NEW LONDON, Conn.   -  Senior Jake Craig (Norridgewock, Maine/Skowhegan) and junior Kyle Moore (Kennebunk, Maine/Division Avenue (NY)) each earned a spot in the championship semifinal of their respective weight classes to highlight an action packed opening day for the University of Southern Maine Huskies at the 2026 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championship hosted by the United States Coast Guard Academy at the Dr. Gregory Field House in New London, Conn. Sophomore Shane Moore (Kennebunk, Maine/Division Avenue (NY)) remains alive in his division's wrestle-back bracket. 

All three Huskies have earned 2026 NCAA All-Region honors and will now vie for podium position.  Top three wrestlers from each of the 10 weight classes will earn a spot in the 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament held March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse. 

Craig, K. Moore and S. Moore each entered the championship ranked in-region, while Craig, a two-time NCAA Division III All-American at 125 lbs (2023, 2025) began his regional championship journey ranked fourth nationally, and number one in the region.  In the Northeast region, Kyle Moore is ranked second at 141 lbs, while Shane Moore is ranked seventh at 149 lbs.

A three-time NCAA National Championship qualifier (2023, 2024, 2025), and a two-time All-American, Craig is seeking his fourth consecutive bid to the national tourney. Starting his bid strong, Craig went a dominant 2-0 on the first day of competition. In his opening match, Craig earned a 2:10 win by fall over Rhode Island College's Robert Stone, and then earned his spot in the championship semifinal with an 18-2 win by technical fall over Zachary Brzoska of Emmanuel College.  Craig will face Trinity's Matthew Carrozza on Saturday in the championship semifinal. Craig and Carrozza faced each other in the regular season with Craig earning a 5-0 win over Carrozza on February 7. Ranked third in the region, Carrozza earned a pair of wins by decision defeated Roger Williams's Caden Bruseo 3-1, and Norwich's Carver Moyer 7-2.
 
Earning all-region honors with a fourth-place finish in 2025, Kyle Moore earned two extra-point wins to earn his spot in the semifinals. Opening with a win by technical fall over Hunter Lunberg of Rhode Island College 17-2 (5:55) to start his tourney, Moore propelled himself to the semis with an 8-0 major decision win over Jared Hood of Emmanuel College. With his pair of wins, Moore has reached the 20-win mark on the season and is 20-3 overall, including nine extra-point wins. Moore will face a familiar opponent in Ty Trickle of Trinity College on Saturday in the semifinal. Squaring off against each other on February 7, both wrestlers pushed the match to extras with Moore pulling out a thrilling 13-10 (SV-1) victory. 

Competing in his first regional championship, Shane Moore won three consecutive matches after dropping his opener to claim all-region status. Needing three more wins on Saturday, Moore has a path to NCAA Championship qualification with the third-place bout.  Moore fell narrowly 9-7 to Castleton's Dylan Vanegas in his opener, but bounced back with an 8-2 win over Kamel Dib of Bridgewater State.  Moore then pinned Norwich's Billy Burke in 4:22 before picking up a clutch 11-8 win over WPI's Mason Basara.  Moore will face Ty Stewart of Springfield College in his next match on Saturday. 

Huskies' Up Next:
133: Jake Craig (SM) vs. Matthew Carrozza (Trinity): Championship Semifinal
141: Kyle Moore (SM) vs Ty Trickle (Trinity): Championship Semifinal
149: Shane Moore (SM) vs. Ty Stewart (Springfield) College: Consolation Quarterfinals
 
Up Next: 
Wrestlers placing in the top three of their respective weight classes will earn an automatic berth 2026 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament held March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Alliant Energy Powerhouse.  Division III qualifiers are set to be released on Monday, March 2 followed by a bracket release on Monday, March 9. 
 
2026 NCAA Northeast Regional Team Scores: Day One 1. Springfield, 104.5; 2. Williams, 98; 3. Castleton, 96; 4. Coast Guard, 93; 5. Johnson & Wales, 91; 6. Wesleyan, 66.5; 7. Trinity, 53.5; 8. Western New England, 50.5; 9. Roger Williams, 41; 10. Norwich, 37; 11. Southern Maine, 36; 12. Emmanuel, 33; 13. Bridgewater State, 32; 14. Rhode Island College, 30.5; 15. WPI, 26; 16. New England College, 30.5; 17. Plymouth State, 12; 18. Maine Maritime, 7; 19. Utica, 3.   
 
NCAA DIII Regional Northeast Results for Southern Maine: Day One
 
125: Carter Noble - Eliminated
Alexander Schaeublin (Trinity) pinned Noble, 2:03
Noble won by forfeit. Dominic Gangi (NEC)
Christopher Colon (Williams) dec. Noble, 11-4
 
133: Jake Craig – Advances to Sunday
Craig pinned Robert Stone (RIC), 2:10
Craig won by tech fall Zachary Brzoska (Emmanuel), 18-2 (6:09)
 
141: Kyle Moore – Advances to Sunday
Moore won by tech fall Hunter Lunberg (RIC), 17-2 (5:55)
Moore won by major dec Jared Hood (Emmanual), 8-0
 
149: Shane Moore – Advances to Sunday
Dylan Vanegas (Castleton) dec. Moore, 9-7
Moore dec. Kamel Dib (Bridgewater), 8-2
Moore pinned Billy Burke (Norwich), 4:22
Moore dec. Mason Basara (WPI), 11-8
 
157: Cesar Calderin- Eliminated
Peter Kane (Williams) pinned Calderin, 0:28
Calderin won by tech fall Hunter Morton (Utica), 19-3 (5:35)
Will Hunt (RIC) pinned Calderim, 4:19
 
165: Nate Wolyniec - Eliminated
Henry Forte (William) won by tech fall Wolyniec, 21-4 (4:11)
Scott Lallas (RIC) dec. Wolyniec, 7-2
 
174: Troy Moscatelli - Eliminated
Max Bluhm (WNEU) pinned Moscatelli, 2:01
Akiva Lind (Wesleyan) won by tech fall Moscatelli, 19-4 (5:32)
 
 
184: Aaron Foley-Pratt - Eliminated
Juan Rodriguez (RIC) dec. Foley Pratt, 3-1
Kyle Stickel (MMA) won by forfeit
 
197: Michael Sanchez - Eliminated
Zach Borzio (Williams) pinned Sanchez, 0:47
Luke Hutton (Trinity) dec. Sanchez, 5-3
 
 
285: Jason Canavan Dwyer - Eliminated
Carl DiGiorgio (Coast Guard) won by tech fall Canavan-Dwyer, 19-4 (3:51)
Connor Reynolds (Williams) major dec. Canavan-Dwyer, 12-0
 
 
 
 
Up Next: 
Wrestlers placing in the top three of their respective weight classes will earn an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament held March 14-15 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. Division III qualifiers are set to be released on Monday, March 3 followed by a bracket release on Monday, March 10.  
-cac-