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EAST STROUDSBURG – The 2017 Super Region I Wrestling Championships get underway at 12 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Mercyhurst, with East Stroudsburg University individuals looking to qualify for nationals for an eighth time in the past nine seasons.

The Warriors have had 11 wrestlers advance to the national stage since the program reclassified to Division II prior to the 2009-10 season. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Nace (141), senior Tyler Richardson (184), senior Joey Kratochvil (157) and graduate student John Pellegrino (125) headline this year's hopefuls, while six other ESU wrestlers will also aim to make their mark regionally over the weekend.

The top four finishers in each of the 10 weight classes will earn a spot at the NCAA DII Championships in Birmingham, Ala., on March 10-11.

Nace enters the tournament ranked No. 8 nationally at 141 in the most-recent rankings by the NWCA on Feb. 20, and he is currently No. 3 in SR1. The Flemington, N.J., native has posted a record of 25-4 this season, going 17-2 in duals and 11-0 against regional competition.

Of those 25 victories, seven have come via fall and six were by major decision. Nace is 51-13 lifetime at ESU, earning his 50th career victory against Kutztown on Feb. 14. He has registered bonus point wins in each of his last five bouts dating back to Jan. 28. Nace just missed out on a national spot at last winter's regional tournament, finishing fifth at 141.

Richardson is the lone former national qualifier on ESU's current roster, as he advanced nationally at 197 pounds as a sophomore in 2015. Richardson has competed exclusively at 184 this season, and he currently holds a 24-8 record (17-2 in duals, 12-1 against the region) on the year.

The Brick, N.J., native, currently ranked No. 4 in Super Region I, is among the nation's leaders with eight falls against DII opponents, and he has 14 falls overall out of his 24 victories. Richardson has gone 10-1 since Jan. 13, with five falls and a major decision included in that win total.

Kratochvil is currently No. 5 in the region, and he has also had a strong recent run of performances. The Washington, N.J., native has won seven of his last 10 bouts, with bonus point victories in three of those competitions. He is 9-6 in duals, 6-5 against regional opponents and 7-6 in his primary weight class of 157.

Pellegrino was ranked as high as No. 11 nationally at 125 this season after he went 8-1 in his first nine bouts for the Warriors. The Levittown, N.J., native recently stopped a brief losing run with a 7-2 triumph over Kutztown's Connor Yourkavitch on Feb. 14, and he will enter regionals with a 9-4 record this season. Seven of Pellegrino's nine victories have come versus DII opponents, and he took national No. 1 Willie Bohince (Mercyhurst) to overtime when the two met on Jan. 28.

Other Warriors currently ranked in the top 12 regionally include senior Connor Maliff (133 – No. 9), senior Brandon Steele (197 – No. 9) and redshirt sophomore Blake Cohen (149 – No. 11).

Maliff is 6-2 since Jan. 13 and 16-12 in his ESU career competing at 133. His only defeat since Jan. 21 was a slim 3-2 setback to nationally ranked Dustin Warner from Wheeling Jesuit on Feb. 3. Maliff was one of three Warriors to make it to the second day of regionals last season, going 2-2 before ultimately falling in the consolation quarterfinals.

Steele has won five of his last nine bouts, with two of his defeats in that span coming to nationally ranked competition. He went 3-1 at the Kutztown duals on Jan. 20-21 and also owns recent victories over opponents from Gannon and Millersville.

Cohen is another ESU wrestler with a winning record in recent weeks, as he is 6-5 since Jan. 13. He has competed solely at 149 in his last six bouts, going 4-2 with a pair of technical falls and a slim 4-3 defeat to nationally-ranked Dante Nania from Wheeling Jesuit.

Other Warriors set to compete include redshirt senior Joe Welk at 174, junior Christian Silva at 165 and freshman Daniel Makagon at 285. Welk is 3-4 in a season slowed by injuries, while Silva will move up in weight class for regionals; he is 5-5 at his primary weight of 149 in 2016-17. Makagon has registered a pair of bonus point victories in his first year at ESU.

The opening session, which will cover the Round of 16 and Championship quarterfinals, as well as two consolation rounds, will take place from approximately 12-7 p.m. on Friday. Session 2 (Championship semifinals, consolation quarterfinals and semifinals) is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday while the remaining bouts will take place in Session 3 from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday.

More information can be found at the tournament page here. Brackets will be posted following a seeding meeting on Thursday.