Contact: Sam Fretto, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

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CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Mar. 1, 2025)- The North Central College men's wrestling team has won their first NCAA Division III Regional Championship in program history. Six Cardinals have qualified for nationals, with two winning their weight class. Head coach Grant Zamin also won Regional Tournament Coach of the Year. 

North Central took first place with 173 points. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater placed second, scoring 142.5 points, and Millikin University scored 118.5 points for third place. Rounding out the top five was Olivet Nazarene University in fourth with 113.5 points and Wabash College in fifth with 113. 

To qualify for nationals, you must finish in the top three in your respective weight class. 

Winning the 125-pound weight class was Christian Guzman going 4-0 at the regional tournament. He started off day one of the tournament with two 16-0 technical fall victories. He defeated Matteo Littman from the University of Chicago and Cameron Lee from Millikin University. In the semifinal match, Guzman defeated Adrian Rosas from Adrian College by a 17-2 tech fall. In the first-place match, he defeated Olivet's Benyamin Kamali by a 12-2 major decision. Guzman is now a three-time regional champion and national qualifier, moving to 31-0 this season. 

Bradley Rosen has become a two-time regional champion and national qualifier, winning the 141-pound weight class. He started off the regionals with a 17-1 technical fall over Sabri Sino from Millikin. The quarterfinal match had Rosen face Michael Kallimani from Manchester University (Indiana), where Rosen would pin him in three minutes and 32 seconds. Rosen started day two with a 15-0 technical fall on Dylan Phelps from Olivet. In the first-place match, Rosen faced off against Sean Conway from Chicago and defeated him via a 5-3 decision. 

Coming in second in the 165-pound weight class, Alex Villar has become a four-time national qualifier. Villar had an undefeated day one, going 2-0 with a 20-5 technical fall win over Rodrick Love from Alma College and an 11-3 major decision over James Bettcher from Manchester. Villar began day two in the semifinal match, getting a 12-0 major decision over Zachary Platte from Adrian. The first-place match saw Villar take on Brayden Peet from Whitewater. In the rematch, Villar fell by a 7-2 decision. 

Javen Estrada advanced to the first-place match with a pair of pinfalls and a technical fall victory in the 174-pound weight class. Estrada had both of his pins on day one, with one coming over Caleb Smith from Elmhurst University in five minutes and 59 seconds and the other over Jay Shull from Olivet in four minutes and 13 seconds. On day two, Estrada earned a 20-5 technical fall on Tyler Bodovetz from Ohio Wesleyan University. Dejon Glaster from Millikin won the first-place match over Estrada via medical forfeit. Estrada placed second in the 174-pound weight class, making him a two-time national qualifier. 

Becoming a three-time national qualifier, Robby Bates earned second place in the 285-pound weight class. Bates kicked off the regional championship with a 15-0 technical fall to get past Luke Feddeler from Wheaton College. He pinned Matt Johnson from Alma in five minutes and 34 seconds in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, Bates pinned Thomas Lunt from John Carroll University in four minutes and three seconds. Ultimately, Bates fell in the first-place match to Titus Waters from Wabash by a 7-2 decision.

Representing the 149-pound weight class for North Central, Tyler Starr placed third and qualified for nationals. Starr had an undefeated day one, beating Calvin Cai from Case Western Reserve by a 9-1 decision. He defeated Millikin's Chase Mirelez by an 8-6 decision in the quarterfinal. Starr started off day two with a loss in the semifinal to Daniel Uribe by a 6-2 decision but bounced back in the consolation semifinal round with an 11-8 decision over Calvin Cai in a rematch. Starr won the third-place match to punch his ticket to nationals with a 5-0 decision over Jalin Conner from Whitewater. This is Starr's first time qualifying for nationals. 

Payton Geigner placed fourth in the 184-pound weight class, going 4-2 at regionals. Geigner started off day one with a 5-0 decision over Matthew Gummere from Case Western Reserve. Geigner fell in the quarterfinal match to Cameron Crisp from Manchester via a 15-6 major decision. Geigner bounced back to get into the third place match by winning three matches in a row via pinfall. He pinned Gavin Malone from Trine University in two minutes and 45 seconds, pinned Owen McDaniel from Albion in five minutes and 55 seconds, and pinned Eddie Williams from Alma in six minutes and 30 seconds. Gavin Kohel would defeat Geigner in the third place match by a 6-3 decision. 

In the 197-pound weight class, Casey Aikman placed fourth. Aikman went undefeated on day one, pinning Jacob Snyder from Trine in two minutes and 55 seconds and beating Evan Danowski from Whitewater by a 14-5 major decision. Aikman fell in the semifinal to Jackson Punzel from Wheaton by an 18-3 technical fall. In the consolation semifinal, Aikman bounced back, beating Kody Krupp (Olivet) by a 20-5 technical fall. Gunnar Garriques (U-Chicago) defeated Aikman by an 11-2 major decision. 

In the 133-pound weight class, Ethan Spacht won his first two matches to go to the semifinal. Spacht kicked things off, pinning Ben Edwards (Trine) in one minute and 51 seconds. In the quarterfinal match, Spacht defeated Art Martinez (Case Western Reserve) by a 10-5 decision. Spacht would fall in the semifinal match to Dominik Mallinder from Whitewater, who won best wrestler of the meet, via a 14-3 major decision. In the consolation match, Spach lost to James Day from Wabash by a 14-2 major decision but bounced back in the fifth place match to place fifth, winning a 7-3 decision over Anthony Zamora (Wheaton).

In the 157-pound weight class, Luke Christie placed seventh after a 3-2 showing. Christite began the tournament with an 8-5 decision victory against Michael Hutchison from Millikin. Christie fell in the quarterfinal to Aidan Smith (Adrian) via pinfall in three minutes and 48 seconds. He bounced back in the consolation match, getting a technical fall (18-1) over Lakin Webb (Trine). The momentum would be short-lived after Christie lost in the third round of consolations to Ramiro Guerrero of Olivet, getting pinned in six minutes and 30 seconds. Christie would win the seventh place match over Ayden Lutes (Wabash) by an 8-3 decision.

North Central won their first NCAA Division III Regional Championship and had six wrestlers qualify for the national championship (Guzman, Rosen, Villar, Estrada, Bates, Starr) with Guzman and Rosen winning their weight class. 

The NCAA Division III National Championship is scheduled for Mar. 14 and 15 in Providence, R.I., in the Amica Mutual Pavilion hosted by Johnson & Wales University. 

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