Results
 
PEMBROKE, N.C. (March 1) – The University of Mount Olive men's wrestling program qualified three wrestlers for the NCAA National Championships following their performance at the NCAA Super Region II Championships held on the campus of UNCP on Saturday.
 
The Trojans tallied 92 points in the team standings behind five wrestlers with top-four finishes while competing on the regional stage. Lander won a third-straight NCAA Regionals with 157 points following eight wrestlers qualifying for nationals. UNC Pembroke (117 points) placed second overall with a trio of qualifiers and Newberry rounded out the top three behind 109.5 points.
 
Senior Jake Nicolosi became the second-ever in program history to claim an individual regional championship at Mount Olive. Competing at 157, he produced an unblemished 4-0 record to capture the crown and clinch his spot as a national qualifier. In the opening round, Nicolosi posted a 15-0 tech fall over Malachi Thomas of Limestone before defeating Dennis Virelli of Newberry via a 14-3 major decision. He followed up with a 10-4 decision over No. 2 seed Keegan Roberson of UNC Pembroke to earn his spot in the championship. In the title bout, Nicolosi got his revenge and battled to an 11-7 decision versus top-seeded Trent Mahoney of King.
 
In the 165-weight class, freshman Brent Nicolosi entered as the No. 2 seed and finished as the runner-up in his first regional appearance. After a first-round bye, he pinned Samuel Daniels of Limestone before a dominant 16-0 tech fall against William Lowery of UNCP to reach the championship. Nicolosi faced off against No. 1 ranked David Hunsberger of Lander and despite an excellent performance fell via a 7-6 decision. Brent will join brother Jake as a national qualifier in what has been an outstanding season for the tandem.
 
Junior Calan Staub returns to the national stage following a third-place finish in the 184-weight class on Saturday. Following a first-round bye, he earned a 16-10 win by decision over Anthony Giampietro of Lander before dropping into the consolation bracket with a narrow 4-2 loss to Kyler Pickard of Belmont Abbey. Staub rebounded with a fall over Nahzir Turner of Shorter before securing third overall via medical forfeit.
 
Senior Christian Decatur (125) and freshman Eli Pendergrass (131) fell short in their respective weight class after suffering a loss in the third-place match.
 
The three qualifiers will now begin preparations for the NCAA National Championships held in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 14-15.
 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
 
125
Champ. Round 1 - Christian Decatur (Mount Olive) received a bye
Quarterfinal - Christian Decatur (Mount Olive) over Brett Balzan (Belmont Abbey) (Dec 8-3)
Semifinal - Kaden Kuenzi (Lander) over Christian Decatur (Mount Olive) (Dec 7-0)
Cons. Semi - Christian Decatur (Mount Olive) over Hunter McCullough (Newberry) (MD 13-3)
3rd Place Match - Corey Gallivan (Coker) over Christian Decatur (Mount Olive) (Fall 6:26)
 
133
Champ. Round 1 - Eli Pendergrass (Mount Olive) received a bye
Quarterfinal - Eli Pendergrass (Mount Olive) over Ethan McCullough (Newberry) (Dec 4-1)
Semifinal - Christian Davis (Lander) over Eli Pendergrass (Mount Olive) (MD 16-4)
Cons. Semi - Eli Pendergrass (Mount Olive) over Stephen Spitko (Coker) (Fall 4:39)
3rd Place Match - Logan Robinson (UNC Pembroke) over Eli Pendergrass (Mount Olive) (Dec 18-12)
 
141
Champ. Round 1 - Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) over Brayden Gibson (Shorter) (Dec 12-6)
Quarterfinal - Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) over Jameer McCrae (Emmanuel) (TF-1.5 4:47 (18-1))
Semifinal - Luke Kunath (Belmont Abbey) over Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Semi - Ashtan Hendricks (King) over Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) (Dec 8-4)
5th Place Match - Benjamin Hernandez (Mount Olive) over Frank Bianco (Coker) (Dec 7-1)
 
149
Champ. Round 1 - Reid Noble (Lander) over Dylan Pepin (Mount Olive) (TF-1.5 5:00 (19-4))
Cons. Round 1 - Dylan Pepin (Mount Olive) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - Nick Dempsey (Montevallo) over Dylan Pepin (Mount Olive) (MD 11-1)
 
157
Champ. Round 1 - Jake Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over Malachi Thomas (Limestone) (TF-1.5 2:34 (15-0))
Quarterfinal - Jake Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over Dennis Virelli (Newberry) (MD 14-3)
Semifinal - Jake Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over Keegan Roberson (UNC Pembroke) (Dec 10-4)
1st Place Match - Jake Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over Trent Mahoney (King) (Dec 11-7)
 
165
Champ. Round 1 - Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive) received a bye
Quarterfinal - Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over Samuel Daniels (Limestone) (Fall 1:16)
Semifinal - Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive) over William Lowery (UNC Pembroke) (TF-1.5 4:50 (16-0))
1st Place Match - David Hunsberger (Lander) over Brent Nicolosi (Mount Olive) (Dec 7-6)
 
174
Champ. Round 1 - Maxwell Kiel (Belmont Abbey) over Colby Teague (Mount Olive) (TF-1.5 3:59 (19-4))
Cons. Round 1 - Colby Teague (Mount Olive) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - Colby Teague (Mount Olive) over Riley Davis (Shorter) (Fall 0:44)
Cons. Round 3 - Logan Hoffman (UNC Pembroke) over Colby Teague (Mount Olive) (Dec 7-3)
 
184
Champ. Round 1 - Calan Staub (Mount Olive) received a bye
Quarterfinal - Calan Staub (Mount Olive) over Anthony Giampietro (Lander) (Dec 16-10)
Semifinal - Kyler Pickard (Belmont Abbey) over Calan Staub (Mount Olive) (Dec 4-2)
Cons. Semi - Calan Staub (Mount Olive) over Nahzir Turner (Shorter) (Fall 2:52)
3rd Place Match - Calan Staub (Mount Olive) over Anthony Giampietro (Lander) (M. For.)
 
197
Champ. Round 1 - Raife Smart (Mount Olive) received a bye
Quarterfinal - David Bertrand (King) over Raife Smart (Mount Olive) (SV-1 4-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Raife Smart (Mount Olive) over Sekou Bangoura (Allen) (Dec 9-2)
Cons. Round 3 - Raife Smart (Mount Olive) over Anthony Olea (Emmanuel) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Semi - Caleb Moore (Belmont Abbey) over Raife Smart (Mount Olive) (Dec 10-3)
5th Place Match - Raife Smart (Mount Olive) over Christopher Dickey (UNC Pembroke) (For.)
 
285
Champ. Round 1 - Slade Watkins (Mount Olive) over Kevin Mood (Coker) (TB-1 8-5)
Quarterfinal - Mason Kump (Belmont Abbey) over Slade Watkins (Mount Olive) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 2 - Nathan Coley (King) over Slade Watkins (Mount Olive) (2-OT 2-2)