2024 Southeast Region Preview
Friday and Saturday, March 1-2, 2024
Lycoming College | Host Site | 2023 Results
Teams (22):
Alvernia, Averett, Delaware Valley, Ferrum, Gettysburg, Greensboro, King’s, Lycoming, Marymount, Messiah, PSU-Behrend, Roanoke, Shenandoah, Southern Virginia, St. Vincent, Stevens, Thiel, Washington and Lee, Washington and Jefferson, Waynesburg, Wilkes, York
NWCA Ranked Tournament Teams
#8 Alvernia
#10 Stevens
#18 Greensboro
#21 Ferrum
Matt Lackman of Alvernia has lost one match in the past two seasons, and it was in the national finals to his brother Nathan. That makes him 85-1 over his last two campaigns, and he comes into the postseason as the favorite at 165. The other #1 ranked wrestler here is Rayshawn Dixon of Ferrum. Dixon pinned Olivet’s King in the Wheaton finals to earn the top spot and joins Lackman in having a perfect season record. After dropping a heartbreaking match in last year’s All-America round that featured multiple reviews and the referee initially raising the wrong wrestler’s hand, he is looking toward the top of the podium. While Dixon is ranked #1, he has a teammate who joins Lackman as the other returning finalist in the region. Zach Beckner was a 2017 finalist at 125 lbs. and has found his way back to the Ferrum lineup seven years later.
141 has a lot of firepower in the Southeast. Josh Wilson is ranked 2nd after finishing 8th and 5th (at 133) the past two seasons. Josiah Gehr of Messiah was 7th in 2022 at this weight while Luke Kowalski of Gettysburg was 7th at 133 last year. Nico Diaz of Stevens qualified at 133, and Avery Leonard qualified at 141. Competition will be fierce for the three qualifying spots. 184 looks like a dogfight as well. There are no wrestlers in the top ten, but there are six in the Contender and Honorable Mention section of the rankings. It will likely come down to who is having the best weekend to determine who will make the trip to Wisconsin two weeks later.
Top 10 Ranked Individuals | February 22nd Ranking (14 total)
125: #7 Cafurello (Roanoke), #8 Barrett (Averett)
133:
141: #2 Wilson (Greensboro), #4 Gehr (Messiah), #8 Diaz (Stevens)
149:
157: #3 Smith (Stevens)
165: #1 Lackman (Alvernia), #10 Needles (Messiah)
174: #4 Morris (Waynesburg), #5 Major (Stevens), #9 Kelly (Washington & Lee)
184:
197: #6 Pellot (Alvernia), #7 Butka (Wilkes)
285: #1 Dixon (Ferrum)
Contenders & H.M. (34 total)
125: Asfour (Delaware Valley), Samano (Ferrum), Majcher (Lycoming), Vega (Stevens)
133: Blair (Delaware Valley), Hoerle (Stevens), Robson (Roanoke), Beckner (Ferrum)
141: Kowalski (Gettysburg), Leonard (Alvernia), Samuel (Roanoke)
149: Lindner (Washington & Lee), Vizzoni (Stevens), Babb (Alvernia)
157: Hartranft (Wilkes), Cornell (Messiah), DeLorenzo (Delaware Valley)
165: Reid (Roanoke), Troni (Washington & Lee)
174: Crum (Lycoming), Mitchell (Averett)
184: Kassis (Alvernia), Martsinovsky (Stevens), Hall (Delaware Valley), Moose (Marymount), Moseley (Averett), Slayton (Messiah)
197: Crebs (Lycoming), Santowski (Washington & Lee), Eckley (Delaware Valley), Pellot (Roanoke), Wagner (Stevens)
285: Flynn (Delaware Valley), Ragland (Averett)