By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Ten wrestlers will be representing Bridgewater State University at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional this weekend in Connecticut.

The Bears will travel to the Bacon Field House at the Freeman Athletic Center on the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., for the two-day event.

The competition starts on Saturday at 11 a.m. and concludes around 8:30 p.m. On Sunday, the wrestling resumes at 11 a.m. with the championship and third-place bouts getting underway at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The Bears' lineup will include the team's lone senior plus four freshmen, three sophomores and a pair of juniors.

The leaders in victories this season for BSU include senior Michael Hopkins (Swampscott, Mass.), who is 24-13 and is at 174 pounds; sophomore Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.), who is 23-9 at 197 pounds; junior Malcolm Chrispin (Hyde Park, Mass.), who is 17-9 at 141 pounds; and junior Sei Dolomengi (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), who is 16-16 at 125 pounds.

They will be joined at the regional by freshmen Christopher Dubey (Lowell, Mass.) at 133 pounds, James Calabrese (Foxborough, Mass.) at 149 pounds, Nathan Quinones (Bergenfield, N.J.) at 165 pounds and heavyweight Mathew Piper (Townsend, Mass.) plus sophomores Jack Janes (Avon, Conn.) at 157 pounds and Vincent Player (Duxbury, Mass.) at 184 pounds.

"I think we have a good core of young, hungry student-athletes who want to continue to get better," said coach Frank Cammisa. "That makes it enjoyable to work with for my staff and myself, to keep working with them on achieving their goals."

The top three finishers in each weight class will qualify for the NCAA Championships, to be held March 14-15 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.

BSU finished 20th at the regional in 2024 with Chrispin going 2-2.

"We'd like to have just some good, solid wrestling and win some matches we normally shouldn't win," said Cammisa of the regional. "If we can do that, we'll have a successful weekend. The region is really tough and deep."

The young Bears have shown improvement during the season, which began on Nov. 1 at the University of Southern Maine.

Curley was 7-14 in his freshman year last season but has won 23 matches with 45 takedowns, 26 escapes and 13 pins as a sophomore.

"Curley has a ton of potential," said Cammisa. "It's a matter of going out there and being selective with his attacks.

"(A successful regional would) be huge. It'd be a huge step up for him for the next two years."

Hopkins went 7-3 as a junior before an injury halted his season in early January. He has rebounded to break the 20-win barrier and has 44 takedowns and 35 escapes.

In the last BSU competition, Hopkins was 3-0 in a quad meet against Trinity, American International College and Rhode Island College.

"He's done everything right," said Cammisa. "He continues to push himself. It's matter of him going out and achieving his goals."

Chrispin was 21-10 with 57 takedowns last season and has made steady progress this winter. When BSU faced Trinity, AIC and RIC in a quad meet to end the regular season, Chrispin was 3-0 and defeated Trinity's Ty Trickle, who was ranked No. 4 in the New England Wrestling Association.

"I think having the experience of the regional (last year) will help him a lot," said Cammisa. "He's been to the tournament, he understands how the tournament is run. He understands the different level of grittiness you need to have."

There will be 18 teams participating, including host Wesleyan, BSU, Vermont State Castleton, Coast Guard Academy, Johnson & Wales, Maine Maritime Academy, New England College,  orwich University and Plymouth State University.

Also wrestling will be Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Southern Maine, Springfield College, Trinity College, Utica University, Western New England University, Williams College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Johnson & Wales is currently ranked second in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) NCAA Division III Team Tournament Poll, while Castleton is ninth, Coast Guard 11th, Southern Maine 18th and Williams tied for 25th.

Coast Guard won the regional title a year ago followed by Johnson & Wales and Vermont State Castleton.