No. 10 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (9-5, 6-1 PSAC) at NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION 1 CHAMPIONSHIPS

DATE/TIME: Saturday, February 25, 2023 | 10:00 a.m.

ARENA/LOCATION: Koehler Fieldhouse l East Stroudsburg, Pa.

LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
BRACKETS (PDF)
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
 
COMPETING TEAMS
(Rankings are NWCA)
Alderson Broaddus
American International
East Stroudsburg
Fairmont State
No. 10 Gannon
Kutztown
No. 17 Mercyhurst
No. 15 Millersville
No. 10 Pitt-Johnstown
Seton Hill
Shippensburg
 
TICKETS
**Admission for the day will be $15 for adults and $10 for students, 12 & Under/65 & Older and first responders
**If a spectator is coming for only one session, then the cost will be $10 for adults and $5 for students, 12 & Under/65 & Older, and first responders
**There are no pass lists for this event.
**Koehler Fieldhouse will be cleared between Sessions II & III, re-entry with tickets or wrist bands

 
NATIONALLY RANKED WRESTLERS
(According to the NWCA)
 
133 lbs.
2. Eric Bartos, Mercyhurst
4. Devin Flannery, Millersville
 
149 lbs.
1. Jacob Ealy, Pitt.-Johnstown
2. Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander), Gannon
5. Craig Cook, Millersville
 
157 lbs.
7. Nate Smith, Pitt-Johnstown
8. Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic), Gannon
 
165 lbs.
3. Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside), Gannon
11. Dillon Keane, Pitt-Johnstown
 
174 lbs.
11. Alex Weber, Pitt.-Johnstown
12. Dillon Walker, Mercyhurst
 
184 lbs.
5. Matt Weinberg. Kutztown
 
197 lbs.
9. Luke McGonigal, Mercyhurst
11. Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds), Gannon
 
285 lbs.
7. John Meyers, Seton Hill
8. Isaiah Vance, Pitt-Johnstown

 
SUPER REGION 1 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

10:00 AM -- Session I & II (3 Mats)
(Championship Rounds 1 & 2: Consolation Rounds 1 & 2)
(Championship Semifinals; Consolation Round 3 & Semifinals)
Koehler Fieldhouse will be cleared of spectators following the conclusion of Session II
 Doors Open for Spectator Admission approximately 30 minutes after Session II
 Session III (3 Mats)
 (Placement Matches: 1st, 3rd, 5th; True-4th matches to follow if necessary.)
 
 
2022 SUPER REGION 1 TEAM SCORES I RECAP

TEAM SCORES
1.  Pitt-Johnstown – 147.0 points
2.  GANNON – 129.5
3.  Kutztown – 110.5
4.  Mercyhurst – 99.5
5.  Millersville – 82.0
6.  Seton Hill – 63.5
7.  Alderson Broaddus – 49.5
8.  American International – 48.5
9.  Shippensburg – 32.0
10. East Stroudsburg – 25.0
11. Fairmont St. – 3.0

 
2022 SUPER REGION 1 INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS

125 lbs. – Jacob Dunlop (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon), Gannon
133 lbs. -- Collin Wickramaratna, Kutztown
141 lbs. – Caleb Morris, Pitt-Johnstown 
149 lbs. – Jacob Ealy, Pitt-Johnstown
157 lbs. -- JoJo Gonzalez, American Intl
165 lbs. – Dillon Keane, Pitt-Johnstown 
174 lbs. – Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley), Gannon
184 lbs. – Matt Weinberg, Kutztown
197 lbs. – Brian Kennerly, Kutztown
Hwt. – Andrew Dunn, Kutztown
 
BOLD: returning champions
 

 
GANNON'S OUTLOOK
 
ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon men's wrestling team will try to regain the team title at the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Championships on Saturday, Feb. 25, when the Golden Knights compete at East Stroudsburg's Koehler Fieldhouse. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the NCAA Division II National Championships on March 10-11 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top three wrestlers in each weight class on Saturday will advance to Nationals.
 
Gannon placed second to Pitt-Johnstown in the team standings at the 2022 Super Region 1 Championship after the Golden Knights won the team title in 2021.
 
Gannon and UPJ are the favorites again in this year's tournament. Both teams enter the action ranked No. 10 nationally by the NWCA to lead the 11 teams in the tourney. UPJ has five nationally ranked wrestlers, while Gannon has four. Millersville (No. 15) and Mercyhurst (No. 17) are also nationally ranked as teams.
 
