SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  – Senior Jake Peavey (South China, Maine/Erskine Academy) and freshman Colby Frost (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) will be headed to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in two weeks time after punching their tickets to the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship after outstanding individual performances at the Northeast Division III Regoianl Championship this weekend at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass.

Both earning their first bids to the NCAA Championship, Peavey finished second at 285 pounds, while Frost claimed third, rallying to win three consecutive matches and pick up the final bid at 149-pounds.  The top three place winners from each weight class gain entry to the national championship tournament.  Peavey and Frost both earned All-Region honors and were joined by teammates graduate student Aidan Whitis (Gorham, Maine), sophomore Ethan Ford (North Andover, Mass.) and freshman Anthony Mears (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) on the podium earning All-Region honors. Whitis (184), Ford (133) and Mears (197) each placed eighth in their respective weight classes.

The Huskies' 285 wrestler, Peavey, ranked fourth in New England, posted a 2-0 record to start his tourney bid, opening with a strong 5-0 decision against Trinity's John O'Brien.  Peavey advanced to the semifinals with a convincing win by fall over Gabriel Duden of Norwich University, putting Duden to the mat in 1:05.  Peavey earned his spot in the national championship with a thrilling 3-2 decision over New York University's Will Ortman. Trailing 2-1 with nine seconds remaining, Peavey scored the equalizing point on an escape and then took the match with riding time 3-2. Peavey fell in the title match in a narrow 7-6 decision to nationally-ranked Liridon Leka of Johnson and Wales. Peavey will carry a record of 25-3 into the national championship, including 12 wins by fall.
 
Dropping a narrow 5-4 decision in his first match of the tournament, Frost battled back to win five consecutive matches and earn a third place finish at 149. Frost set the course for himself in his next match with a win by fall over WPI's Caden Crist in 3:45, and then battled to a remarkable 10-8 win over Evan Fidelibus to move onto the consolation quarterfinals. Down 6-3 after the first period, Frost rallied to take an 8-7 lead in the second period. Frost scored an escape, a takedown and a near fall in the second. Starting in the down position, Fidelibus tied the score up at eight with an escape before Frost scored the take down with just over 30 seconds remaining to seal the win.

In his first match on Sunday, Frost worked his way to a 3-2 decision over Roger Williams' Ben Bariso. In his second match, Frost scored four points in the third period on a take down and a near fall to overcome a 4-3 deficit and earn a 7-4 decision over Springfield's Chase Parrott to advance to the third place match. With a spot at nationals on the line, Frost came out on top 12-7 against Johnson & Wales Gabriel McDaniel. Frost overcame a 4-1 deficit in the first period scoring four points to lead 5-4, and then scored another four points for a 9-4 lead after the second period.  Frost is just the second USM freshman to earn a bid to the national championship.

Team Scores (Day 1): 1. Coast Guard 66.5; 2. Johnson & Wales 163.5; 3. New York University 102.0; 4. Springfield 93. 5. Roger Williams 88.5; 6. Castleton 86.5; 7. Williams 64; 8. Southern Maine 59.5; 9. Bridgewater State 46; 9. Western New England 46; 11. Wesleyan 45; 12. Merchant Marine 44.5; 13. Trinity 44.0 14. Rhode Island College 41.5; 15. Norwich 38; 16. New England College 34; 17. WPI 13.5; 18. Plymouth State 4; 19. Hunter College 2.

NCAA DIII Regional Northeast Results for Southern Me.

125 Antoine Grace   - scored 0.5 team points.
Prelim - Allan Beato (USCGA) dec. over Antoine Grace (So. Maine)  (Dec 8-3)
Prelim - Antoine Grace (So. Maine)  dec. over Dylan King (Norwich)  (Dec 10-5)
Cons. Round 1 - Shailen Savur (Wesleyan) maj dec. over Antoine Grace (So. Maine)  (MD 15-6)
 
133
Ethan Ford   - scored 4.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Gianni Manginelli (Springfield) dec. over Ethan Ford (So. Maine) (Dec 9-5)
Cons. Round 1 - Ethan Ford (So. Maine) won in sudden victory - 1 over Corey Cope (Western New England )  (SV-1 6-4)
Cons. Round 2 - Ethan Ford (So. Maine) 2-1 dec. over Max Martinez (Wesleyan  (Connecticut)) 0-2 (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 3 - Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (Johnson & Wales University) dec. over Ethan Ford (Southern Maine)  (Dec 10-6)
7th Place Match - Nicholas Kruczynski (New York University)  dec over Ethan Ford (Southern Maine) (Dec 11-8)
 
