Gorham, ME --- Tommy Dell'Aera (Eastchester, NY) became WPI's first NCAA national qualifier since 2020 as he advances via a semifinal round victory to open the final day of wrestling at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship hosted by Southern Maine. Dell'Aera marks the seventh occasion that a Crimson and Gray grappler has reached the nationals in the "regional era" and the first since Tyler Marsh qualified for his third time in 2020.
Joining Dell'Aera on the podium for WPI was Mario Barberio (Muncy, PA), who finished sixth at 165 pounds, Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ), who placed seventh at 125 and heavyweight Lucas Wilson-Wuestefeld(Barrington, RI), who logged an eighth-place showing. As a team the Engineers racked up 44 points to finish 11th. Johnson & Wales won the 19-team event with 175.50 points, while Coast Guard (145.50) was second and Springfield (112.50) third. Individuals who finished in the top three of their weight class qualified for the national meet.
Dell'Aera punched his ticket to the NCAA National Championship meet in two weeks hosted by Ferrum at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, VA with a 7-5 semifinal victory over Jashon Holmes of Castleton. The junior trailed 4-1 after a period but clawed back to level the bout after an escape to start the second period and a takedown midway through the frame. After allowing an escape with 1:12 to go in the third period, Dell'Aera registered a takedown with 37 seconds remaining and added a point with riding time to take the 7-5 victory. In the title match, Dell'Aera was pinned by Springfield's Jake Deguire at 1:01 as he'll head to Virginia with an 11-2 mark with both of his losses coming to Deguire.
Fifth-seeded Mario Barberio (Muncy, PA) scored an 8-0 major decision against Johnson & Wales's Patrick Wisniewski at 165 pounds. The junior got an escape 10 seconds into the second period to account for the only scoring in the bout over the opening two stanzas before striking for a quick takedown early in the third and got four near fall points and riding time to record the bonus point victory. Barberio was eliminated from national championship contention when sixth-seeded Kevin Lyskawa of Trinity accounted for the only point of the match with a second period escape. He then hooked up with Springfield's Myles Leonard in the fifth place match and was pinned at 4:43 to finish the 2022-23 season with a 21-12 record.
Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ), seeded seventh at 125 pounds, found himself down 4-1 after a pair of first period takedowns by David Yeh of Williams and was trailing by that same score in the third period when he tallied a reverse to get with a point. The sophomore was forced to cut the sixth-seeded Yeh loose late in the match but was unable to get a takedown in the waning seconds. Thatcher then came back to claim seventh place and end his second year with 19-4 mark with four falls following a narrow 5-4 triumph over Norwich's Jabari Pinkney.
Heavyweight Lucas Wilson-Wuestefeld (Barrington, RI) ran into top seed Liridon Leka from Johnson & Wales in his wrestle-back match Sunday and was pinned with eight seconds remaining in the opening period. The senior concluded his 2022-23 campaign with a 12-4 setback to Merchant Marine's Reid Garrison. Nine of Wilson-Wuestefeld's 15 victories this winter were by fall.
Other winners this weekend for the Crimson and Gray included 141-pounder Chris Cook (Mount Kisco, NY) with a 6-2 victory and Tyler Riggs (North Scituate, RI) notching a 17-0 tech fall at 197 on Saturday. Connor Doran (Gales Ferry, CT) at 133, Ethan Wilson (Braintree, MA) at 149, 174-pounder Adam Marsh (Upper Black Eddy, PA) and David Gibson (Goffstown, NH) at 184 also competed Saturday for the Boynton Hillers.
Dell'Aera will wrestle in the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 10th and Saturday, March 11th in Roanoke, VA. Seedings and the draw will be revealed in the next week.
