAA Division III nationals, Kane finished seventh as a freshman in 2023 as an unseeded wrestler, finished second in 2024 and was fifth a year ago, dropping a pair of one-point decisions.
Finn helps NYU to best finish
Finn, who wrestled four years at Virginia Tech, was a graduate student with NYU this winter. He won his first two bouts in Iowa to earn a spot in the semifinals and All-American honors.
Finn (29-3) got an escape with 35 seconds left in the third period to force overtime and secured a takedown with 1:39 left in OT to win his quarterfinal over Springfield’s Jake Deguire.
Finn lost to eventual champion Trevor Mays of College of New Jersey in the semifinals and dropped a 5-2 decision in OT to Dusten Bohren of Loras in the consolation semifinals. Finn finished fifth with a medical forfeit.
Finn helped NYU finish fourth – their best-ever finish at the D3 nationals. He was one of two graduate students on the NYU roster this year along with Justin Mayes.
“Ty and Justin made a great impact on our program coming in as graduates. It didn’t feel like their first year, and they boosted our team culture and were great additions,” NYU associate head coach Corey Luce said.
Richardson (31-4) went 4-2 in the tournament with a pair of victories in overtime to earn All-American honors for the first time. After beating Coe’s Bo Koedman 4-1 in OT in the first round, top seeded Clayton McDonough of Luther prevailed with a 1-0 win.
But Richardson secured All-American honors with a 16-0 tech fall in 2:30 against Peyton Brooks of Albion. Richardson got a second OT win with a 8-5 victory over Adrian’s Aidan Smith before dropping a 4-3 decision to Wisconson-Whitewater’s Brayden Pett.
Richardson finished fifth with a 16-9 win over McDonough.
Seyfried (22-5), who wrestled at Greens Farms Academy, was making his first NCAA tournament appearance. He dropped a 6-4 decision in his opening match of the tournament but won his next two to remain alive, including a decision in overtime thanks to a takedown with 1:05 left.
Three All-Americans for Bruins
Coast Guard ended the day with three All-Americans, including DiGiorgio (34-2), who earned All-American honors for the fourth time in his career.
DiGiorgio, the No. 2 seed, faced No. 3 Josh Harkless of RIT in the semifinals with an opportunity to go to the final for the second straight year. DiGiorgio got an escape early in the third period to tie the bout at 1-1 but Harkless got a takedown and a two-point near fall with 30 seconds remaining for a stunning 6-1 victory, handing DiGiorgio his first loss of the season.
DiGiorgio lost his first consolation bout but recovered to secure a 12-3 win over Markos Mihalopoulos of Wisconsin-LaCrosse to close out his collegiate career.
Coast Guard’s Nathan Fitt (Branchville, N.J.) finished sixth at 149 pounds with three wins to finish at 30-4 while teammate Gabe Monroe (Kirkwood, N.Y.) took eighth at 197 pounds with three wins, finishing at 27-10.
Myers earns All-American honors for Wesleyan
Myers becomes the 10th Wesleyan All-American in program history. Myers (26-3) got off to a great start in his opening round bout against Dresden Grimm of Coe, landing two takedowns in the first period before coasting to a 7-1 decision. But he lost his next bout to Mark Samuel of Roanoke by tech fall in 6:06.
With All-American honors on the line, Myers faced Skyler Hickman of Washington & Lee, Myers held a 3-2 lead entering the third period. Starting the third neutral, Hickman landed a go-ahead takedown, but Myers bounced right back with an escape followed by a takedown to retake the lead, 7-5. Hickman escaped but couldn’t overcome the one-point deficit as Myers landed a thrilling 7-6 win.
Coming back on Saturday looking to cement his spot in the Wesleyan record books, Myers exacted some revenge in his opening bout, landing a pin on Isaias Torres of Ithaca in 1:28. Torres was the only wrestler who Myers lost to this season coming into the NCAA championships, a 4-1 overtime defeat back on Feb. 7.
Myers then dropped a 2-1 decision to Nico Diaz of Stevens, sending Myers to the fifth-place bout, where he closed out his career with a 3-2 decision win over Vincent Santaniello of TCNJ.