141
Kevin Moore  - scored 2.0 team points.
Prelim - Kevin Moore (So. Maine)  won by tech fall over Cody Giaccone (Plymouth State )  (TF-1.5 4:03 (15-0))
Champ. Round 1 - Hayden Brown (Johnson & Wales) won by fall over Kevin Moore (So. Maine)  (Fall 1:19)
Cons. Round 1 - CJ Christopher Shea (Wesleyan) dec. over Kevin Moore (So. Maine) (Dec 5-3)
 
149  Colby Frost -  scored 14.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Nicholas Roeger (Castleton)  dec. over Colby Frost (So. Maine)  (Dec 5-4)
Cons. Round 1 - Colby Frost (So. Maine)  won by fall over Caden Crist (WPI)  (Fall 3:45)
Cons. Round 2 - Colby Frost (So. Maine)  dec. over Evan Fidelibus (New England) (Dec 10-8)
Cons. Round 3 - Colby Frost (Southern Maine) dec over Ben Bariso (Roger Williams)  (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Semi - Colby Frost (Southern Maine) dec over Chase Parrott (Springfield)  (Dec 7-4)
3rd Place Match - Colby Frost (Southern Maine) dec over Gabriel McDaniel (Johnson & Wales (Dec 12-7)
 
157 Jeremy Sendrowski  - scored 2.5 team points.
Prelim - Aaron Goldman (Wesleyan  (Connecticut)) 3-1 dec. over Jeremy Sendrowski (So. Maine) 1-2 (Dec 9-4)
Prelim - Jeremy Sendrowski (So. Maine) 1-2 won by fall over Deston McFarlane (Hunter ) 0-2 (Fall 3:17)
Cons. Round 1 - Logan Dubuque (Castleton ) 26-16 dec. over Jeremy Sendrowski (So. Maine) 1-2 (Dec 6-2)
 
165 David Kurker -  scored 3.5 team points.
Prelim - David Kurker (So. Maine)  won by fall over Eric DeWald (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy)  (Fall 3:39)
Champ. Round 1 - Kevin Lyskawa (Trinity) won by fall over David Kurker (So. Maine)  (Fall 2:16)
Cons. Round 1 - David Kurker (So. Maine)  dec. over Brendan Kiernan (Williams ) 13-6 (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Scott DeFex (Johnson & Wales ) dec. over David Kurker (So. Maine) (Dec 7-3)
 
174 Juan Vernaza  -  scored 3.0 team points.
Prelim - Juan Vernaza (So. Maine)  won by fall over Kevin Carlucci (Bridgewater State ) (Fall 1:50)
Champ. Round 1 - David McCullough (USCGA)  maj dec. over Juan Vernaza (So. Maine)  (MD 14-5)
Cons. Round 1 - Juan Vernaza (So. Maine)  dec. over Chis Ludwig (New England )  (Dec 10-5)
Cons. Round 2 - Marco Gaita (Wesleyan)  maj dec. over Juan Vernaza (So. Maine)  (MD 10-1)
 
184 Aidan Whitis  -  scored 7.5 team points.
Prelim - Aidan Whitis (So. Maine) won by injury default over Dillan Palaszewski (Springfield )  (Inj. 0:00)
Champ. Round 1 - Cole Shaughnessy (Roger Williams )  dec. over Aidan Whitis (So. Maine) (Dec 6-2)
Cons. Round 1 - Aidan Whitis (So. Maine)  maj dec. over Rogelio Gonzalez (Rhode Island ) (MD 12-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Aidan Whitis (So. Maine) dec. over William Smith (Williams )  (Dec 9-6)
Cons. Round 3 - Anders Klass (Trinity) sudden victory - 1 over Aidan Whitis (Southern Maine) (SV-1 7-5)
7th Place Match - William Sims (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy) major decision over Aidan Whitis (Southern Maine) (MD 11-1)
 
197 Anthony Mears  placed 8th and scored 5.5 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Mears (So. Maine)  maj dec. over Christian Kuechler (Plymouth State) (MD 10-2)
Quarterfinal - Coy Spooner (USCGA)  maj dec. over Anthony Mears (So. Maine) 2-1 (MD 10-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Anthony Mears (So. Maine) dec. over James Purnell (WPI) 1-2 (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 3 - Darby McLaughlin (Western New England) major decision over Anthony Mears (Southern Maine)(MD 14-3)
7th Place Match - Sam Ware (Springfield College) won by fall over Anthony Mears (Southern Maine)  (Fall 0:31)
 
285 Jake Peavey   - scored 17.0 team points.
Champ. Round 1 - Jake Peavey (So. Maine) dec. over John O`Brien (Trinity)  (Dec 5-0)
Quarterfinal - Jake Peavey (So. Maine) won by fall over Gabriel Duden (Norwich)  (Fall 1:05)
Semifinal - Jake Peavey (Southern Maine) decision over Will Ortman (New York University) (Dec 3-2)
1st Place Match - Liridon Leka (Johnson & Wales) decision over Jake Peavey (Southern Maine) (Dec 7-6)
 
 

–cac–