FAIRMONT, W.Va. — For the first time in their careers Bryce Beatty and Nick Cottone punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships. Millersville had seven wrestlers earn a podium finish and two national qualifiers at Saturday's Super Region 1 Championships.
Cottone went into this tournament as the No. 2 seed in the 141-pound weight class and finished on the podium as the runner-up. The redshirt freshman had his work cut out for him as he capped the day off 3–1. Cottone gutted out a 4–1 decision win over Joey Ortega from Kutztown. The Marauder was able to secure a takedown in the second period and escape in the third to move on. In the second match, Cottone pinned Aaron Morocho from AIC in 5:54, making it to the semifinals, Cottone squared off with PSAC opponent Mason Meyers. Cottone emerged victorious with a takedown in the third period to clinch his first ever NCAA Championships berth. Competing for the first place finish, the redshirt freshman faced Colton Stoneking from Fairmont State. A familiar opponent but Stoneking pulled away with a 15–2 major decision victory.
"Nick did what he's been doing all year," said head coach Jerry Boland. "He just finds ways to win. Wins in this tournament aren't easy. His semifinal win showed how much heart he has. The finals didn't go his way but he's heading to nationals so he should feel good about that."
Beatty, a four-year veteran, earned a third place finish. The redshirt senior went 3–1 finish. Beatty had a bye from his first match but when he took the mat early this morning he lost by decision 9–5 to Brent Bosley from Wheeling. Not discouraged from the first loss, Beatty turned it around in the consolation matches. Beatty got to work early with a 15–0 technical fall over Daniell McLaughlin from AIC. The redshkirt senior was then faced with Joshua Jasionowicz from ESU. Jasionowicz had a third period escape and takedown to even the score 6–6 but Beatty refuted with a reversal to go up 8–6 with 19 seconds to go and earn himself a spot to clinch third place. In the same spot as last year, Beatty rewrote his story with a third place finish. His final opponent was again Bosley. Beatty had all the action during the match logging two takedowns and a reversal to win by decision 8–4.
"Bryce had a great tournament," said Boland. "He took avenged his only loss of the tournament in the third place match. He also avenged a loss from earlier in the season. It was a long road back to third but he showed a ton of grit and now he's a national qualifier."
Andrew Vogelbacher and Bishop McCoy both finished in fourth place, one place shy of a Championships berth. Vogelbacher (174) arguably had the hardest bracket to wrestle in with three nationally ranked opponents. Vogelbacher went 2–2 and lost to Owen Butler from Frostburg State by major decision 9–0 in the third place match.
McCoy finished 3–2. Of his three wins, he logged a decision, major decision, and fall to reach the final match to potentially claim third place. McCoy put up a good fight but got pinned by Freddie Retter from Kutztown in his final match to end up with a fourth place podium finish.
"We finished fourth as a team and placed 7 guys," mentioned Boland. "It is tough to win here so getting 7 guys on the podium is something to be proud of. I'm excited for Nick and Bryce. Bubba, Bruce, and Bishop left it all on the mat. They have nothing to be ashamed of. They had great careers. Danny and Cole placing 5th in their first regional tournament is something for them to build on as they continue their careers. We have a lot to be grateful for."
Other place finishers for the Marauders were Daniel Sinclair (149) in fifth, Cole Dubois (184) in fifth, and Bruce Vaughan (197) in fifth. As a team, Millersville finished fourth out of 12 teams.
As the season concludes for the majority of the team, Beatty and Cottone will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. to compete at the national level on Friday, March 14.
