Courtesy of WPI Athletics: Colby Frost Had a 9-3 Come-From-Behind Win to Advance to Championship Semifinals

Wrestling 3/2/2024 7:07:00 PM Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

Jake Craig & Colby Frost Advance to Championship Semifinals; Mears Remains In the Hunt at 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship

Day Two Begins at 10 am on Sunday

WORCESTER, Mass. - Junior Colby Frost (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle) and sophomore Jake Craig (Skowhegan, Maine) each earned a spot in the championship semifinal of their respective weight divisions to highlight a competitive opening day for the University of Southern Maine Huskies at the 2024 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship at WPI's Sport and Recreation Center. Junior Anthony Mears (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) is still alive in the wrestle-back.

Frost (149) and Craig (125) each finished the day 3-0 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 La Crosse, Wisconsin. (March 15-16) at the La Crosse Center. Mears (197) can still finish third, remaining alive and bouncing back from a quarterfinal loss in the consolation bracket and is 2-1 so far in the tourney. All three Huskies will earn All-Region honors after today's outstanding efforts.

A 2023 NCAA qualifier and NCAA Division III All-American, Craig entered the tournament ranked fourth in region, and eighth nationally by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Craig opened his 2024 tournament with back-to-back wins by technical fall, dominating his first two opponents. Craig downed Utica's Mikael Neris 16-0 (3:17) and then defeated Wesleyan's Chris Hong 15-0 (3:27). In his quarterfinal match up, Craig faced off against Springfield's Isiac Paulino – the no. 6 ranked wrestler in region. After a scoreless first period, Craig went up 1-0 with an escape in the second. Scoring a takedown and an escape in the third, Craig was able to defeat Paulino 5-4 to advance to the semifinals. Craig will go against Castleton's Gavin Bradley. Bradley is ranked 10^th nationally, and second in the region.

Ranked third in region and 14^th nationally at 149 lbs, Frost finished just outside of an NCAA berth in 2023 and earned a spot in 2022 as a freshman. Opening his 2024 tournament with a 17-2 win by technical fall over Norwich's Nathaniel Nagel, Frost benefitted from a win by forfeit in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals of his bracket. Squaring off against Williams' Caleb Seyfried, Frost had a thrilling come-from-behind victory to secure his spot in the semifinals. Ranked sixth in the region Seyfried lost to Frost earlier in the season 15-2 on January 21. In today's match up, led Frost 6-2 late in the third period after scoring a take down with just over a minute remaining. With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Frost was able to score the go-ahead points with a reversal and a near fall to win 9-6. Frost is slated to face New England College's Zach Soda in the championship semifinal. Soda is ranked seventh in the region.

Opening with a 12-3 major decision against Norwich's Thoren Berg, Mears, ranked eighth in region at 197 lbs, faced Coast Guard's Coy Spooner in the quarterfinals. Top-ranked in region and second in the nation, Spooner defeated Mears by fall (6:37). Facing elimination, Mears kept himself alive and in contention for third place with a 7-2 decision over Rhode Island College's Anthony Fernandez. Mears had previously lost to Berg by decision 8-5 on February 10. Mears will need three consecutive wins to place third. He is set for the consolation quarterfinals against Springfield's Casey Allen – who is ranked fifth in region.

Anthony Mears 2024 NCAA Regional — **Anthony Mears vs Thoren Berg. Mears had lost to Berg 8-5 on 2/10, but earned a 12-3 major to open the today's tourney.**

Huskies Up Next:
125 – Championship Semifinal: Jake Craig (SM) vs. Gavin Bradley (Castleton)
Craig and Bradley have not faced each other this season.

149 – Championship Semifinal: Colby Frost (SM) vs. Zach Soda (New England College)
Craig has faced Soda twice this season. Frost pinned (6:41) Soda on January 21, and earned another win by fall (4:32) on February 9.

197 – Consolation Quarterfinal: Anthony Mears (SM) vs. Casey Allen (Springfield)
Mears and Allen have not faced each other this season.

Team Scores Through Day One of 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional
1. JWU 133. T2. Castleton 106 T2. Coast Guard 106 4. NYU 94.50. 5. Springfield 67 6. RWU 59 7. NEC 52.5. 8. USMMA 51 9. WNEU 45 10. Williams 44.5 11. RIC 41.50 12. Wesleyan 38 13. Southern Maine 37.50 14. WPI 33.50 15. Norwich 32 16. Trinity 27.50 17. Utica 17.50 18. Plymouth State 14.5. 19. Hunter 6.5 20. Bridgewater State 4.0

NCAA DIII Regional Northeast Results for Southern Maine
125 Jake Craig (3-0).

