LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Queens University of Charlotte wrestling team featured two first-place finishers and qualified all 10 of its participating wrestlers for the national championships at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association Mid-Atlantic Region National Qualifier on Saturday. Additionally,
Noah Curreri was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the meet and
Rob Tate was named Coach of the Year.
The Royals next compete in the NCWA National Championships on Mar. 8-10, in Allen, Texas.
125: Melvin Rubio took third place, compiling a 3-1 record. He won his opening match by fall over Keegan Smith of Liberty University at 2:03 but followed with a loss by fall to Colton Mesick of Appalachian State University at 2:34. Rubio finished with back-to-back wins over Sterling Dempsey of Clemson University (fall, 2:00), and Trey Boyd of Appalachian State (10-6 dec.) to secure a qualifier spot.
133: Noah Gilbert won the 133-pound weight class with a 3-0 record. He took down Winston Lee of East Carolina University in his opening match (fall, 2:12), and then beat Anthony Monahan of Appalachian State (5-0 dec.) in the semifinals. A 4-2 win over Blake Justis of Liberty gave Gilbert the crown.
141: Devinaire Hayes went 2-1 with his only loss in the championship match to Reid Stewart of Liberty by a 5-4 decision. He picked up wins over Shalek Colon of Appalachian State (5-3 dec.) and Carlos Garcia of Middle Tennessee State University (2-0 dec.) en route to taking second place.
149: Karson Ayers took third place, pinning Sean Eastham of the University of Tennessee at 2:44 in his first match before falling to Chad Cantrell of Liberty in the semifinals by an 8-5 decision. Ayers earned two wins in the consolation bracket, beating Philip Siegel of Clemson by a 16-0 tech fall (5:33) and David David Crespo of ECU by fall at 1:38, to finish 3-1 on the day.
157: Micah Marcin took fourth place going 2-2. He picked up wins over Jacob Chisholm of Tennessee by a 6-5 decision in his first match, and Drew Welch of Tennessee by a 15-10 decision in his third match.
165: Stephon Haliburton finished fourth with a 2-2 record. He earned victories over Jacob Brooks of Liberty (fall, 2:31), and David Cox of Liberty (12-8 dec.) before falling in the third-place match.
174: Noah Curreri finished a perfect 3-0 to claim the title at 174. He dispatched of James Robertson of Virginia Military Institute by fall at 3:19 in his first match. He then beat Dan Henson of App State by a 16-1 tech fall (6:07) in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Curreri topped Sam Karel of Liberty by a 9-5 decision.
184: No entry.
197: After losing his first match,
Benjie Hund recovered and won two matches to finish fifth and reach qualifying position. His wins came over Richard Loveisone III from VMI by a 7-1 decision, and David Trigg of Liberty by a 14-3 major decision.
235: Drew Barrett took second place winning his first two matches before dropping the championship bout. Barrett earned wins over Zach Sintobin of App State by an 11-2 major decision, and Tyler McClendon of Middle Tennessee State by a 14-6 major decision, before falling to Austin Amos of Liberty 6-3 in the final.
285: Jacob Marin took fourth place going 2-2. He picked up wins over Austin Wells of MTSU by fall at 6:46, and Tyler Hudson of ECU by fall at 4:06.
