Super Region 1 Rankings (PDF)

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University's Braden Turner (157) and Tyson Searer (197) are both ranked No. 1 in their weight classes and Brendan McKeown (174) is ranked No. 2 in the final set of Super Region 1 wrestling rankings for the 2012-13 regular season, it was announced Monday.

Searer (Lewistown/Mifflin County), a freshman, remains No. 1 in the region for the fourth straight set of rankings and was ranked No. 5 in Division II in the most recent national poll. He is 14-7 on the season, including 11-2 against Division II competition, and had won eight of his last nine matches before a 4-0 loss to Aaron Karns of Delaware Valley, ranked No. 4 in Division III, on Thursday.

Searer is 2-1 against other regionally-ranked wrestlers at 197. He is 1-1 against Kutztown's Vinny Campanile, including a 2-1 decision in the PSAC Championships on December 8 which propelled him to the top spot in the region. He also won a 5-3:tb1 decision over Ohio Valley's Chase Long on January 25 in the Super Region 1 Duals.

Turner (Bath/Northampton), a returning All-American, remains No. 1 at 157 for the second set of rankings. He moved into the top slot after a 4-0 decision over the previous #1, Newberry's Taylor Knapp, on January 26. He also has a 5-0 decision over Shippensburg's Neil Grudi on January 16 and is currently ranked No. 6 in Division II.

Turner is 16-5 on the season and 11-1 against DII competition. He has won 10 of his last 11 matches with his only loss coming to fellow All-American Bobby Williams of Ouachita Baptist on January 26.

McKeown (Scotia, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) has the Warriors' best record and is one of the hottest wrestlers in Division II, sporting a 15-1 record. He is ranked second behind UNC-Pembroke's Mike Williams, a three-time regional champion (157 in 2010, 165 in 2011 and 2012) and defending 165-pound national champion who moved up to 174 this year.

McKeown has won 11 straight matches and is 9-1 against DII competition. His only loss this season came by injury default to Pitt-Johnstown's Gary Lantz on December 4. He was the regional runner-up and a national qualifier last year, and has a 9-5 decision over defending regional champion Travis Sheehy of Newberry on January 26.

ESU finishes its dual schedule on Tuesday at Kutztown and will be back at Kutztown the following weekend for the Super Region 1 Championships.


NCAA Division II Regional Rankings – Super Region 1 (previous ranking)
1. Pitt-Johnstown (13-2)
2. Newberry (19-2)
3. Mercyhurst (15-3)
4. Kutztown (10-4)
5. UNC-Pembroke (8-7)
6. Shippensburg (12-6)
7. Gannon (5-4)
8. ESU (6-10)
9. West Liberty (4-10)
10. Anderson (4-16)
11. Seton Hill (7-12)
12. Millersville (3-9)
13. American International (2-8)
14. Ohio Valley (3-11)


Super Region 1 rankings (previous rank)

157
1. Braden Turner (ESU) – 1
2. Taylor Knapp (Newberry) – 1
3. Justin Pencook (UNC-Pembroke) – 3
4. Art Hobley (West Liberty) – 4
5. Neil Grudi (Shippensburg) – 5
6. Sean Floor (Gannon) – 6

174
1. Mike Williams (UNC-Pembroke) – 1
2. Brendan McKeown (ESU) – 2
3. Travis Sheehy (Newberry) – 3
4. Zach Benzio (Seton Hill) – 4
5. Gary Lantz (UPJ) – 5
6. Angelo Bortoluzzi (Mercyhurst) – 6

197
1. Tyson Searer (ESU) – 1
2. Vinny Campanile (Kutztown) – 2
3. Joey Grisko (Newberry) – 3
4. Nikos Garafola (UPJ) – 5
5. Chase Long (Ohio Valley)
6. Danny Doyle (West Liberty) – 6