Coach Don Henry's Golden Knights finished the regular season with a 9-5 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the PSAC. Gannon's only loss in the conference was a 28-6 setback against Pitt-Johnstown (15-0 overall), which won the PSAC regular-season title with a 7-0 record.
 
Gannon had two individual champions in 2022, but neither will compete Saturday. Jacob Dunlop (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon) (125 pounds) graduated, and Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) (174) will not compete in the 2023 postseason because of injury.
 
Gannon's hopes for a team title could rely heavily on its four nationally ranked wrestlers. Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) is ranked No. 2 at 149 pounds, Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) is No. 3 at 165, Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) is No. 8 at 157, and Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) is No. 11 at 197 pounds.
 
Among Gannon's 10 wrestlers scheduled to compete this week, nine are listed among the top six in the Super Region 1 rankings, which were released last week. Among those nine, seven Golden Knights are ranked among the top three. That list includes No. 1 Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) (165), No. 2 Young (149), Means (157), and Leise (197), and No. 3 Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (125), Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (141), and Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (184). Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (133) and Eli Reese (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) (285) are both ranked sixth in the Super Region.

GANNON PROBABLE LINEUP
 
125 lbs. – Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (8-7, R-Sr.)
133 lbs. -- Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (10-13, So.)
141 lbs. – NR/No. 18 Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (10-5, R-So.)
149 lbs. – No. 2/3 Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) (23-4, Gr.)
157 lbs. – No. 8/8 Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) (22-6, Sr.)
165 lbs. – No. 4/2 Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) (8-0, Gr.)
174 lbs. – Cole Casilio (9-7. R-Fr.)
184 lbs. – Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (9-7, R-Fr.)
197 lbs. – No. 11/8 Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) (8-2, R-Sr.)
285 lbs. – Eli Reese (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) (14-10, R-Fr.)

 
WEIGHT CLASS PREVIEWS | Super Region 1 Coaches Rankings

125 lbs. – Jose Diaz (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler) (8-7, R-Sr.)
Diaz is in his first season with Gannon after transferring from Franklin & Marshall. He enters the tournament with a No. 3 ranking in Super Region 1. UPJ redshirt freshman Trevon Gray is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the region in this weight class. East Stroudsburg's Brady Carter is No. 2. Diaz lost by fall to Gray and dropped a 6-5 decision to Carter during the regular season. Diaz has one-point wins against the No. 4-6 ranked wrestlers. Diaz has a tough act to follow for Gannon at 125 pounds. Jacob Dunlop (Rostraver Township, Pa./Belle Vernon) won the weight class last season.
 
133 lbs. – Chase McLaughlin (Jamestown, Pa./Jamestown Area) (10-13, So.)
McLaughlin enters the action ranked sixth in Super Region 1. He is 0-5 against the wrestlers ranked higher than him in the 133-pound weight class, so he will have some work to do. The division is very tough at the top as Mercyhurst's Eric Bartos enters as the No. 2 wrestler nationally, and Millersville's Devin Flannery is No. 4. Flannery had been ranked No. 1 in the nation before Bartos beat him in a dual meet. McLaughlin placed sixth in the weight class in 2022.
 
141 lbs. – NR/No. 18 Jimmy Ryan (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) (10-5, R-So.)
Ryan is ranked third in Super Region 1 as he prepares to wrestle in the Super Regional for the first time. The weight class features Pitt-Johnstown's Caleb Morris, the top-ranked wrestler in the region, and Kutztown's Collin Wickramaratna, the No. 2-ranked wrestler. Against Ryan this season, Morris won 6-2 and Wickramaratna claimed a 12-7 decision. Ryan has improved throughout the season, going 7-2 in his past nine matches. Morris is the defending champion in this weight class. Gannon did not place in the 141-pound weight class last season.
 
 
149 lbs. – No. 2/3 Nick Young (Batavia, N.Y./Alexander) (23-4, Gr.)
This might be the toughest weight class in any regional meet in NCAA Division II. Young is ranked No. 2 in the nation by the NWCA and might have to get through both No. 1 Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown and No. 5 Craig Cook of Millersville. Ealy, Young, and Cook are ranked Nos. 1-3 in the Super Region. Young is 15-2 in his past 17 matches, and both of those losses have come to Ealy. Ealy topped Young 4-2 in the championship match of the Midwest Classic and edged him 7-6 in the Gannon-UPJ dual meet. Young beat Cook 5-1 in a highly competitive match late in the season. Young dropped a weight class for the 2022-23 season after competing at 157 pounds last year. He placed second in Super Regional 1 last year at 157. Ealy is the defending Super Region 1 champion at 149.
 
