PEMBROKE, N.C. — The stage was set for Newberry College Men's Wrestling. Traveling up to Pembroke for the second time this season, the Wolves looked to make their presence known at this year's NCAA Super Region II Championships. After a competitive and positive regular season, all the hard work from the year's endeavors led to this moment for Newberry: the moment to inch one step closer to Iowa to achieve wrestling glory. The road would not be easy, but, with almost two weeks to get ready, Head Coach Deral Brown and Associate Head Coach Bryant Blanton prepared the men for what would be the team's most competitive event to date.
In the end, Newberry established their mark as one of the top teams in Super Region II, sending six wrestlers to the NCAA Super Region II Championships in Iowa. 125 lbs Zach Shupp (Fairfield, Ohio), 141 lbs Josh Blatt (Albemarle, N.C.), 149 lbs Devan Moore (Baxley, Ga.), 165 lbs P.J. Wunderlich (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), 174 lbs Dayton Fields (Seneca, Mo.), and 285 lbs Devon Rice (Rock Hill, S.C.) all punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships with top three finishes, featuring a regional champ in Moore.
Going in with a bye, Moore won by major decision over Demetri Teddlie of King, 13-4, and he followed up with a decision win over Jake Piccirilli of host UNC Pembroke. He claimed regional championship glory by beating Jack Tangen of Lander with a 8-2 decision in the final.
Three Wolves earned a second place finish in the championships with Shupp, Blatt, and Wunderlich each winning the first two matches of their tournament en route to them being edged out by James Joplin, Zeth Brower, and David Hunsberger of Lander, respectively.
Fields and Rice both went five matches deep into the tournament and had to overcome a lost in order to get into the third place match, but with the opportunity to continue towards being a national champion in the balance, each overcame their opponents by decisions on the way to being part of the six representing Newberry in Iowa next month.
For the chosen few that have persevered through the championships, their work was only just beginning. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the next destination on the journey to becoming a NCAA Division II National Champion as the Wolves set out to the Midwest for a date with the best in the country on March 10 - 11.
