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It may be regional weekend for high school wrestlers in the PIAA, but it’s also regional weekend for Divsion III college schools.
The most notable for locals is the East Regional being held on Sunday at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Va. where Wilkes and King’s will be participating.
The Colonels and the Monarchs will each have a full lineup in the event which is also an NCAA qualifier as the top three placers at each weight advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Hershey on March 13-14.
Wilkes, currently ranked No. 11 in the country, won this event last season by one point over Ursinus, while Delaware Valley was four points back.
Last month at the MAC Championships, Delaware Valley claimed the championship, while Wilkes was third and the Monarchs were fifth out of five teams.
The Colonels had four wrestlers claim silvers at the MAC tournament in Matt Grossman (133), Sean Lombardi (157), Kyle Diesel (174) and Dave Oberrender at 285. Wilkes 125-pounder Guesseppe Rea missed the MAC Championships, but won the title at the Wilkes Open in December. He is one of two nationally-ranked wrestlers for Wilkes tabbed ninth, while Grossman is also ranked ninth.
King’s didn’t claim a MAC champion at last month’s tournament either. The Monarchs had a pair of medalists as Matt Sparks (third) and Howard Kilpatrick (fourth) grabbed decor.
The Monarchs, who are trying to continue a streak of having at least one wrestler qualify for nationals in each of the past 14 years, will do so with seven freshmen. One of the more notable freshmen is Tunkhannock grad Ben Siegel.
All 10 Wilkes wrestlers enter with a winning record, while five of the Monarchs entries have a record of .500 or better.
Also in the field is Berwick grad Aaron Karns. Now at Delaware Valley, the 197-pounder won gold at the MAC Championships last month and is a returning national qualifier.