Bates Selected to Compete at NCAA Wrestling Championships

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University senior Zachary Bates will join classmate Ethan Raymond at the 2011 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. 

Bates was picked to compete in the 174-pound weight class by the NCAA Division III Wrestling Committee which chose an additional ten wrestlers to fill out the brackets.

On Monday, the NCAA announced the complete 170-man field for the tournament which will be held on March 11-12 on the campus of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Full brackets for each weight class will be released on March 6.

A native of Leyden, Massachusetts, Bates is currently 31-6 (.838) on the season with 80 takedowns, 25 escapes, ten near falls and seven pins.  He currently leads the Bears in wins, winning percentage, takedowns and is tied for first in pins.

Bates, who was ranked first in the New England Wrestling Association at 174 for most of the season, placed second at the NEWA Championships over the weekend as he went 6-2.  Both of his losses at the tournament came at the hands of 174-pound champion and NCAA automatic qualifier Kyle Roosa of Wesleyan University.

Raymond earned an automatic trip to the NCAA meet by winning the 165-pound weight class at the NEWA Championships.  The Middlebury, Vermont native was a perfect 5-0 at the tournament.

Raymond is 29-8 (.784) on the season with 71 takedowns, 40 escapes, 15 near falls and four pins.  He leads the team in escapes and ranks second in takedowns and is tied for second in wins.