NEW LONDON, Conn. - After a great first day of competition that saw nine Williams College wrestlers still in contention entering Sunday, the team continued the strong performance and will be sending six Ephs to the NCAA Division III National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in two weeks.
The six wrestlers heading to Nationals - Caleb Seyfried at 149, Peter Kane at 157, Henry Forte at 165, Gage Wiggins at 174, Jamie Evarts at 184, and Zach Borzio at 197 - is the most the team has ever sent in a single season, and the performance at Regionals is the team's best since this qualifying format was introduced. Kane and Evarts were the Ephs' two Regional winners, both repeating their wins from a year ago.
The team finished second overall with 155 points, behind Springfield College (170.5) and ahead of Coast Guard (152.5), Castleton (144.5) and Johnson & Wales (144).
Entering Sunday, the Ephs had six wrestlers unbeaten into the semifinals, where a win would earn a ticket to Iowa, and five were able to get those wins: Seyfried, Kane, Wiggins, Evarts, and Borzio. Forte was the only Eph to lose his semifinal, but he then battled through the consolation bracket and ultimately won his third-place match to punch his ticket as well.
Seyfried was first on the mat on Sunday for the Ephs, and he got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead over Wesleyan's Ike Guttentag in the first period. Guttentag kept chipping away at the lead for the rest of the match, including scoring four points with under a minute left, but an escape point to start the third ended up being the difference as Seyfried earned an 8-7 decision win. After the victory, Seyfried withdrew from the final, finishing in second place in his weight class and earning his first trip to the National Championship in his senior year.
Kane was next up for the Ephs, and the decorated senior was in total control against Jack Forte of Roger Williams. Kane had a takedown in each period en route to an 11-0 major decision. His opponent in the final forfeited, giving Kane a second straight first-place finish in the 157 weight class, and a fourth trip in four years to the NCAA Championships, where he has earned 2nd, 5th, and 7th in his previous trips.
Forte lost his semifinal to an impressive Jack Richardson from Johnson & Wales, who ultimately won the weight class, so he moved into the consolation bracket and targeted a third place finish. After beating Justin Hood of Emmanuel in a 16-9 decision, Forte earned another decision, this one by a 6-0 score, to capture third place and a ticket to Iowa for what will be his first appearance at the NCAA Championships.
At 174, first-year Gage Wiggins had a tough match against Aidan Faria of Rhode Island College, and after the first two periods the score remained 0-0. Wiggins dug deep in the third, getting five points through an escape, a takedown, and riding time, and the match finished 5-0 in favor of the Ephs. In the final, Wiggins battled to overtime against Joseph Bolduc, who ultimately earned the sudden victory, giving Wiggins a second-place finish in his first trip to regionals.
Evarts, at 184, had the disadvantage of taking on a wrestler on his home turf in Caden Stout of Coast Guard, in what was a close match throughout. An escape in the second period gave Evarts a 1-0 lead going into the third, and he extended the advantage throughout the period to finish with a 6-0 decision. In his final, Evarts earned a 9-2 decision over Desmond McLaughlin of Castleton to win his weight class for the second straight year and earn another trip to Nationals for the sophomore.
The closest semifinal match for the Ephs was Borzio's at 197, against Nick Rogers of Springfield. At the end of three periods, each wrestler had a single point, and overtime could not separate the two, with Borzio ultimately earning the win and advancing via a tiebreaker, riding time in the first overtime. In his final, he lost by fall to Gabe Monroe of Coast Guard, taking second place and earning a first trip to Nationals for the junior.
Three Ephs entered Sunday in the consolation bracket: Christopher Colon at 125, Tylor Stubbs at 141, and Connor Reynolds at 285. Colon lost his first match on Sunday to Chris Hong of Wesleyan and finished in 8th place. Reynolds also finished in 8th overall after decision losses on Sunday to Jayden Toppan of Roger Williams and Logan Frank of Castleton. Stubbs earned a 9-3 decision over Jared Hood of Emmanuel but then lost to Isaac Quiles of Springfield before facing Nicolas Balella of Castleton for fifth place. In a back-and-forth affair, the match was tied 14-14 before Balella got a late fall for the win, giving Stubbs sixth in the bracket.
The Division III NCAA Championship will take place on March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the Ephs will look to continue the most decorated season the program has experienced.
