WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Washington and Lee wrestling team finished sixth out of 20 teams and junior 184-pounder Rexx Hallyburton (Bishop, Ga. / Oconee County) won his weight class to advance to NCAA Nationals in the final day of competition at the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by Lycoming College on Saturday.
Messiah took the team title, posting 121.0 total points. Ferrum and Lycoming tied for second with 114.5 points, while Wilkes was fourth with 106.0 points. Johns Hopkins was fifth (106.0) and W&L finished sixth with 82.5 points. The sixth-place finish is the Generals' highest since the NCAA went to a regional format in 2013.
Hallyburton became the third General to win a regional title in recent years, joining Joe Scott in 2017 and current senior Zach Bylykbashi (Southington, Conn. / Southington) last season. He punched his ticket to Nationals with a 3-1 overtime victory over York's Francis Krauss in the semifinals and then he received a medical forfeit over Messiah's Victor DeFrance in the title bout.
Junior 165-pounder Shane Conners (Mount Airy, Md. / South Carroll) came down to a final match for a bid to the National Championship, but fell to Lycoming's Haydn Swartwood in the third-place match by a score of 7-1. Conners dropped a 3-0 decision to top-seeded Nicholas Racanelli of Wilkes in the semifinals, but recovered to defeat Johns Hopkins' Dane Morgan, 15-3, in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match with Swartwood.
Senior 141-pounder Zach Bylykbashi (Southington, Conn. / Southington) also had an opportunity to advance to the National Championship, but he came up just short against Mario Vasquez of Ferrum, falling 4-3 in the semifinals. He then suffered a 10-4 setback to Brandon Woody of Averett, before posting a 4-3 win over Messiah's Nick Nunez to take fifth-place in his weight class.
Sophomore Bryce Crew (St. Mary's, Ga. / Camden County) finished sixth overall in the 149-pound weight class. In Saturday's action, he downed Matt Sparks of King's by a score of 14-0, but fell 4-2 to Michael Heinl of Washington & Jefferson. Austin Smith of Ferrum then notched an 8-1 victory over Crew in the fifth-place match.
Senior Ethan Hartman (River Edge, N.J. / River Dell Regional) took seventh in the 125-pound weight class, notching a 3-2 record for the weekend. He knocked off Waynesburg's Dylan Williams in the seventh-place match by a score of 14-4.
First-year 133-pounder Charlie Cunningham (Pequannock, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) and first-year 157-pounder Ryan Luth (Milford, Conn. / Joseph A. Foran) both placed eighth in their weight classes.
In the major awards, W&L's Alex Radsky was named the NWCA Southeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year. The fourth-year assistant coach helped lead the Generals to a 12-4 record this season. Lycoming's Garrett Wesneski was honored as the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Messiah's Bryan Brunk was named the Coach of the Year.
Hallyburton will now compete at the NCAA Division III National Championship held on March 8-9 in Roanoke, Va. Action begins at 11:00 am.
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125 POUNDS
Ethan Hartman (W&L) d. Emanuel Dovshek (W&J); Fall 6:24
Jalen White (Ferrum) d. Ethan Hartman (W&L); 12-3
Ethan Hartman (W&L) d. Michael Binni (PSU-Behrend); 13-5
Shane Casey (Lycoming) d. Ethan Hartman (W&L); 4-1
Ethan Hartman (W&L) d. Dylan Williams (Waynesburg); 14-4 (Seventh-Place Match)
133 POUNDS
Charlie Cunningham (W&L) d. Daniel Florentino (W&J); 18-8
Josh Kuslock (Waynesburg) d. Charlie Cunningham (W&L); 9-0
Charlie Cunningham (W&L) d. Colin Jens (Penn College); Fall 0:58
Paul Bauberger (Greensboro) d. Charlie Cunningham (W&L); 10-9
Korpesh Gootee (Averett) d. Charlie Cunningham (W&L); 4-1 (Seventh-Place Match)
141 POUNDS
Zach Bylykbashi (W&L) d. Tony Immediato (King`s); TF, 18-1 (4:46)
Zach Bylykbashi (W&L) d. Eric Hunt (Lycoming); 6-4
Mario Vasquez (Ferrum) d. Zach Bylykbashi (W&L); 4-3
Brandon Woody (Averett) d. Zach Bylykbashi (W&L); 10-4
Zach Bylykbashi (W&L) d. Nick Nunez (Messiah); 4-3 (Fifth-Place Match)
149 POUNDS
Bryce Crew (W&L) d. Caleb Harmon (Averett); Fall 0:43
Colin Devlin (Gettysburg) d. Bryce Crew (W&L); 4-1
Bryce Crew (W&L) d. Joe Santomarco (Lycoming); 7-2
Bryce Crew (W&L) d. Matt Sparks (King's); 14-0
Michael Heinl (W&J) d. Bryce Crew (W&L); 4-2
Austin Smith (Ferrum) d. Bryce Crew (W&L); 8-1 (Fifth-Place Match)
157 POUNDS
Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Kade Kravits (King`s); 15-1
Dominick Reyes (Johns Hopkins) d. Ryan Luth (W&L); TF, 16-0 (5:16)
Ryan Luth (W&L) d. Ray Martin (Gettysburg); Fall 1:01
Collin Saunders (Ferrum) d. Ryan Luth (W&L); 13-6
Kevin Edwards (Messiah) d. Ryan Luth (W&L); Medical Forfeit (Seventh-Place Match)
165 POUNDS
Shane Conners (W&L) d. Quaevon Cannon (Greensboro); TF, 19-0 (5:58)
Shane Conners (W&L) d. Hadyn Swartwood (Lycoming); 6-3
Nicholas Racanelli (Wilkes) d. Shane Conners (W&L); 3-0
Shane Conners (W&L) d. Dane Morgan (Johns Hopkins); 15-3
Hadyn Swartwood (Lycoming) d. Shane Conners (W&L); 7-1 (Third-Place Match)
174 POUNDS
Anthony Welsh (Waynesburg) d. Alec Horne (W&L); 5-1
Nathan Wertheimer (Johns Hopkins) d. Alec Horne (W&L); 1-0
184 POUNDS
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. Adam Rigney (Waynesburg); 7-4
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. Bradley Miccio (Lycoming); Fall 7:58
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. Francis Krauss (York); 3-1 (OT)
Rexx Hallyburton (W&L) d. Victor DeFrance (Messiah); Medical Forfeit (Championship Match)
197 POUNDS
Antavian Leary (Ferrum) d. Brad Basham (W&L); 3-2
Michael Iodice (Gettysburg) d. Brad Basham (W&L); 3-1
285 POUNDS
Clay Chadwick (W&L) d. Gavin Colligan (Thiel); 6-2
Jake Evans (Waynesburg) d. Clay Chadwick (W&L); Fall 2:05
Dennis Karas (Messiah) d. Clay Chadwick (W&L); 4-2
