GREENSBORO, N.C.—In place of the NCAA Championships that were canceled earlier in the season, Greensboro College Men’s Wrestling gets set to compete in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division III Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships to take place in Coralville, Iowa this Saturday and Sunday.
The Pride goes into the championships with three ranked wrestlers in the final individual poll of the NWCA Division III Coaches Rankings. Freshman Josh Wilson (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) ranked sixth in the 133-pound weight class. Wilson started the season out the outside of all polls but eventually worked his way into the mix of the best 133-pound wrestlers in Division III. In the most recent release of the D3Wrestle.com rankings, Wilson ranked ninth amongst 133-pound wrestlers after enter the first poll of the season as a “contender” outside the top ten. In the latest NWCA rankings, Wilson ranks sixth in the 133-pound weight class. The freshman earned key victories on his way to being ranked. Wilson’s victory over Ferrum College’s two-time All-American Levi Engelman in the 133-pound weight class marks the freshman’s first victory over an All-American wrestler. Engelman placed third in his weight class in last year’s NCAA Regionals. Wilson scored a tight 6-4 decision over Engelman in the matchup at Ferrum February 3rd. Wilson also scored an 11-5 win in his 133-pound bout at Southern Virginia February 6th.
Hai Siu also holds a top ranking in multiple polls. Siu ranked as the sixth-best 149-pound wrestler in the latest NWCA Division III Coaches Rankings. Siu has held ground in the rankings since each of the poll’s previous releases. Siu boasts three pins on the 2020-2021 season with his only loss coming at Southern Virginia, wrestling two weight classes up in the 165-pound class. In 2019-2020, Siu collected two wins at the NCAA Southeast Regional in February to climb the Division III ladder. Siu collected a fall victory over Waynesberg’s Matt Lascola in 2:17 while earning a 5-1 decision over Garret Cornell of Messiah in the quarterfinal. Siu faced Averett rival Brandon Woody in the semifinals in an overtime two-point takedown to advance to the finals. Siu placed second in the weight class at the Division III Southeast Regional as he finished the tournament facing top-ranked Troy Stanich of Stevens.
Brandon Williams (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) cracked the top-twelve wrestlers in the NWCA Division III Coaches Rankings. The junior earned his first ranking of the season, placing 12th in the recent NWCA poll for wrestlers in the 285-pound weight class. Williams placed as a “contender” in the second D3Wrestling.com poll in mid-February. The heavyweight scored a victory to round out the Pride’s effort against Ferrum. The 285-pound heavyweight class wrestler scored a decision over Ferrum’s Reyshawn Dixon, 9-2 for his fourth overall win of the season and his first victory by decision. Williams boasts four wins on the season for the Pride.
The Pride will compete as a team in the championships, taking a full squad to Iowa. Patrick Haskin, Dominic Harris, Joel Kanagy, Mauricio Reyes, Lucas Utt, and Cody Williams will also compete in the championships, unranked in their respective weight classes. Each weight class holds a bracket of up to 32 wrestlers with some ranked wrestlers receiving byes from the round of 32 depending on their weight class. Greensboro, as a team, will compete for team recognition in the event.
All coverage of the event can be found on the Men’s Wrestling page at greensborocollegesports.com. The event begins at 11 a.m. Friday morning and lasts through Saturday.
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Courtesy of Bryan Jones, Greensboro College Sports Information Director