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Seeding release (Turner, Searer 1st; McKeown 2nd)

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University redshirt juniors Braden Turner and Brendan McKeown, both returning national qualifiers and the defending runner-ups in their respective weight classes, lead the Warriors into the 2013 Super Region 1 Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Kutztown.

Turner, ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 5 in Division II at 157, McKeown, ranked No. 2 in the region at 174, and freshman Tyson Searer, ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 6 nationally at 197, have paced ESU throughout the season and will compete for two days for trips to the NCAA Division II Championships.

The top four finishers at each of the 10 weight classes will punch their tickets to Birmingham, Alabama for the national championships on March 8-9.

ESU had four national qualifiers last year and has produced eight national qualifiers and two regional champions in its first three seasons in Division II. Ed Ebewo was the 197-pound champ last year and Jeff Jacobs was the 174-pound champ in 2011.

Turner and Ebewo were All-Americans and McKeown and Thad Frick were also national qualifiers last winter. Turner and McKeown can join Ebewo as Warriors to make multiple trips to the DII Championships.

The tournament begins Friday at 3 p.m. when the region's 14 schools will wrestle down to the four semifinalists at each weight class, with four more wrestlers alive in the consolations. The Saturday morning session begins at 11 a.m. and will include the championship and consolation semifinals. The championship and consolation finals will begin at 3 p.m.

Seedings for the tournament will be released on Thursday night.


Below is a class-by-class breakdown of ESU's 10 entries:

125: Anthony Marino (So.) – 1-4 overall (1-2 DII, 1-2 SR1) … Marino joined the Warriors for the second semester … he is 0-1 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 125 … he opened his ESU career with an 8-4 dec. vs. Sam Oberlander (Millersville) on Jan. 30.

133: Devin Holmes (Fr.) – 3-18 overall (3-13 DII, 2-10 SR1) … Holmes is 0-2 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 133 … he has a first-period pin (2:15) of Cody Cardinale (AIC) on Nov. 30 and a 10-1 maj. dec. vs. Kyle Loeb (Millersville) on Jan. 30 … he has 1 fall and 1 major dec. this season.

141: Joseph Hoy (So.) – 4-14 overall (2-9 DII, 1-8 SR1) … Hoy is 0-3 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 141 … he lost a 3-0 dec. to Dave Cawley (UPJ), currently ranked 2nd in the region and 7th in DII, on Dec. 4 … he has a 6-0 dec. vs. Nick Varazashvili (Ohio Valley) on Jan. 25 … he has 1 fall this season.

149: Joe Welk (Fr.) – 5-10 overall (3-6 DII, 3-4 SR1) … Welk is 0-2 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 149 … he has a 3-1:tb dec. vs. Joel Paolo (UPJ) on Dec. 28, pinned Dennis Rhodes (Anderson) in 2:40 on Jan. 26, and has a 2-1 dec. vs. Brock Thompson (Millersville) on Jan. 30 … he has 2 falls this season.

157: Braden Turner (R-Jr.) – 17-5 overall (12-1 DII, 10-0 SR1) … ranked 1st in the region and 5th in DII … returning All-American, placing 6th in DII last year … regional runner-up last year after entering as 6th seed … Turner is 2-0 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region this year, and 3-1 in his career … he is 2-0 against Taylor Knapp (Newberry), ranked 2nd in the region and 6th in DII … won 4-0 dec. vs. Knapp on Jan. 26 at SR1 Duals … won 4-3 dec. vs. Knapp in last year's SR1 semifinal … he is 1-1 against Neil Grudi (Shippensburg), ranked 5th in the region … won 5-0 dec. vs. Grudi on Jan. 16 … lost 6-2 dec. last year … he has won 10 of his last 11 matches (only loss to 3rd-ranked Bobby Williams of Ouachita Baptist), which is also his only DII loss of the season … he wrestled up at 165 and went 3-0 this season … he has 1 tech. fall and 3 major dec. this season … went 26-16 overall last year … went 3-3 at NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors … enters regional with career record of 43-21 … transfer from DI Rutgers prior to arriving at ESU.

