Three Wrestlers Advance to Day Two of Northeast Regionals

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Three Bridgewater State University grapplers advanced to day two of the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Springfield College Fieldhouse.

Senior Edwin Morales (Philadelphia, Pa.) went 2-0 out of the 184-pound weight class. Seeded fourth in his weight class, Morales won his first bout by major decision and then earned a victory by decision over Cole Shaughnessy of Roger Williams University to advance to the semifinal round. Morales (17-3) will take on top-seeded Paul Detwiler (18-0) of U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the semifinals on Sunday. The two met in the 184-pound title match at the 2020 regionals with Detwiler earning a 9-3 win by decision.

Junior 125-pounder Wilson Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) bounced back from an opening round setback to Allan Beato of Coast Guard Academy to win each of his next two bouts. Gomes, who was seeded eighth in the bracket, pinned Diego Perez of Hunter College in just 59 seconds and followed that up with a 13-2 major decision win over Frank Darwak of Castleton University. Gomes (23-9) will face RIC's Fred Luchs in the wrestleback quarterfinals on Sunday morning.

Senior seventh in the 165-pound weight class, senior Fox Maxwell (Winchester, Mass.) started the day with a 9-1 major decision win over Sean Monteiro of Western New England University. Maxwell dropped his quarterfinal match against second-seeded Copper Pontelandolfo of New York University before bouncing back and winning his consolation bout against Alex Abrahamsen of WPI by technical fall, 16-0 (3:00). Maxwell (24-8) will face Springfield College's Jake Harry in the wrestleback quarterfinals on Sunday morning.

Bridgewater State is currently in 14th place in the teams standings with 21.5 points.

Second day action continues Sunday morning at 10:00. Eight wrestlers remain in each weight class, four in the winner's bracket and four in the consolation bracket. With the top three in each weight class headed to the Nationals in two weeks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, several paths exist for qualification. For those in the winner's bracket, a win in semifinal match will punch their ticket while a loss will require two wins later in the day to qualify. The four starting in the consolation bracket will need to win three bouts Sunday to secure a spot in Cedar Rapids.