READING, Pa. – Men's wrestling is set to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships beginning tomorrow (Feb 27) and concluding on Saturday (Feb 28). The Lions will compete in Region III on the campus of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). Both days of competition will begin at 10:00 a.m.
The Lions are gearing up for the postseason after a strong regular season. Albright went 12-6 overall and 5-2 against Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) opponents in 25-26. In their first season back as a program Albright was featured in the national rankings. The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and Open Mat Wrestling tabbed Albright as the #24 team in the country during the week of February 6.
In the MAC Championships Albright placed sixth out of 10 teams and claimed two individual titles.
Trent Mahoney won at 157 and
Abdoul Akala won at 184. Mahoney enters the Regional Championships ranked #4 in the nation and Akala is ranked #9.
Region III features 21 total teams in the Northeast region. In Region III, Mahoney is ranked as the top wrestler and Akala is ranked fourth.
To qualify for the NCAA Championships in March you need to finish inside the top three in your weight class at Regionals.
10 wrestlers will make the trip from Reading to TCNJ. Hezekia Molina-Hagdu (125),
Maximus Conley (133),
Danny Metzler (141),
Seth Karpulk (149), Mahoney (157),
Beknazar Baiyshbekov (165),
Davis Keppley (174), Akala (184),
Gideon Fasanya (197) and
Joseph Gassert (HWT) will all compete this weekend.
The brackets for the Regional Championships will be released tonight and can be viewed
here. The Regional home page can be found
here.
