Saturday, February 26
Johnstown, PA
10:00 AM
Millersville University
vs
NCAA Super Region 1 Championships
Connor, Giampietro and Flannery earn NCAA Championships berths
2/26/2022 8:34:00 PM | Wrestling
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - Brandon Connor and Anthony Giampietro finished as Super Region 1 runners-up, Devin Flannery placed third, and Millersville will send three wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in program history.
The Marauders totaled six placewinners at Saturday's Super Region 1 Championships and finished fifth as a team--the best finish in eight years as a Division II program. In addition to the three national qualifiers, Anthony Yacovetti came close, placing fourth at 174 pounds. Jonathan Parrilla took fifth at 157 pounds, and Bruce Vaughan took sixth at 197 pounds.
Host Pitt-Johnstown took home the team championship with 147 points. Millersville finished second only to Pitt-Johnstown in total pins in the tournament with seven. Connor, Yacovetti and 285-pound Bishop McCoy both recorded two apiece, tying for the tournament lead.
Millersville's six placewinners also set a program record for a super regional.
CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
• The 133-pound Flannery entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 17-5 record, and he benefited from an early forfeit from Alderson Broaddus' Chris Barthelemy. Flannery drew eventual champion, Colin Wickramaratna of Kutztown in the quarterfinals, and nearly pulled off the upset of the nation's 10th-ranked wrestler. Wickramaratna had pinned Flannery in the first period of the regular season dual, but Flannery went this distance this time. Trailing 1-0 entering the third, Flannery chose a neutral start and scored the match's only takedown for a 2-1 lead. But with time ticking away, Wickramaratna managed a reversal with six seconds on the clock for a 3-2 advantage.
• Flannery rallied in the consolation round, scoring a 10-3 win over Mason Myers of Pitt-Johnstown to advance to the third-place match. With a berth to nationals on the line, Flannery ousted Seton Hill's Willie Burgess, 7-3.
• Connor entered as the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds and looked the part early. He scored a pin at 1:01 in the first round and followed that with a 41-second pin of Jacob Rallo of Alderson Broaddus in the quarterfinals. He then got by Gannon's Evan Fisler 10-9, using his bonus point of riding time to break a 9-9 tie. Connor led 8-4 in the third period before a flurry from Fisler that included a takedown at the buzzer tied the match. The spot in the finals clinched a national berth for Connor, and he ran up against Pitt-Johnstown's No. 1-seeded Dillon Keane. Keane had squeaked past Connor 3-2 in their first meeting of the season back in January, but Keane scored an 8-0 major decision for the super region title in the rematch.
• Giampietro entered the 184-pound bracket at 11-6 and somewhat unexpectedly made a run to the championship match. nearly identical to the dual meet match-up between Giampietro and Gannon's Cameron Page, Giampietro scored a pin at 4:11. In the semis, Giampietro then pulled off a stunning upset of top-seeded Brandon Matthews of Seton Hill. Matthews led 4-0 in the first period, but Giampietro stormed back. He tied the match with a final-minute takedown, and ended the match in the sudden victory overtime period with another takedown, winning 9-7. That win clinched a national berth for the Millersville sophomore. Kutztown's Matt Weinberg won the title match, 7-2.
• Parrilla finished his day 2-2 with a pair of consolation bracket decisions. Vaughan met eventual champion Brian Kennerly of Kutztown in his first match of the day and was the only wrestler that Kennerly did not score bonus points against. Vaughan went 2-2 with two decisions in the consolation bracket. McCoy won his first bout with a pin in 1:42 and also picked up a pin in 43 seconds in the consolation bracket, going 2-2 for the tournament.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH KERRY REGNER
• On Flannery's bounce back in the consolation bracket: "Both the consolation semis and the championship, Devin wrestled to win. He rode hard and didn't try anything hazardous. We knew the top three guys were neck-and-neck."
• On Yacovetti's bracket: "We knew going in, especially one through four, that it was the most contested weight in the region. Anthony lost in overtime to the eventual champ Petrella in the dual meet this year. Walker was a top 100 recruit in the nation coming out of high school, and Biddle is a two-time All-American. It was a wild match against Walker with a lot of close takedowns and scrambles. It was really high-level wrestling."
• On Giampietro's run to second: "We felt that Cam Page from Gannon was the best wrestler in the bracket, but (Anthony) hit the same move he did on him at home in the dual. In the semis, he had rallied back and had so much momentum at the end of the third period, we just knew he was going to score in overtime."
