New England top 10 wrestling poll
Results of the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Division III coaches poll. Record and First Place Votes in Parentheses.
Week 5, Dec. 15
Team Rec Pts. LW
1. Roger Williams (14) 8-0 158 1
2. Johnsn & Wales (2) 4-0 146 2
3. Springfield 0-1 124 3
4. Coast Guard 1-0 111 4
5. WPI 4-2 101 5
6. Wesleyan 0-0 70 6
6. Southern Maine 7-1 70 7
8. Williams 1-0 40 8
9. Norwich Univ. 3-2 32 9
10. Castleton State 5-9 24 10
NEWA Wrestler of the Week
Jay Abis (Fishkill NY), sophomore, Johnson & Wales University, 133
Albis upped his season win total to 17 in dramatic fashion this past weekend. He pinned Antoine of Cortland and Freddy Eckles of Niagra CC. In his last match he beat Austin Sisco of Oneonta, ranked No. 8 nationally 16-7 by major decision. His pin over Cortland helped JWU beat Cortland for the first time their program’s history.
Rookie Wrestler of the Week
Joe Hennessey (Booneville NY), freshman, Norwich University, 184 pounds
Hennessey has had a great first half. Hennessey was 2nd at the Ithaca and RIT Invitationals and 4th at the RWU invite. Last week, he led Norwich to a 33-6 win over Plymouth State University with a pin over Nick Johnson in 2:14.
NEWA Div. III rankings,
December 15, 2016
125 Pounds
1 Bobby Jordan Johnson & Wales
2 Peter Del Gallo Southern Maine
3 Matt Morris Williams
4 Brian Amato WPI (Newington)
5 Tyreek Staton Castleton
6 Nicholas Barbaria Roger Williams
133 Pounds
1 Jay Albis Johnson & Wales
2 Steve Jendritz WPI
3 Jacob Forsman Norwich Univ.
4 Jason Jacobi Roger Williams
5 Ian Tolotti Springfield
6 Dylan Jones Wesleyan
141 Pounds
1 Pat Ferzoco Springfield
2 Justin Cochran Roger Williams
3 Joe Ferinde Johnson & Wales
4 James Matias Wesleyan
5 Zak Hale Castleton
6 Matt McAllister Coast Guard (Colchester)
149 Pounds
1 Dan Del Gallo Southern Maine
2 Malik Rasheed Johnson & Wales
3 Dan Downes Roger Williams
4 Jacob Strohman Springfield
5 Matt Vieira Coast Guard
6 Jack Nigro WPI
157 Pounds
1 Zach Joseph Springfield
2 Ty Herzog Roger Williams
3 Chris Sullivan Coast Guard
4 CJ Luth Southern Maine (Milford)
5 Dan McBrinn Johnson & Wales
6 Tyler Marsh WPI
165 Pounds
1 Alec Golner Roger Williams
2 Nick Remke Coast Guard
3 Anthony Cote Bridgewater State (Danbury)
4 Josh Smith Southern Maine
5 Aarin Feliz Springfield
6 Jared Costa Castleton
174 Pounds
1 Steve Jarrell Johnson & Wales
2 Geovanni Medina Springfield (New Britain)
3 Taylor Shay Roger Williams (New Fairfield)
4 Dan Fiorvanti Coast Guard
5 Lucas Muntz WPI (West Hartford)
6 Zack Allen Castleton
184 Pounds
1 Chris Chorzepa Williams (Newington)
2 Mike Labell Johnson & Wales
3 Joe Hennessey Norwich
4 Joe Albina Roger Williams
5 John Boyle Western New England
6 Mitchell LaFlam Castleton
197 Pounds
1 Khamari Thomas Johnson & Wales (Windsor Locks)
2 Martin Strenk Williams
3 Chris Francis Roger Williams
4 Phil Azzari Coast Guard
5 Mike Curtis WPI
6 Cody Carrillo Plymouth State
285 Pounds
1 Kyle Foster Roger Williams (Somers)
2 Austin Shrewsbury WPI
3 John Georges Rhode Island College
4 Joe Fusco Springfield
5 Mike Risti Southern Maine
6 Jonah Aurelio Johnson & Wales
College roundup, Dec. 20
Jack shares ACC wrestler of week honors
North Carolina State’s Kevin Jack, a junior All-America from Danbury, wrestling at 141, was named the co-ACC wrestler of the week on Dec. 15 along with North Carolina’s Joey Ward.
Jack recorded a major decision over No. 10 Colton McCrystal of Nebraska, 8-0, in State's 22-10 loss to the seventh-ranked Cornhuskers. He recorded 5:22 of riding time. The win was Jack's second straight over a Top 10 foe, as he scored a 2-0 win over No. 5 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the Journeyman Tussle. Jack is currently ranked fifth nationally by FloWrestling.
Jack won by technical fall, 16-0, on Tuesday night as No. 10 North Carolina State beat Old Dominion, 25-13 in Virginia. Jack has won 13 straight matches for the Wolfpack (4-1).
