Millersville wrestling ready to take on Super Region 1 Championships

Saturday, March 2

Kutztown, PA

10:00 AM

Millersville University

NCAA Super Region I Championships

Millersville wrestling ready to take on Super Region 1 Championships

2/29/2024 5:00:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Ashley Hudak, Athletic Communication Graduate Assistant

ABOUT THE SUPER REGION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP

Qualification to compete at the NCAA Division II Championships rides on the wrestlers' performances at the NCAA Super Region 1 Championships hosted by Kutztown on Saturday, March 2. In each of the 10 weight classes, Millersville will send one wrestler to compete for a top three spot. In the 2023 season, Millersville had two national qualifiers: Brandon Connor (165) and Devin Flannery (133).
At the Super Region 1 Championships, four nationally ranked teams will be competing along with 14 nationally ranked wrestlers according to the NWCA's top 12 Division II individual rankings.
Millersville is ranked at No. 25. No. 11 Pitt-Johnstown is the two-time defending champion at the Super Region 1 Championships. Last season's runner-up, Gannon, is No. 19, and Kutztown is ranked No. 22.
Live results are available through TrackWrestling.com. Visit Kutztown's tournament website for live links and information. Pricing for tickets for this event are as followed; adults are $15, senior citizen 65+ are $10, students under 17 or college students are $10, and children under six are free.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

The Marauders placed fifth at the 2023 Super Region 1 Championships along with six wrestlers claiming a top six placement. All six wrestlers are still current members of the team but four will wrestle due to injuries sustained.
Flannery (133) and Connor (165) both finished as Super Region 1 runner-up in 2023. Craig Cook (149) and Jonathan Parrilla (174) both finished in fourth place, one win short of punching their ticket to nationals. Bishop McCoy (285) earned the fifth-place win along with Tim Uhler (141) who earned the fifth-place win.
Bryce Beatty (125) will enter his third Super Region 1 contention looking for his first placement and ticket to the NCAA Tournament. His freshman year he went 1-2 with one major decision win while going 0-2 his sophomore year. Beatty has gone 14-8 this season along with one fall, four technical falls, and three major decisions.
Flannery is no stranger to the spotlight as he is a two-time NCAA Super Region 1 placewinner (3rd, 2022/2nd, 2023) and fifth place finisher at the 2023 NCAA Championships. He boasts the highest record on the team this season at 20-3 while holding the No. 4 spot in the 133-pound weight class. One loss came from a Division I opponent and another came from No. 3 Gavin Quiocho in sudden victory. Going into the Super Region 1 Championships, the only ranked opponent Flannery might encounter again is No. 6 Jerry Echevarria from Gannon. Flannery claimed the 8-3 decision win over Echevarria from their conference dual.
Cook, a three-time NCAA Championships Qualifier and Super Region 3 Champion in 2022, just missed an NCAA berth in the 2023 season with a fourth-place finish at the Super Region 1 Championships with a 4-0 loss to Nick Young from Gannon. Cook's toughest competitors will be Jacob Ealy from Pitt-Johnstown who currently holds the No. 2 seed and Jimmy Ryan from Gannon. Cook squared off earlier this season with Ealy taking the fall win over Cook. Ryan had the 10-0 major decision win over Cook. Looking for redemption at the super regional, Cook has the track record to perform at a high level as he finished the regular season with a 19-8 record, a milestone career of 100 wins while overcoming a hip injury.
Connor, a two-time NCAA Super Region 1 runner-up (2022, 2023) and two-time NCAA Division II Championships qualifier (2022, 2023) arguably has the toughest bracket in the super regional. He is no stranger to conference opponents No. 5 Dillon Walker from Mercyhurst, No. 6 Nick Coreno from Gannon, or No. 7 Dalton Gimbor from Kutztown; Connor has dropped to all in the regular season. Nonetheless, with previous experience in the spotlight, entering the competition with a 19-9 overall record, and having the second most technical falls (6) on the team, Connor seeks another NCAA bid.
Parrilla is familiar with the super regional as well as he was a placewinner (5th, 2022/4th, 2023) and is seeking to earn his first trip to the NCAA Championships. There are no ranked wrestlers in the 174-pound weight bracket, but competition is still at an all-time high. Out of the wrestlers Parrilla faced this season, 10 will be competing at the Super Region 1. He went 6-4 against those opponents. Out of those 10 matches wrestled, Parrilla went 3-1 in close decision wins. Parrilla capped off his regular season record of 12-10.
Giampietro, also accustomed to pressure, was the runner-up in the 2022 super regional. Giampietro was not able to compete in 2023 due to a season ending injury. Giampietro is likely to cross paths again with No. 3 Matt Weinberg from Kutztown and No. 12 Cole Casilio from Gannon. Giampietro lost to both Weinberg and Casilio in the regular season but only by decision losses. Giampietro ended the regular season with a 16-9 record.
Bruce Vaughan (197) will make his second trip back to the super regional. Vaughan competed back in 2022 for the Marauders. He went 2-3 with two gritty decision wins and finished in sixth place at the tournament. Vaughan will be competing for his first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Aidan Micheli (141), Nick Bennet (157), and Avery Kuhns (285) will debut for the Marauders at the super regionals.

THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH JERRY BOLAND

Expectations for the weekend: "I am expecting our guys to go out and give all they have. I know that sounds cliche and all but that is what I am expecting. We will take everything one match at a time and leave it all on the mat. We are working hard and the ten guys entering the tournament are feeling good."
Expectations for the previous qualifiers: "We have four previous qualifiers wrestling this weekend, and I know they all have the same goal. They have all been here before and know what it takes. If they do what they need to do, I see them all achieving that goal."
How are the guys feeling going into this weekend after having two weeks off: "The two weeks off are purposeful. It gave us a chance to recover mentally and physically. We balanced that with specifically designed training and hopefully that leads us to a successful tournament."
On the excitment of championship wrestling: "It's an exciting time of year. I am looking forward to seeing these guys get after it and chase their goals. It's what makes it fun!"