Brendan Howard (125 lbs.), Chris Eddins (149 lbs.), and Levi Niebauer (197 lbs.) all won individual titles for Head Coach Pat Pecora, the 2018-19 Super Region I coach of the Year. In addition, Joey Alessandro (141 lbs.), Corey Falleroni (157 lbs.), and Brock Biddle (184 lbs.) were runner-ups, and Devin Austin (165 lbs.) placed third to earn spots in the NCAA Division II National Championship tournament in Cleveland, Ohio on March 8 and 9.
Pitt-Johnstown claimed the team title with 141 points, 39 points better than second-place Kutztown's 102 points. Gannon (94 pts.), Mercyhurst (93.5 pts.), and Seton Hill (72 pts.) rounded out the top-5 in the 10-team tournament.
125 lbs. – Brendan Howard - Champion
Howard, ranked ninth nationally, won an 11-1 major decision over Shippensburg's Corbin Hopkins in the quarterfinals, before advancing to the finals with a 15-0 technical fall at 3:12 over Seton Hill's Derrick Chandler-Christie. Howard won his title by shutting out Jacob Dunlap (Gannon), 6-0, in the title bout.
149 lbs. – Chris Eddins – Champion
Eddins, the defending National Champion at 141 lbs. and current No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation at 149 lbs., Pinned Joel Morth (American International) at 6:23 to start the tournament and reached the finals with a 17-2 technical fall in the second period over Mike Clark (Mercyhurst). Eddins then won a 13-1 major decision over Seton Hills Austin Shaw to become Pitt-Johnstown second individual champion.
197 lbs. – Levi Niebauer – Champion
Niebauer, also a two-time National Qualifier, defeated East Stroudsburg's Nicholas Klinoff, 8-1, and scored a 15-4 major decision over Seton Hill's Jody Crouse in the semifinals. Niebauer then claimed his first regional title and his third trip to nationals with a 7-3 decision over Millersville Colton Dull.
141 lbs. – Joey Alessandro – 2nd-Place
Alessandro, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the country and top-seed at 141 lbs., cruised into the finals with a technical fall win over Anthony Wiggins (Millersville) and a 9-1 major decision over Aidan Burke (Mercyhurst) in the semifinals. In the title bout. LIU-Post's Joe Calderone pinned Alessandro at 6:04.
157 lbs. – Corey Falleroni – 2nd-Place
After pinning Eduardo Ramirez (LIU-Post) at 4:06 in the quarterfinals, Falleroni, now a two-time National Qualifier, advanced to the championship match at 157 lbs. with a 6-4 decision over Kevin Kinyua (Mercyhurst). In the title bout, Gannon's George McGuire held off Falleroni, 8-6.
184 lbs. – Brock Biddle – 2nd-Place
Biddle pinned Isaiah Collins (American International) at 1:58, the defeated Nathan Bowlen (Seton Hill), 6-4, in the semifinals to set up a title bout against Kutztown's No. 1-ranked Jeff Reimel. Reimel opened-up a 6-1 first period lead and went on for a 9-2 victory over Biddle.
165 lbs. – Devin Austin –3rd-Place
Austin, a two-time National Qualifier, defeated LIU-Post's Dan Arkow, 5-2, in the quarterfinals, but suffered a major decision loss to Logan Grass (Mercyhurst) in the semis. Austin bounced back with a 5-2 win over East Stroudsburg's in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match, before punching his third ticket to the National Tournament by defeating Kutztown's Connor Rogovich, 9-3.
133 lbs. – Matt Siszka – 4th-Place
After suffering a loss in the opening round, Siszka picked-up three straight decision wins to reach the third-place match. However, Millersville's Ryan McGuire held off Siszka, 3-2, to claim third national qualifying spot at 133 lbs.
174 lbs. – Steve Edwards – 4th-Place
Edwards, a 2018 National Qualifier, advanced to the semifinals with a major decision win over Anthony Williamson (Gannon), before suffering a 6-2 loss to Kutztown's Troy Warner. Edwards then won a 9-1 major decision over Mercyhurst's Trevor Johnson in the consolation semis, but Damon Greenwald used a third period take down to slip past Edwards, 4-3, in the third-place match.
285 lbs. – Tyler Oliver – 5th-Place
Oliver won his opening round match, the lost a 3-2 decision to Mercyhurst's to Jacob Robb. A major decision victory in the second round of the consolations and a pin over Cameron Kates (East Stroudsburg) at 1:36 in the third round of the consolations kept Oliver's hopes alive. However, David Wuestner got an overtime take down to send Oliver to the fifth-place match where shutout American International's Ray Sherwood, 4-0.
Team Scores
1 Pitt.-Johnstown 141.0
2 Kutztown 102.0
3 Gannon 94.0
4 Mercyhurst 93.5
5 Seton Hill 72.0
6 Millersville 65.5
7 LIU Post 52.5
8 East Stroudsburg 46.5
9 Shippensburg 29.0
10 American Int`l 23.5
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