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Colchester’s Howard Kilpatrick (165) is 11-2 for King’s College in Pennsylvania. … Trumbull’s Cross Cannone (149) is starting for undefeated Wartburg College, the top-ranked team in Division III.
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The No. 1 team among NCAA Division III teams in New England is Roger Williams University (RWU). The Hawks finished the first semester with an 8-0 record and with two first place finishes at tournaments. The Hawks have looked strong and are definitely the team to beat in the New England Wrestling Association. They are currently ranked No. 5 in the country in NCAA Division III. They have showed great depth and have a very strong freshmen class. They struggled with Springfield last Friday, 21-16 but then had three wins on Sunday by a combined 117-20.
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Johnson & Wales University (JWU) sits right behind RWU. The Wildcats have had some great teams and this one might be one of their best. JWU is 4-0 and just knocked of perennial national power Cortland 45-3 last weekend, giving Cortland one of their worst losses in programs history. JWU is ranked No. 6 in the country and they wrestle No. 11 Messiah this Saturday at home. It should be one of the best dual meets of the season in Division III wrestling. Messiah has become a national power and although ranked 11th due to some tournament placings, they are 5-0 and were 2nd in the country last season.
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Springfield College is ranked No. 3 in New England. Springfield won the Doug Parker Tournament but was 5th at Ithaca and 5th at Messiah. At those tournaments they finished behind good teams but it has kept them out of the national rankings. They did wrestle RWU at home last Friday and lost 21-16. Springfield has been down the last two years by Springfield’s high standards and Coach Holder seems to have them back in the right direction. Springfield won 4 of the 10 bouts and has a solid lineup top to bottom. Geovanni Medina (New Britain) who has been great at 174, pinned Taylor Shay of RWU in 6:55. Zach Joseph continues to wrestle great at a very tough 157-pound weight class. Joseph beat Ty Herzog of RWU by major decision 21-11. Herzog was ranked No. 4 nationally with Joseph being ranked fifth.
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Coast Guard is ranked No. 4 in New England. They were 2nd at Doug Parker to Springfield but finished 5th at Roger Williams and 9th at York in tournaments with nationally loaded fields. They Wrestle in the W&L duals on Monday and will face Cortland and Lycoming two very strong programs. Coast Guard is currently ranked No. 24 nationally.
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WPI has had a great start to the year. They are currently ranked No. 5 in New England and No. 25 nationally. They have a good win over Ursinus but lost close to Oneonta last weekend 19-18. They were 7th at Roger Williams behind the Coast Guard but then tied for second at the RIT Invitational with Oneonta.
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Wesleyan University has been led by Isaiah Bellamy (Bozrah) at 285 and James Matias at 141. They will also benefit from two big additions second semester. The Cardinals get 149 pounder Carter Armendarez back from a semester abroad and they get NCAA Division III qualifier Devon Carrillo (Middletown) back. Carrillo played football this fall with the Cardinals and was a 1st team all conference performer as a RB and WR and he was also 2nd team as a returner. Carrillo rushed for 12 touchdowns, caught another, and threw for 2 more this past fall.
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The University of Southern Maine has had a strong start to their season going 7-2. The Huskies are led by NCAA Division III Northeast Regional place winners Dan Del Gallo at 149 and CJ Luth (Milford) at 157. Del Gallo is a two-time NCAA Qualifier and one of the best wrestlers in New England. He is currently ranked No. 4 nationally. Luth has been awesome for the Huskies and hopes to break through to the nationals this year but competes in a loaded 157-pound weight that features three wrestlers from New England ranked in the top 6 nationally. The Huskies welcomed a second Del Gallo to the team this year and he has been awesome. Peter Del Gallo is having a huge freshmen season at 125. He has won three tournaments and is ranked No. 2 in New England.
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Williams College is 1-0 with a win over Trinity. They welcomed back two time All-American Chris Chorzepa (Newington) last weekend for the first time since last year’s NCAA Division III national tournament. Chorzepa has been one of the best wrestlers in the Region in his first three seasons and hopes to make it back onto the podium and into the national finals this March. The Ephs graduated a talented senior class but seem to have some strong freshmen filling in and their success this year will be largely in part to how quickly their freshmen can mature. Martin Strenk at 197 and Matt Morris at 125 have had strong first halfs for Williams and both look to push for spots at the NCAA’s.
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Norwich University had a strong first semester with wins over Kings and in state rival Castleton. They have placed top ten at every tournament while being led by Jacob Forsman at 133, Joe Hennessey at 184, and Frank Girolamo at 285. The Cadets are moving in the right direction and have a big second weekend in January where they face WNEU, JWU and the Coast Guard at home.
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Castleton University has been impressive in their debut varsity season under rookie head coach Scott Legacy. Castleton’s first half was highlighted by winning the Ted Reese invitational hosted by Southern Maine. Castleton has a great schedule for their first year and have already wrestled 14 dual meets.