165: Nate Silverthorn (Fr.) – 4-13 overall (3-9 DII, 3-8 SR1) … he has wrestled at 3 weight classes this season – 149, 157 and 165 … he is 0-5 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at those weight classes … only action vs. ranked wrestler at 165 came against Blake Ridenour (Newberry), ranked 3rd in the region, by first-period fall … also saw 3 regionally-ranked wrestlers at 149 and 1 at 157 … currently 0-4 at 165.

174: Brendan McKeown (R-Jr.) – 16-1 overall (10-1 DII, 10-1 SR1) … he is ranked 2nd in the region … returning DII qualifier and regional runner-up … he has won 12 straight matches entering regional, including 7 by bonus points … he is 1-1 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 174 … won 9-5 dec. vs. Travis Sheehy (Newberry), the defending regional champion and current 3rd-ranked wrestler in SR1, on Jan. 26 … avenged 11-4 loss to Sheehy in last year's regional final … only loss of season came by injury default vs. Gary Lantz (UPJ) on Dec. 4 … recent action includes 8-5 dec. vs. Kevin Dufresne (Centenary), ranked 3rd in DIII … he has 1 fall, 3 tech. fall and 6 major dec. this season … career record of 52-29, including 7 falls, 4 tech. fall and 11 major dec. … went 12-8 overall last year, missing 2 months due to injury, before returning 2 weeks before regional … went 18-17 at 184 pounds as a redshirt freshman (2010-11) … competing in weight class that includes 4 national qualifiers, including McKeown … Mike Williams (UNC-Pembroke), ranked 1st in region and nationally, is defending DII 165-pound champion, 2-time All-American, and 3-time SR1 champion (2010 at 157, 2011-12 at 165) … Sheehy is ranked 3rd in region, and Zach Benzio (Seton Hill), ranked 4th, was national qualifier at 184.

184: Luke DeLuise (R-So.) – 13-9 overall (8-6 DII, 7-5 SR1) … he is 1-3 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 184 … won by injury default vs. Luke Etter (Shippensburg), ranked 4th in region, on Jan. 16 … lost 4-2:sv1 dec. vs. Zack Zelcs (Gannon), ranked 2nd in region and defending SR1 champ, on Feb. 10 … lost 5-2 dec. vs. Eric Lundgren (Mercyhurst), ranked 5th in region, on Dec. 15 … lost 13-3 major dec. vs. Travis McKillop (UPJ), ranked 1st in region and returning All-America at 174, on Dec. 4 … transfer from DI Bloomsburg … has team-high 7 falls and 2 major dec. this season.

197: Tyson Searer (Fr.) – 14-7 overall (11-2 DII, 9-1 SR1) … ranked 1st in the region and 6th in DII … has been ranked 1st in region since Jan. 1 … he is 2-1 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 197 … 1-1 against Vinny Campanile (Kutztown), ranked 2nd in region … lost 4-2:sv1 dec. vs. Campanile at ESU Open on Nov. 17 … won 2-1 dec. vs. Campanile at PSAC Championships on Dec. 8 … won 5-3:tb1 dec. vs. Chase Long (Ohio Valley), ranked 5th in region, on Jan. 25 … won 6 straight bouts and 8 of 9 since Jan. 16, before 4-0 loss to Aaron Karns (Delaware Valley), ranked 4th in DIII, in his most recent action on Feb. 7 … he has 2 falls and 2 major dec. this season.

285: Joe Blaes (R-Sr.) – 5-12 overall (3-8 DII, 3-6 SR1) … he is 0-4 against wrestlers currently in the top 6 in the region at 285 … lost 4-0 dec. vs. Josh Duplin (UPJ), ranked 3rd in region, on Dec. 4 for best result … has 3-2 (OT) dec. vs. Andrew Paredes (AIC) on Nov. 30, 3-0 dec. vs. Eric Minerd (Seton Hill) on Jan. 20, and 12-7 vs. Zachary Newton (Anderson) on Jan. 26 … competed in last year's regional and went 1-2 … natural 197-pounder who has wrestled up last two seasons … has career record of 10-30.