Full Results  |  Day 1 Recap

ERIE – East Stroudsburg University redshirt sophomore Dylan Nace (141 pounds) and senior Joey Kratochvil (157) each booked their first trips to the NCAA Division II Championships with top-four finishes at the Super Region I tournament on Saturday.

Nace took third place in his weight class while Kratochvil finished fourth after entering the weekend as the No. 6 seed. The Warriors finished eighth out of 15 teams overall in the team standings with a total of 47 points.

This year's national tournament will take place in Birmingham, Ala., on March 10-11. ESU has now sent 13 different wrestlers to nationals since the program joined Division II prior to the 2009-10 season.

Both Nace and Kratochvil began the afternoon in the championship semifinals. Nace dropped a 14-5 major decision to defending regional champion and No. 3 seed Cobey Fehr from Notre Dame (Ohio), while Kratochvil suffered a 17-0 tech fall defeat to No. 2 Eric Lewandowski from Gannon.

That sent the ESU duo to the consolation semifinals. Nace was matched up with Kutztown's Michael O'Brien, and the two were tied 2-2 halfway through the second period. The Flemington, N.J., native then earned a two-point reversal and pinned O'Brien shortly afterwards to move on to the third-place bout. His scheduled opponent, No. 1 Joey Alessandro from Seton Hill forfeited that contest to seal Nace's spot at nationals.

Nace ends the weekend with a 4-1 record, including three falls. He is 29-5 overall on the year with 10 falls, one tech fall and six major decisions. Nace becomes ESU's first national qualifier at 141 pounds since Adam Hluschak in 2010.

Kratochvil faced off against Notre Dame's Fernando Silva in the consolation semis. Silva entered as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, and he was ranked No. 9 nationally in the most-recent NWCA poll.

With the bout tied at 2-2, Kratochvil took the lead for good with a two-point takedown in the final 30 seconds of the second period. He upped that advantage to 7-2 midway through the third on an escape point and another takedown, ultimately earning an 8-5 decision to advance to the third-place bout.

Kratochvil lost a hard-fought 5-4 decision to Seton Hilll's Zach Voytek in that contest, but his fourth place position was sealed after Silva defeated Mercyhurst's Cole Gavin in the 5th/6th bout.

This is Kratochvil's first top-eight finish at regionals. He will enter the DII Championships with a 14-10 record on the year, including a 6-2 mark in his last eight bouts dating back to Feb. 10.

Seniors Tyler Richardson and Brandon Steele also competed in the consolation bracket for the Warriors on Saturday. Steele was eliminated in the quarterfinals via a 13-1 major decision to Gannon's Ethan Budd. Richardson, the No. 3 seed at 184, pinned No. 7 Collin Schildt from Kutztown in 1:52 to advance to the semifinals, where he fell 9-7 to No. 5 Levi Niebauer from Pitt-Johnstown.

Richardson had defeated Niebauer in their previous two meetings this season. He ultimately finished in fifth place after receiving a forfeit from Mercyhurst's Michael Green in the 5th/6th bout. Richardson ends his ESU career with a 64-40 record (39-16 in duals), 29 falls and a NCAA DII Championship appearance at 197 pounds in 2015. He was 27-10 in his senior year (17-2 in duals) with 15 falls.

The Warriors' eighth-place finish in the team standings is a one-spot improvement from last season. Notre Dame took first place with 155 points, with Gannon (116.5 points) well back in second place.


141 Pounds
Semifinals - No. 3 Cobey Fehr (Notre Dame) def. No. 2 Dylan Nace (ESU) via maj. decision, 14-5
Consolation Semifinals - No. 2 Dylan Nace (ESU) def. Michael O'Brien (Kutztown) via fall, 4:02
Consolation Final - No. 2 Dylan Nace (ESU) def. No. 1 Joey Alessandro (Seton Hill) via forfeit

157 Pounds
Semifinals - No. 2 Eric Lewandowski (Gannon) def. No. 6 Joey Kratochvil (ESU) via tech fall, 17-0 (4:17)
Consolation Semifinals - No. 6 Joey Kratochvil (ESU) def. No. 4 Fernando Silva (Notre Dame) via decision, 8-5
Consolation Final - No. 5 Zach Voytek (Seton Hill) def. No. 6 Joey Kratochvil (ESU) via decision, 5-4

184 Pounds
Consolation Quarterfinals - No. 3 Tyler Richardson (ESU) def. No. 7 Collin Schildt (Kutztown) via fall, 1:52
Consolation Semifinals - No. 5 Levi Niebauer (Pitt-Johnstown) def. No. 3 Tyler Richardson (ESU) via decision, 9-7
5th/6th Match - No. 3 Tyler Richardson (ESU) def. No. 6 Michael Green (Mercyhurst) via forfeit

197 Pounds
Consolation Quarterfinals - Ethan Budd (Gannon) def. Brandon Steele (ESU) via maj. decision, 13-1