2022 Northeast Region Preview
Saturday & Sunday, February 26 & 27
Springfield College
Teams (19): Bridgewater State, Castleton, Coast Guard, Hunter, Johnson & Wales, Merchant Marine, New England College, NYU, Norwich, Plymouth State, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams, Southern Maine, Springfield, Trinity, Wesleyan, Western New England, Williams, WPI
NWCA Ranked Tournament Teams
5. Coast Guard
12. Johnson & Wales
Top Ten Ranked Wrestlers – February 4th Ranking
125: #7 Arborio (Western New England), #8 Manginelli (Springfield)
133: #8 Kaiser (Roger Williams)
141: #4 Brown (Johnson & Wales), #10 Rossetti (Williams)
149: #3 Ulaszek (Coast Guard)
157:
165: #10 Rogers (Coast Guard)
174: #6 Ross (Johnson & Wales)
184: #3 Detwiler (Coast Guard), #8 DeVivo (Johnson & Wales)
197: #4 Spooner (Coast Guard)
285: #7 Leka (Johnson & Wales)
Coast Guard is the top ranked tournament team in the region, while Johnson & Wales is ahead by one spot in the dual team rankings. Both have multiple wrestlers ranked in the top ten. NYU, Castleton, and Springfield also have strong dual meet teams that will do well in the regional format.
There are several undefeated wrestlers in this region including a trio of Coast Guard wrestlers #3 ranked Tony Ulaszek at 149, #10 Phil Rogers at 165, and #3 Paul Detwiler at 184. Nathan Lackman at 165 for Rhode Island College and teammates #6 Michael Ross at 174 and #7 Liridon Leka at 285 for Johnson & Wales are also unbeaten this season.
125 is a tough weight with three of the four top placewinners from the last Northeast Regional back in the field. #7 Arborio won the region, #8 Manginelli was 3rd, and Justin Lopez of Johnson & Wales was 4th. 141 is similarly tough with multiple 2020 qualifiers in the field. #4 Brown and Springfield’s Chris Trelli qualified at 133 in 2020, while #10 Rossetti was a qualifier in 2019 & 2020. 184 features a pair of ranked wrestlers in Detwiler (2021 NWCA DIII runner-up) and DeVivo along with Izaake Zuckerman of NYU, a 2020 qualifier at 174 and Edwin Morales of Bridgewater State, a 2020 qualifier at 184.
Very little competition happened with the teams in this region last season. Coast Guard attended the NWCA DIII tournament, and several teams had unattached representation at the NUWAY D3 tournament in the spring, but the mats were mostly quiet in the northeast part of the country. Wrestlers who missed out on a chance to wrestle in the 2020 championships and the entirety of the following season will try to make up for lost time as they aim for a spot in the top three and trip to Iowa next month.