2019 Northeast Region Preview

Date – Saturday and Sunday, February 23-24, 2019

Location – Wildcat Center, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI

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Teams (17) – Bridgewater State, Castleton, Coast Guard, Johnson & Wales, New England, Norwich, NYU, Plymouth State, Rhode Island, Roger Williams, Springfield, Trinity, University of Southern Maine, Wesleyan, Western New England, Williams, WPI

Top Ten Ranked Individuals (2018 All-Americans in bold)
February 5th Rankings
125 – 1. Del Gallo (Southern Maine), 2. Albis (Johnson & Wales)
133 – 2. Jordan (Johnson & Wales), 10. Gonyea (Castleton)
141 – 10. Drill (NYU), Ferinde (Johnson & Wales)
149 – 1. Burns (Johnson & Wales), 7. Lyons (NYU)
157 – 4. Sorensen (Trinity)
165 – 2. Shay (Roger Williams), Remke (Coast Guard)
174 –
184 – 2. Detwiler (Coast Guard), 3. Boyle (Western New England), 4. Thomas (Johnson & Wales), 7. Wensley (WPI)
197 – 9. DiNardo (Johnson & Wales)
285 – 9. Fusco (Springfield)

Top 25 Teams (NWCA List)
3. Johnson & Wales
17. NYU
18. Coast Guard

Johnson & Wales knocked off 2018 NCAA champion Wartburg in the semifinals of the National Duals and will bring another strong team into the 2019 postseason. Led by NCAA champion Jay Albis, the Wildcats host this year’s region and should put on a show for the home crowd. They have one DIII dual meet loss (to Augsburg) and a tough schedule that should have them ready for the postseason, and five ranked wrestlers will have them making noise in March.

Coast Guard and NYU have had strong seasons as well, and the two teams had a 19-18 match won by NYU late in the year. Coast Guard returns a pair of 2018 qualifiers in All-American Nick Remke and A.J. Aeberli, while NYU has 149 All-American Evan Drill back at 141 along with qualifier Sean Lyons.

184 is one of the tougher weights with four ranked wrestlers and two returning All-Americans in John Boyle of Western New England and Khamri Thomas of Johnson & Wales. Both defeated Paul Detwiler of Coast Guard early in the season before losing to him in the second semester. 125 and 149 will also be tough as each features a #1 ranked wrestler. Peter Del Gallo of Southern Maine took a late loss but beat Albis this season, while Da’mani Burns has wins over many of the top contenders at 149.