Wrestling News

AGGIE WRESTLERS PREPARE FOR REGIONALS

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The Delaware Valley College wrestling team, ranked fourth in Division III, will look to defend its NCAA Division III Midwest Regional title and qualify as many wrestlers as it can for nationals when the Aggies head to Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Indiana) on Saturday, February 23.

A total of 12 teams will compete for 15 berths (10 weight-class champions and 5 wildcard selections) to the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 7 and 8.

Delaware Valley, which easily captured the team title in its debut at the regional a season ago, finished the 2007-08 dual meet campaign with a 14-4 record. Its only setbacks were to the three teams ranked ahead of them in the Division III poll (two losses to No. 1 Wartburg College and single setbacks to No. 2 Augsburg College and No. 3 University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse).

Only one other team at the regional is in the national poll as Olivet College is ranked 18th. The rest of the regional field is Case Western Reserve University, Manchester College, Millikin College, The College of Mt. St. Joseph, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Thiel College, Tri-State University, Wabash, Washington & Jefferson College and Waynesburg College.

Head coach Brandon Totten has five nationally-ranked wrestlers on his roster, including of trio of second-ranked wrestlers in 141-pounder Dan Hall (Waretown, NJ/Southern Regional), 184-pounder Mike Wilcox (Buena, NJ/Buena) and heavyweight Kyle Bilquist (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South).

Hall, a three-time national qualifier who missed all of last season with an injury, is 20-7 (five pins) on the current campaign. The senior placed second at the York Invitational and sixth at the Sunshine Open. Hall's main competition at the Midwest Regional will come from fifth-ranked David Manoogian of Case Western Reserve.

Wilcox, a junior transfer, has won 22 of 24 matches including five pins. He has first-place finishes at the York College Invitational and the Sunshine Open to his credit, and he will be the only ranked wrestler in his weight class at the regional championship

Bilquist, who placed second at the regional last year and was selected as a wild-card for nationals, has been dominant in '07-08 with a 24-1 record that also includes a team-best 10 pounds. He won individual titles at York and the Sunshine Open and, like Wilcox, will be the only nationally-ranked wrestler in his weight class at the regional tournament.

Freshmen Jesse Harrington (New Providence, NJ/Bound Brook) and Chris Sheetz (Barto, PA/Upper Perkiomen) are also ranked in the NCAA Division III top 10 for Delaware Valley.

Harrington is sixth at 149 pounds and has a 25-5 record and two pins to his credit. He placed first at the Central Jersey Open and the York Invitational and was second at the Sunshine Open. Harrington's weight class will include a pair of ranked wrestlers in No. 3 Elliot Spence of Mount St. Joseph and No. 10 Drew Gardella of Case Western Reserve.

Sheetz, who is ninth at 125 pounds, leads the team in victories with 29 (29-5) and has eight pins on the year. He took first at the Sunshine Open, second at York and third at the Central Jersey Open. The top-ranked wrestler in the weight class will be at the Midwest Regional this weekend in Eracleo Vallejo of Manchester.

Ryan Herwig (North Wales, PA/Mt. St. Joseph's) and Joe West (Washington, PA/Trinity) were ranked nationally during the season at 157 and 197 pounds respectively, and will be key members of the Aggie regional lineup.

Herwig, a two-time national qualifier who earned a wild-card bid from the Midwest Regional last year, has a 17-11 record with nine pins. The senior placed second at both the York Invitational and the Sunshine Open earlier this season. Herwig's weight class includes one ranked wrestler in No. 3 Jason Brew of Olivet.

West, a sophomore, boasts a 19-9 record with five pins. He took top honors at both the Central Jersey Open and at York, and was the runner-up at the Sunshine Open. West's weight class at regionals does not include a nationally-ranked wrestler.

Brandon Clemmer (Pottstown, PA/Upper Perkiomen), Greg Miele (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) and Mike DiGregorio (Mt. Holly, NJ/Rancocas Valley) round out the Delaware Valley roster for the regional tournament.

Clemmer, a junior transfer and two-time NCAA Division II national qualifier, has a 22-7 record (nine pins) and a third place finish at York to his credit at 133 pounds. His weight class is wide open as it does not include a wrestler ranked in the top 10.

The same goes for Miele's bracket at 165 pounds. The junior is 16-10 with one pin at 165 pounds. He placed fifth at the Sunshine Open earlier in the season.

DiGregorio, a sophomore, is 11-14 with four pins and a fifth-place showing at the central Jersey Open at 174 pounds. DiGregorio's weight class does feature a nationally-ranked wrestler in No. 3 Kyle Vanderhyde of Olivet.

The NCAA Midwest Regional schedule is as follows:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
9:00 a.m. - Preliminaries
9:45 a.m. - Quarterfinals
11:15 a.m. - Consolation Preliminaries
12:30 p.m. - Semifinals and Second Round Consolations
2:00 p.m. - Consolation Semifinals
3:10 p.m. - Championship and Consolation Finals
4:30 p.m. - True Second Wrestlebacks (for NCAA wild-card consideration)
5:15 p.m. - Coaches Wildcard Selection Meeting