Three New York University wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships following their strong performances at the NCAA Northeast Regionals, which were held Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, in Worcester, MA.

Two-time All-American Cooper Pontelandolfo will be heading to Nationals for the third consecutive season after capturing the 157-pound title at Regionals.

On Sunday, he decisioned Jack Richardson of Johnson and Wales University 9-2 in the semifinals, then defeated Peter Kane of Williams College 2-1 in a tie-breaker in double-overtime of the finals.

Also winning his bracket was Jason Geyer at 174 pounds. His Sunday performance included a pair of 5-1 decision victories, first over Desmond McLaughlin of Castleton University in the semis and then vs. Joe Chapman of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the finals.

Trent Furman placed second in the 184-pound competition. He gutted out a 6-5 decision over Matthew Kelly of Rhode Island College in the semis before falling to Sampson Wilkins of Castleton by a 3-0 score in the finals.   

"Overall, I'm happy to se our three guys punch their tickets for Nationals," said Associate Head Coach Corey Luce. "The fact that it's Jason's and Trent's last season makes their trips even more special."

The top-three finishers in each weight class get automatic qualification for Nationals.

"We have three national qualifiers, and I feel that all three have potential to place high within their brackets," Luce added.  

Benny Bautista reached the semifinals at 125, but was defeated by Joziah Fry of Johnson and Wales and then went on to a fifth-place finish.

Also placing for the Violets was Taisei Kurachi (133, 7th), Nick Kruczynski (141, 7th), Vincenzo Napolitana (149, 8th), and Hassan Kahn (165, 7th).

As a team, NYU totaled 132.5 points and finished fourth in the 20-team competition. 

U.S. Coast Guard won the Championships with 193 points.

"Having eight regional place-winners put us in position for the team title, but we fell short in some matches," Luce explained.

Pontelandolfo, Geyer and Furman will be representing NYU at the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, in La Crosse, WI.