Champ. Round 1 - Jake Craig (SM) won by tech fall over Mikael Neris (Utica), (TF-1.5 3:17 (16-0))
Champ. Round 2 - Jake Craig (SM) won by tech fall over Chris Hong (Wesleyan (CT, (TF-1.5 3:27 (15-0))
Quarterfinal - Jake Craig (SM) won by decision over Isiac Paulino (Springfield), (Dec 5-4)

133 Ethan Ford (0-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Ethan Ford (SM) 0-2 received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - John Lafferty (NEC) won in sudden victory - 1 over Ethan Ford (SM), (SV-1 6-3)
Cons. Round 2 - Ethan Ford (SM) 0-2 received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Charlie Pavis (WPI) won by decision over Ethan Ford (SM), (Dec 7-3)

141 Kyle Moore (0-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Kyle Moore (SM) received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Owen Woolcott (CGA) won by tech fall over Kyle Moore (SM), (TF-1.5 5:22 (18-3))
Cons. Round 2 - Kyle Moore (SM) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Matt Castillo (RWU) won by decision over Kyle Moore (SM), (Dec 4-1)

149 Colby Frost (3-0)

Champ. Round 1 - Colby Frost (SM) won by tech fall over Nathaniel Nagel (Norwich) , (TF-1.5 3:32 (17-2))
Champ. Round 2 - Colby Frost (SM) won by forfeit over Eddy Corporan (Utica)
Quarterfinal - Colby Frost (SM) won by decision over Caleb Seyfried (Will), (Dec 9-6)

157 Kaleb Pool (1-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Kaleb Pool (SM) received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Nate Camiscioli (CU) won by tech fall over Kaleb Pool (SM) (TF-1.5 2:56 (15-0))
Cons. Round 2 - Kaleb Pool (SM) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Kaleb Pool (SM) won by decision over Zachary Rioux (WPI) (Dec 12-6)
Cons. Round 4 - Cam Hines (WNEU) won by major decision over Kaleb Pool (SM) (MD 11-3)

165 Tyler Haynes (0-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Tyler Haynes (SM) received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Steven Rochard (CGA) won by major decision over Tyler Haynes (SM) (MD 11-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Tyler Haynes (SM) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Andrew Maiorini (Wesleyan (CT)) won by decision over Tyler Haynes (SM) (Dec 7-1)

174 Derek Cote (2-2).

Champ. Round 1 - Derek Cote (SM) won by major decision over Vincent Player (Bridgewater State) (MD 12-1)
Champ. Round 2 - Desmond McLaughlin (CU) won by decision over Derek Cote (SM) (Dec 5-0)
Cons. Round 2 - Derek Cote (SM) won by major decision over James Spellman (Norwich) (MD 16-8)
Cons. Round 3 - Kyle Gora (NEC)won by fall over Derek Cote (SM) (Fall 2:17)

184 AJ Robinson (0-2)

Champ. Round 1 - AJ Robinson (SM) 0-2 received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Trent Furman (NYU) won by fall over AJ Robinson (SM) (Fall 1:52)
Cons. Round 2 - AJ Robinson (SM) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 3 - Charles Maloy (WNEU) 1-2 won by fall over AJ Robinson (SM) 0-2 (Fall 2:12)

197 Anthony Mears (2-1)

Champ. Round 1 - Anthony Mears (SM) received a bye
Champ. Round 2 - Anthony Mears (SM) won by major decision over Thoren Berg (Norwich), (MD 12-3)
Quarterfinal - Coy Spooner (CGA) won by fall over Anthony Mears (SM), (Fall 6:37)
Cons. Round 4 - Anthony Mears (SM) won by decision over Anthony Fernandez (RIC), (Dec 7-2)

285 Nick Beebe (2-2)

Champ. Round 1 - Nick Beebe (SM) 2-2 received a bye () (Bye)
Champ. Round 2 - Edison Guarcas (RIC) won by fall over Nick Beebe (SM) (Fall 6:53)
Cons. Round 2 - Nick Beebe (SM) won by decision over Jevin Torres (Hunter), (Dec 5-0)
Cons. Round 3 - Nick Beebe (SM) won by major decision over Kolton Gagnon (Wesleyan (CT)), (MD 13-2)
Cons. Round 4 - Adolfo Betancur (JWU ) won by fall over Nick Beebe (SM), (Fall 1:20)

Up Next:
Action resumes no Sunday (10:00 am) at the 2024 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship. Wrestlers placing in the top three of their respective weight classes will earn an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament held March 15-16 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Day Two Schedule
Sunday, March 3
9:00 am	Doors Open For Admission	Sports & Recreation Center
10:00 am – 12:00 pm	Championship Semifinals & Consolation Quarterfinals
12:00 – 1 pm	Consolation Semifinals
1:30 – 3:00 pm	5^th/7^th Place Matches
3:30 – 5:00 pm	Championship Finals & 3^rd Place Matches
5:30 pm (approximation	Awards Ceremony