GORHAM, Maine –  Senior Jake Peavey (South China, Manie/Erskine Academy), sophomore Colby Frost (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) and freshman Jake Craig (Skowhegan, Maine) each earned a spot in the championship semifinal of their respective weight divisions to highlight a solid opening day of competition for the University of Southern Maine Huskies at the 2023 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship at the Costello Sports Complex.
 
Peavey (285), Frost (149) and Craig (125) each entered the regional championship as the second seed in their respective brackets, and posted a 2-0 record on the day to advance to the championship semifinals. The top three place winners in each weight bracket will punch their ticket to the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament in Roanoke, Va. (March 10-11) at the Berglund Center. 
 
Ranked fourth nationally at 125 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Coaches Poll and the D3Wrestle.com Poll, Craig entered his first NCAA regional with a record of 20-1. He opened his tourney debut with a 1:51 win by fall over Hunter College's Diego Colon-Perez.  Ranked no. 2 in the most recent New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Individual Rankings, Craig defeated WPI's Tanner Thatcher in his second match of the day by decision 7-0.  Thatcher is ranked seventh regionally.  Craig's championship opponent is Springfield College's Joey Manginelli.  Manginelli is ranked third regionally behind Craig, and is ranked ninth nationally by NWCA, and eighth by D3Wrestle.Com.  Craig faced Manginelli earlier in the season and earned a narrow 3-1 win by decision. 
 
Frost, who placed third at 149 pounds, bouncing back from an opening round loss and winning the next five matches to become just the second USM freshman to earn a bid to the national championship tournament in 2022, entered today's regional with a record of 24-5.  Ranked 11^th nationally by the NWCA, opened his tournament with a win by fall over Western New England's Jimmy Barrett in 4:15.  Ranked second by NEWA regionally, Frost earned his spot in the championship semifinal defeating Williams' Caleb Seyfried by decision 6-2.  Seyfried is ranked eighth by NEWA at 149.  Frost will face Springfield's Chase Parrott tomorrow. Parrott is ranked 14^th nationally by the NWCA, and third in the region by NEWA.
 
Ranked ninth nationally by the NWCA, Peavey is looking for a return trip to the NCAA National Championship after qualifying for the first time in 2022 with a third-place finish.  The Huskies' captain entered the tournament with a record of 20-1, and is ranked second by NEWA in region.  Peavey opened the tournament with a win by fall over Rhode Island College's Michael Alfsono in 2:31. It was the third meeting of the season between Peavey and Alfonso.  Peavey is now 3-0 against Alfonso with one win by decision and two pins.  In his second match of the day, Peavey quickly advanced to the championship semifinal with a 1:03 pin of United States Merchant Marine Academy's Reid Garrison. Peavey will face New York University's Evan Anderson in the semifinal on Sunday.  Anderson is listed as a national contender by D3wrestle.com.
 
Action for the entire field begins again at 11:00 am on Sunday. 
 
 
Team Scores (Day 1): 1. Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) 101.0  2. United States Coast Guard Academy  85.5  3. Castleton University  66  3. New York University  66  5. Springfield  62.5  6. Trinity College (Conn.)  50  7. Wesleyan University (Conn.)  41.0  8. Williams College  38.5  9. University of Southern Maine  37.5  10. Norwich University  37  11. United States Merchant Marine Academy  35.5  12.  Roger Williams University  33.5  13. WPI  31.5  14. Western New England University  31  15. Rhode Island College  27  16. Bridgewater State  23.0  17. New England College  8  18. Plymouth State  5.5  19. Hunter College  2.5
 

NCAA DIII Regional Northeast Results for Southern Me.

125 Jake Craig  
Champ. Round 1 – Jake Craig (SM) pinned Diego Colon Perez (Hunter), 1:51
Quarterfinal  - Craig (SM) dec. Tanner Thatcher (WPI), 7-0
 
 
133 Ethan Ford
Champ. Round 1 – Ethan Ford (SM) major dec. Dylan King (Norwich), 12-0
Quarterfinal – Gabriel Leo-Esparolini (JWU) dec. Ford (SM), 6-5
Cons. Round 2 – John Lafferty (NEC) pinned Ford (SM), 4:41
 
141 Aidan Robichaud
Prelim – Aidan Robichaud (SM) dec. Daijhawn Hudson (NEC), 9-3
Champ. Round 1 – Nate Fitt (Coast Guard) pinned Aidan Robichaud (SM), 2:09
Cons. Round 1 – Aidan Robichaud (SM) pinned Jizaiah Lopes (BSU), 6:07
Cons. Round 2 – Joseph Parson (Spr) major dec. Robichaud (SM), 16-4
 
149  Colby Frost
Champ. Round 1 – Colby Frost (SM) pinned Jimy Barrett (WNEU), 4:15
Quarterfinal – Frost (SM) dec. Caleb Seyfriend (Williams), 6-2
 
157 Jeremy Sendrowski  
Champ. Round 1 – Jashon Holmes (Castleton) dec. Jeremy Sendrowski (SM), 8-3
Cons. Round 1 – Michael Hopkins (BSU) dec. Sendrowski (SM), 6-4
 
165 Tyler Haynes
Champ. Round 1 – Kevin Lyskawa (Trinity) dec. Tyler Haynes (SM), 7-3
Cons. Round 1 – Tyler Haynes (SM) dec. Joshua Ducharme (Nor) 3-2
Cons. Round 2 – Mario Barberio (WPI) pinned Haynes (SM), 1:17
 
174 AJ Robinson
Prelim – Jaylen Hawkins (WNEU) pinned AJ Robinson (SM), 3:49
Prelim – Joseph Wasilewski (USMMA) dec. Robinson (SM), 9-7
 
184 Magnus Heisler
Prelim – Griffin Ostrom (WNEU) tech fall Magnus Heisler (SM), 15-0 (7:00)
Champ Round 1 – David McCullough (Coast Guard) tech fall Magnus Heisler (SM), 16-0 (3:39)
 
197 Anthony Mears
Champ. Round 1 – Dylan Harr (JWU) pinned Anthony Mears (SM), 4:40
Cons. Round 1 – Dean Omirly (Wes) pinned Mears (SM), 4:44
 
285 Jake Peavey
Champ. Round 1 – Jake Peavey (SM) pinned Michael Alfonso (RIC), 2-1
Quarterfinal – Jake Peavey (SM) pinned Reid Garrison (USMMA), 1:03