Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Capping off a solid season, the Wolves sent six wrestlers to the NCAA Division II Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a result of the performance of the athletes at Super Regionals.
In the capstone tournament for every wrestler at this level of competition, Newberry saw what turned out to be their most formidable opposition of the year. In the end, the Wolves had something to be proud of from the tournament as 149 lbs Devan Moore (Baxely, Ga.) finished in eighth place, but the biggest takeaway was that Moore leaves as an All-American for his performances.
His journey actually started slower than he would have liked, as an opening round tech fall win by Nick Young of Gannon saw Moore have to overcome from the very beginning. He redeemed himself by securing a 2-1 decision win over Darick Lapaglia of Central Missouri before winning arguably his biggest match of the tourney next. Moore went on to upset Joey Bianchini of St. Cloud State 10-4, who was ranked the number four wrestler in the nation. The run ended after a loss to Brik Filippo of Central Oklahoma by decision in the next match, followed by a Nick Young win by fall in the seventh place match.
Zach Shupp (Fairfield, Ohio), Josh Blatt (Albemarle, N.C.), P.J. Wunderlich (Myrtle Beach), Dayton Fields (Seneca, Mo.) and Devon Rice (Rock Hill) all competed at the championships, with Shupp and Blatt each gaining a victory. Shupp started on the right foot with a win in the preliminary round over Brady Carter of East Stroudsburg by fall and gained a win in the form of a medical forfeit over Kevin Radcliff of Limestone. Blatt pinned Grayston DiBlasi of Colorado School of Mines in his second match of the day.