157 lbs. – No. 8/8 Dom Means (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) (22-6, Sr.)
Means, who moved up a weight class this season, enters the tournament as the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Super Region 1. The No. 1-ranked wrestler in the weight class is Pitt-Johnstown's Nate Smith, who is ranked No. 7 nationally, one spot ahead of Means. Means and Smith are 1-1 against each other this season. Means defeated Smith 8-3 in the fifth-place match of the Midwest Classic in December. One month later, Smith claimed a 3-1 decision over Means in the Gannon-UPJ dual meet. Last year, in the 149-pound weight class, Means placed third and advanced to Nationals.
 
165 lbs. – No. 3/2 Alex Farenchak (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) (8-0, Gr.)
Farenchak enters the tournament as Gannon's lone No. 1-ranked wrestler in Super Region 1. He has wrestled only eight matches this season after recovering from an injury that ended his 2021-22 season when he was ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II. However, the 2021 national runner-up is unbeaten in his eight matches this season. Farenchak is also ranked No. 3 nationally. This will be Farenchak's first tournament of the season after competing in eight dual meets. He beat UPJ's Dillon Keane 4-1 in the Gannon-UPJ dual. Keane is ranked No. 2 in Super Region 1 and No. 11 in the NWCA poll, and he's the defending Super Region 1 champion in this weight class. Gannon's Evan Fisler (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township), who graduated, placed third in the 165-pound weight class in 2022.
 
174 lbs. – Cole Casilio (Wilcox, Pa./Johnsonburg Area) (9-7. R-Fr.)
The 2022 Super Regional I champion, Joey Petrella (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley), was ranked No. 3 in Super Region 1 before being sidelined recently. Casilio, who wrestled in Gannon's dual-meet lineup for much of the season, will wrestle in this weight class on Saturday. The top two wrestlers in the Super Region I rankings in this weight class are Pitt-Johnstown's Alex Weber and Mercyhurst's Dillon Walker, respectively. Casilio absorbed one-point losses against both of those wrestlers, losing 3-2 to Walker and 4-3 to Weber. Casilio has won four matches in a row going into the tournament.
 
184 lbs. – Cole Hivnor (Painesville, Ohio/Lake Catholic) (9-7, R-Fr.)
Hivnor enters his first Super Regional 1 tournament as the No. 3-ranked wrestler in the region in this weight class. To win a regional title, he will have to top two wrestlers who gave him a tough time during the regular season. Kutztown's Matthew Weinberg, the defending Super Regional 1 champion, is ranked No. 1 in Super Region 1 and No. 5 nationally. He defeated Hivnor by pin on Jan. 27. UPJ's Brock Biddle defeated Hivnor 7-0 on Jan. 18. Hivnor has three wins in a row – two pins and one technical fall – and is 6-2 in his past eight matches. The now-graduated Cameron Page (Frewsburg, N.Y./Falconer Central) finished third in this division for Gannon in 2022.

197 lbs. – No. 11/8 Joel Leise (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) (8-2, R-Sr.)
Leise placed second in this weight class in 2022, losing only to a wrestler who has graduated. Leise enters as the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the region and No. 11 in the nation, according to the NWCA. Mercyhurst's Luke McGonigal is a slight favorite in this weight class by virtue of his No. 1 ranking in Super Region 1 and his No. 9 ranking nationally. Leise lost to McGonigal 3-1 in sudden victory in their only head-to-head meeting this season. Leise is 6-0 since that match.

285 lbs. – Eli Reese (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) (14-10, R-Fr.)
Reese is ranked No. 6 in Super Region 1, and he is 0-4 against the wrestlers ranked ahead of him in the region. Reese leads Gannon with 10 falls this season. Seton Hill's John Meyers is the No. 1 wrestler in Super Region 1 going into the meet, but Reese and Meyers did not face each other in the Gannon-Seton Hill dual. Meyers is ranked No. 7 nationally. Isaiah Vance of Pitt-Johnstown is ranked No. 8 by the NWCA. Gannon's Freddie Nixon (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute), who graduated, placed third in the heavyweight division in 2022.