NCAA Division III national champions from Connecticut
| Wrestler, hometown | Wt. | School | Year |
| Steve Fernandez, Southington | 134 | Trenton State (NJ) | 1982 |
| Cross Cannone, Trumbull | 149 | Wartburg College | 2018 |
| Peter Kane, Fairfield | 157 | Williams College | 2026 |
NCAA Division III wrestling championships
At Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Team results – 1. Wartburg College (Iowa) 110, 2. Wisconsin-LaCrosse 68, 3. Augsburg (Minn.) 67½, 4. New York University (NYU) 65½, 5. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) 58½, 6. Roanoke (Va.) 57, 7. Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 55½, 8. Loras (Iowa) 54½, 9. Williams College (MA) 45½, 10. Central (Iowa) 37½
Other schools: 12. Coast Guard 34, 18. Springfield 27, 20. Johnson & Wales 23½, 33. Wesleyan 12, 46. Vermont State-Castleton 4½, 60. New England College (NH) and Trinity ½, 62. Western New England Univ. 0
Individual results
125
Final: Christian Guzman (North Central (IL)) tech fall Brayden Parke (Coe) 19-3, 5:18
3. Alex Diaz (NYU) 34-1, Fr. over Mason Jones (Manchester) 9-3
5. Malik Asfour (Eastern) 29-8, Jr. over Nico Rivera (JWU) 13-1
7. Brett Birchman (Wartburg) 20-8, Jr. over Izzy Balsiger (Wis.-Eau Claire) 8-1
133
Final: Garrett Totten (TCNJ) dec. James Day (Wabash) 8-1
3. Jude Robson (Roanoke) dec. Jake Craig (Southern Me) 5-2
5. Patrick Mullen (Wartburg) pin Art Martinez (CWRU) 4:32
7. Wyatt Unser (Wis.-Eau Claire) dec. Chance Suddeth (Augsburg) 9-2
141
Final: Kade Blume (Wartburg) dec. Mark Samuel (Roanoke) 4-3
3. Pierre Baldwin (Central (IA)) dec. Nico Diaz (Stevens) 8-6
5. Hayden Myers (Wesleyan) dec. Vincent Santaniello (TCNJ) 3-2
7. Isaias Torres (Ithaca) dec. Cole Becker (Augsburg) 13-3
149
Final: Cade Siebrecht (Central (IA)) dec. Dominik Mallinder (Wis.-Whitewater) 4-1
3. Thomas Monn (McDaniel) pin Maksim Mukhamedaliyev (UChicago) 0:48
5. Matt Randolph (Augsburg) dec. Nate Fitt (Coast Guard) 6-4
7. Angelo Centrone (Cortland) dec. Caleb Seyfried (Williams) 13-4
157
Final: Peter Kane (Williams) dec. Rhenzo Augusto (Elmhurst) 4-1
3. Charlie Dojan (Wartburg) dec. Ryan Smith (Stevens) 11-4
5. Eric Kinkaid (Loras) dec. Liam Flanagan (Wash. & Lee) 3-2
7. Joe Penchi (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Trent Mahoney (Albright) 15-12
165
Final: Tanner Gerber (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Andrew Supers (Baldwin Wallace) 4-0
3. Keegan Demarest (Messiah) dec. Brayden Peet (Wis.-Whitewater) 3-2
5. Jack Richardson (JWU) dec. Clayton McDonough (Luther) 16-9
7. Bo Koedam (Coe) dec. Aiden Smith (Adrian) 12-2
174
Final: Hunter Mays (TCNJ) dec. Bryce McDonough (Luther) 30-7, Sr. (Dec 8-6)
3. Dustin Bohren (Loras) dec. Jake Deguire (Springfield) 27-3, RS Sr. (MD 12-1)
5. Ty Finn (NYU) win by medical forfeit over Noah Leisgang (Wis.-La Crosse)
7. Thomas West (Baldwin Wallace) tech fall Xavier Preston (Roanoke) 15-0, 5:37
184
Final: Kasey Ross (Wartburg) dec. Ganon Smith (Elizabethtown) 5-0
3. Jamie Evarts (Williams) dec. Brandt Bombard (Augsburg) 8-5 OT
5. Robert Flege (Wis.-La Crosse) dec. Hunter Moore (Roanoke) 5-1
7. Easton Hull (Wis.-Stevens Point) dec. Justin Mayes (NYU) 6-3
197
Final: Mohammad Talebi (NYU) dec. Josh Stahl (York (PA)) 10-5
3. Ethan Winkelman (Augsburg) dec. Gunnar Garriques (UChicago) 15-3
5. Joseph Petrella (Baldwin Wallace) pin Myles Johnson (Ohio Northern) 2:27
7. Cal Dorota (Wartburg) dec. Gabe Monroe (Coast Guard) 13-6
285
Final: Josh Harkless (RIT) dec. Mitch Williamson (Wartburg) 4-1
3. Jonah Clark (Loras) dec. Andrew Vanscoy (Baldwin Wallace) 15-4
5. Carl DiGiorgio (Coast Guard) dec. Markos Mihalopoulos (Wis.-La Crosse) 12-3
7. Titus Waters (Wabash) dec. Mohamed Abdelatty (Ursinus) 7-4
2026 NCAA Division III wrestling championships (TrackWrestling.com)
