Johnson & Wales won the NCAA Northeast Regional crown for the second timeBRISTOL, RI -- A historic season for the Johnson & Wales University wrestling team added another chapter on Sunday. For the second time in school history, the Wildcats came home with the NCAA Northeast Regional crown as they're sending five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
Thanks to 19 pins - more than double that of the next-closest team - the Wildcats amassed 171.5 points to finish 22 ahead of second-place Ithaca College. It's JWU's first regional team championship since 2007. The five NCAA qualifiers are the most in school history. Johnson & Wales is the first team at the NCAA Northeast Regional to have all 10 of its wrestlers place in the top six
Representing Johnson & Wales at the NCAA Championships will be Bobby Jordan (Woodbridge, NJ) at 125 pounds, 133-pounder Jay Albis (Fishkill, NY), Joe Ferinde (Nutley, NJ) at 141 pounds, 165-pounder Stephen Jarrell (East Greenwich, RI) and Mike Labell (Stanhope, NJ) at 174 pounds.
In addition, head coach Lonnie Morris was named Regional Coach of the Year and associate head coach Brian Allen was selected Region Assistant Coach of the Year. It's the fourth time both have won the award.
Tied at 4-4 late in the third period, ninth-ranked Jordan got a take down and four near fall points to beat Ithaca's James Kaishian for his second regional championship. He started the day by recording an 11-0 major decision against Tyreek Staton of Castleton.
Ranked third at 133 pounds, Albis got a take down against Maverick Passaro of SUNY Cortland, but a stalling call against him tied the match at 2-2. Riding time was the deciding factor as he won his first regional title, 3-2. Albis was in complete control of his semifinal match as he beat Roger Williams' Jason Jacobi with a major decision.
Down 3-0 in the third period of his championship bout against Castleton's Zak Hale, Ferinde got an escape and a take down late to force overtime. In the extra frame he took down Hale almost immediately to claim the regional title. On his way to the finals, Ferinde upset the top seed in his bracket, Nick Wahba from Ithaca, with a narrow 1-0 decision.
The master of the take down, Jarell brought fourth-ranked Nick Velez of Ithaca College to the mat three times on his way to the 7-4 victory. It's his second-straight regional title after winning it last year at 174 pounds. Taking on a familiar face, Jarrell got his spot in the finals with a 6-2 decision against Alec Golner of Roger Williams.
Labell dominated his semifinal match as he pinned Wesleyan's Dominic Pirraglia in just 2:17. He couldn't repeat the performance in the finals as he placed second after dropping a 6-3 decision to Jaison White of Ithaca.
After dropping his 197-pound semifinal match to 4th-ranked Carlos Toribio, Khamri Thomas (Windsor Locks, Conn.) got a late takedown to defeat Cortland's Nick Bellanza, 3-1. His NCAA bid aspirations came up short as he lost a 1-0 decision to Hunter Ayen of Springfield in the third-place match.
Michael DiNardo (Mahopac, NY) pinned Castleton's Mitchell LaFlam in 2:19 during his opening match at 184 pounds, but lost a 6-2 decision to Ithaca's Jake Ashcraft. He bounced back to take fifth by pinning WPI's Dan Wensley at the 5:34 mark. DiNardo led the entire regional with five pins.
After nearly getting pinned by Williams' Martin Strenk, Jonah Aurelio (Riverside, RI) turned the tables on Strenk and pinned him at the 6:34 mark of his 285-pound match. He placed fifth via a forfeit.
Thomas Grippi (Bedford Hills, NY) worked his way through the consolation bracket with a pin at the 2:18 mark of his 149-pound bout against Matt Caputo of Cortland. Despite dropping his last two matches, he still finished sixth.
In his opening match of the day, Daniel McBrinn (Ramsey, NJ) was a 13-7 winner over Bridgewater State's Eric Kerr. He dropped a 14-4 decision in the consolation semis and was beaten in the fifth-place match.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will serve as the host of the 2017 NCAA Championships. The two-day event starts March 10.
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