Morales, Maxwell Earn Automatic Bids to NCAA DIII Wrestling Championships

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University junior 184-pounder Edwin Morales (Philadelphia, Mass.) and senior 165-pounder Fox Maxwell (Winchester, Mass.) advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships as they each placed third in their respective weight classes on Sunday at the Division III Northeast Regional hosted by Springfield College.

The top three in each weight class at each of the six regional tournaments throughout the country get an automatic bid to the national championship tournament which will take place on Friday, March 11th and Saturday, March 12th at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Maxwell is the tenth different BSU grappler to advance to the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, while Morales earned his second straight trip to the national tournament. Morales also qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, but the meet was cancelled due to the pandemic.

After winning both of his bouts on Saturday, the fourth-seeded Morales lost by major decision to top seed and eventual 184-pound champion Paul Detwiler of Coast Guard Academy to open Sunday's competition. Following a win by fall (2:07) against Anders Klass of Trinity College in the consolation semifinals, Morales posted a 10-2 major decision over #5 seed Cole Shaughnessy of Roger Williams University in the third-place match to secure a trip to the national championship meet.

Morales improved to 19-4 on the season with his four wins at the regional championship.

Maxwell faced an uphill climb in the 165-pound bracket after splitting his first two bouts on Saturday, but came roaring back with four straight wins, including three on Sunday, to advance to the national tournament. The seventh-seeded Maxwell posted an 11-2 major decision over Jacob Henry of host Springfield in his first bout on Sunday, and knocked off #4 seed Michael Angers of Castleton University, 8-4, in the consolation semifinals. He then completed the comeback with a tough 4-2 decision over #5 seed Scott DeFex of Johnson & Wales University in the third-place match.

Maxwell upped his record to 27-8 on the season with his five wins at the two-day tournament.

Junior 125-pounder Wilson Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) also garnered All-Northeast Region honors for the Bears. Gomes (24-10) went 3-2 at the tournament including a win by fall over Coast Guard's Allan Beato in the seventh-place match as he avenged a first-round setback to Beato.

The Bears tied for ninth place at the Northeast Regionals with 46.0 team points.