On the first day of the NCAA Division III Mideast Region Championships in Rochester, N.Y., Penn College's wrestling team made notable progress. Freshman Kaden Ware achieved a 2-0 record in the 133-pound category, securing a significant win over a returning national qualifier and advancing to the semifinals. Noah Hunt, a junior competing at 141 pounds, and Travis Green, a freshman at 165 pounds, both achieved three consecutive victories on the consolation side after initial losses.
Penn College currently holds the 15th position among 21 teams with 33 points. The competition will continue on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Ware entered the tournament ranked sixth in his weight class by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. He bypassed the first round and then defeated SUNY Cortland's Cody Merwin with a decisive 6-0 victory. In the quarterfinals, Ware triumphed over Kyle Nace from TCNJ with an 11-3 major decision.
Hunt and Green both rebounded after losing their opening matches. Hunt achieved a technical fall win with a score of 17-2 in his second consolation match, followed by a 9-6 decision and then winning by fall against Alfred State's Elijah Moshenek to become Penn College's first three-time regional medalist.
Green secured his place in day two by defeating Liam Strouse from RIT with a 10-1 major decision, followed by a technical fall victory of 16-0 and narrowly winning his fourth-round match with a score of 9-8.
Liam Goodrich competed in the 157-pound category and finished with two wins out of four matches. Nicholai Brotzman recorded his season’s 21st fall during his second consolation match but lost his third-round match to Jeremy Mazzella from Ithaca.
Other participants for Penn College included Luke Heimbach (125), Cavin Napoletano (174), Gabriel Kennedy-Citeroni (197), who all ended their tournaments without wins, while TJ Martin defaulted due to injury at 149 pounds.
The current team standings have defending champion TCNJ leading with 92 points, followed closely by Elizabethtown and Ithaca.
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