UP NEXT
• Connor, Flannery and Giampietro will continue their seasons at the NCAA Division II Championships, which run March 10-12 in St. Louis, Mo.
The Marauders totaled six placewinners at Saturday's Super Region 1 Championships and finished fifth as a team--the best finish in eight years as a Division II program. In addition to the three national qualifiers, Anthony Yacovetti came close, placing fourth at 174 pounds. Jonathan Parrilla took fifth at 157 pounds, and Bruce Vaughan took sixth at 197 pounds.
Host Pitt-Johnstown took home the team championship with 147 points. Millersville finished second only to Pitt-Johnstown in total pins in the tournament with seven. Connor, Yacovetti and 285-pound Bishop McCoy both recorded two apiece, tying for the tournament lead.
Millersville's six placewinners also set a program record for a super regional.
CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
• The 133-pound Flannery entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 17-5 record, and he benefited from an early forfeit from Alderson Broaddus' Chris Barthelemy. Flannery drew eventual champion, Colin Wickramaratna of Kutztown in the quarterfinals, and nearly pulled off the upset of the nation's 10th-ranked wrestler. Wickramaratna had pinned Flannery in the first period of the regular season dual, but Flannery went this distance this time. Trailing 1-0 entering the third, Flannery chose a neutral start and scored the match's only takedown for a 2-1 lead. But with time ticking away, Wickramaratna managed a reversal with six seconds on the clock for a 3-2 advantage.
• Flannery rallied in the consolation round, scoring a 10-3 win over Mason Myers of Pitt-Johnstown to advance to the third-place match. With a berth to nationals on the line, Flannery ousted Seton Hill's Willie Burgess, 7-3.
• Connor entered as the No. 2 seed at 165 pounds and looked the part early. He scored a pin at 1:01 in the first round and followed that with a 41-second pin of Jacob Rallo of Alderson Broaddus in the quarterfinals. He then got by Gannon's Evan Fisler 10-9, using his bonus point of riding time to break a 9-9 tie. Connor led 8-4 in the third period before a flurry from Fisler that included a takedown at the buzzer tied the match. The spot in the finals clinched a national berth for Connor, and he ran up against Pitt-Johnstown's No. 1-seeded Dillon Keane. Keane had squeaked past Connor 3-2 in their first meeting of the season back in January, but Keane scored an 8-0 major decision for the super region title in the rematch.
• Giampietro entered the 184-pound bracket at 11-6 and somewhat unexpectedly made a run to the championship match. nearly identical to the dual meet match-up between Giampietro and Gannon's Cameron Page, Giampietro scored a pin at 4:11. In the semis, Giampietro then pulled off a stunning upset of top-seeded Brandon Matthews of Seton Hill. Matthews led 4-0 in the first period, but Giampietro stormed back. He tied the match with a final-minute takedown, and ended the match in the sudden victory overtime period with another takedown, winning 9-7. That win clinched a national berth for the Millersville sophomore. Kutztown's Matt Weinberg won the title match, 7-2.
• Parrilla finished his day 2-2 with a pair of consolation bracket decisions. Vaughan met eventual champion Brian Kennerly of Kutztown in his first match of the day and was the only wrestler that Kennerly did not score bonus points against. Vaughan went 2-2 with two decisions in the consolation bracket. McCoy won his first bout with a pin in 1:42 and also picked up a pin in 43 seconds in the consolation bracket, going 2-2 for the tournament.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH KERRY REGNER
• On Flannery's bounce back in the consolation bracket: "Both the consolation semis and the championship, Devin wrestled to win. He rode hard and didn't try anything hazardous. We knew the top three guys were neck-and-neck."
• On Yacovetti's bracket: "We knew going in, especially one through four, that it was the most contested weight in the region. Anthony lost in overtime to the eventual champ Petrella in the dual meet this year. Walker was a top 100 recruit in the nation coming out of high school, and Biddle is a two-time All-American. It was a wild match against Walker with a lot of close takedowns and scrambles. It was really high-level wrestling."
• On Giampietro's run to second: "We felt that Cam Page from Gannon was the best wrestler in the bracket, but (Anthony) hit the same move he did on him at home in the dual. In the semis, he had rallied back and had so much momentum at the end of the third period, we just knew he was going to score in overtime."
UP NEXT
• Connor, Flannery and Giampietro will continue their seasons at the NCAA Division II Championships, which run March 10-12 in St. Louis, Mo.
Players Mentioned
165
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling
285
/ Wrestling
157
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197
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174/184
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