Last weekend, the NCAA Division III Wrestling Mideast Regional Championships took place at Elizabethtown College in the Bowers Center. There were 20 schools represented and 200 wrestlers competed in the championship. Since Etown wrestling does not compete in the Landmark conference, this was their first postseason match. The championship spanned two days, Saturday, Feb. 26 and Sunday, Feb. 27.
On day one of the championship, junior Brian Schneider went undefeated in the 165 weight class, winning all three of his matches. His first victory was over Ronald Grevera from Muhlenberg, whom he swiftly pinned in only 1:45. He then defeated Jesse Walker of Penn. College. Schneider’s last match was a quarterfinal, where he pinned Alexander LaVeck from Mcdaniel in 6:27 in his final match of the day.
To start off on Sunday, Schneider wrestled Austin Lamb from RIT in the semifinal match. Unfortunately, Lamb took the victory in overtime, 7-5. Schneider then moved on to the consolation semifinal, taking on Isaac Matthews of Oswego. Matthews got a 5-4 victory, but Schneider was undeterred, moving onto the fifth-place match, his third match of the day.
In the fifth-place match, Schneider took on Matt Surich of TCNJ. It was a hard-fought victory, with both wrestlers going back and forth. In the final minutes, Schneider scored four points and won, 7-3.
Schneider earned all-region honors with his fifth-place finish. This recognition is a repeat of last year, when Scneider had a sixth place finish.
Overall, Etown got 16th out of 20 teams participating in the Mideast Regional Championship. The team will return most of its wrestlers next year, with a strong underclassman roster.
This is the first time that the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships have been held at Etown. The new Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being was the perfect place to hold the tournament, and since most students were away on spring break, the campus provided ample parking and walking areas for spectators. The Jay Truck and the Fresh Nest were operating during the championships, offering spectators and competitors a chance to eat.
Bleachers were also set up in the Bowers Center, and there were multiple matches going on at once. With the open setup of Bowers, fans were able to watch different competitions going on.
The championship ended with a medal ceremony for the top eight finishers in each weight class.
