YORK, Pa. — Sophomore Mason Barrett's takedown in overtime secured him his first NCAA Southeast Region title Saturday as three Averett University wrestlers punched their ticket for the upcoming NCAA national championships.

Barrett's sudden-victory win at 125 pounds highlighted a strong showing by Averett at the NCAA Southeast Regional, hosted by York College of Pennsylvania over the weekend. Senior Hai Siu finished as the runner-up at 149 and graduate student Alex Turley battled back to win third place at 174 to all qualify for nationals on March 10-11 in Roanoke, Virginia. Averett also placed sixth in the team standings out of 21 teams.

"I'm proud of our team's effort today," Averett head coach Blake Roulo said. "Three NCAA qualifiers and five regional placers is tough. These guys should be proud of a successful weekend. I know we will grow from this weekend as a team and be back in the running for a regional title again. As for the immediate future, we have an opportunity to bring home three All-Americans in two weeks."

Barrett's region championship is the third in Averett's young program history. The other two were also won at 125 pounds by current assistant coach Sam Braswell in 2020 and 2022. After advancing to the semifinals after a strong opening day on Friday, the 12th-ranked Barrett got by sixth-ranked Lue Hoerle of Stevens Institute of Technology with a 3-2 decision, clinching a trip to nationals. However, Barrett wasn't satisfied there. Facing off against Jacob Blair of Delaware Valley University in the finals, Barrett and Blair were tied 1-1 after three periods. Barrett earned an escape point in Period 2 after starting on bottom, and Blair scored an escape in period three after starting on bottom. That set up a thrilling finish as Barrett got the takedown 49 seconds in to end it.

"I almost had a takedown several times and he almost had a takedown several times, too. I just wanted that takedown more and got it," Barrett said after the match. "Work hard and good things will happen. Time to get ready for nationals."

Siu, a transfer in his first season at Averett, earned his fourth consecutive trip to nationals on Saturday. He advanced to the finals at 149, where he faced 12th-ranked Hunter Gutierrez from Stevens. Gutierrez was able to win by fall 2:32 into the first period. Earlier in the day, Siu advanced to the first-place match with a 3-2 decision over Lycoming University's Kobin Karper in the semifinals.

"It's not the best feeling (getting second) but this is not the prize. The prize is winning nationals," Siu said.
 
Turley notched his second consecutive trip to nationals by winning his third-place match 5-0 over King's College's Kade Kravits at 174. Turley suffered a heartbreaking 3-1 decision to Waynesburg University's Colby Morris in the 174-pound semifinals. He bounced back, however, to beat York's Jared Townsend by fall (4:49) to earn the chance for third place with a trip to nationals on the line, where he came through.

"I'm going back," Turley said of his return trip to nationals. "Nationals being in Virginia this year was a really big thing for me being a Virginia guy and an Averett guy. I wanted to be able to have my family and friends come see me. That's a big deal. I was able to get back to the big dance and that's where I wanted to be. Let's go make some noise in two weeks."

Averett had a program-record five wrestlers advance to the region semifinals. Although just three qualified for nationals, all five placed at the NCAA Southeast Regional — the second-highest total in program history only to eight region placers in 2022.

In the 157-pound bracket, sophomore Jesse Alvarado lost to Ryan Smith of Stevens Institute of Technology by a 9-3 decision in the semifinals. His bid to wrestle back for third fell short in a loss by fall to York College's Jared Blair. He then fell in his final matchup with Messiah University's Garret Cornell, who won by fall. Ranked 10th nationally, Alvarado ended his sophomore campaign with a sixth-place finish at regionals.
 
At 165 pounds, sophomore Anthony Taylor fell to eventual region champion Matt Lackman, who is ranked second nationally, from Alvernia University by tech fall (18-1). He then narrowly fell to Stevens' Harrison Hinojosa by a 14-10 decision in the consolation round. Taylor finished strong by defeating King's Frankie Theroux by fall (5:47) in the fifth-place match to cap off his sophomore season.
 
Averett sends multiple wrestlers to the NCAA Division III national championships for the fourth consecutive time (there was no NCAA-sponsored championship held in 2021), and it's the third time Averett has qualified at least three wrestlers for nationals in the program's six-year existence.
 
The NCAA Division III national championships will be hosted at the Berglund Center in Roanoke from March 10-11.
 


2023 NCAA Southeast Regionals
Day 1 Results
Round 1 - 125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Jaden Nelson (Southern Virginia), MD 9-1
Quarterfinal - 125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Gustav Petruske (King's), Dec 9-5

Round 1 - 133 Jack Bauer (Wilkes) def. Daniel Porter (Averett), Dec 4-3
Cons. Round 1 - 133 Daniel Porter (Averett) def. Ivan Benitez (Greensboro), Fall (4:15)
Cons. Round 2 - 133 Luke Kowolski (Gettysburg) def. Daniel Porter (Averett), Fall (3:23)

Prelim - 141 Xavier Jukes (Southern Virginia) def. Wyatt Parker (Averett), Dec 8-3
Round 1 - 141 Levi Englman (Ferrum) def. Wyatt Parker (Averett), MD 11-0

Round 1 - 149 Hai Siu (Averett) def. Dawson Miller (York), Inj. (5:56)
Quarterfinal - 149 Hai Siu (Averett) def. Colin Bridges (Washington And Lee), Dec 8-4

Round 1 - 157 Jesse Alvarado (Averett) def. Marcus Lewis (Marymount), Fall (6:31)
Quarterfinal - 157 Jesse Alvarado (Averett) def. Charles Everdale (Wilkes), Fall (1:58)

Round 1 - 165 Anthony Taylor (Averett) def. Jalen Cornelius (Shenandoah), MD 12-4
Quarterfinal - 165 Anthony Taylor (Averett) def. Morgan Peterson (Southern Virginia), Dec 15-10

Round 1 - 174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Kyle Lee (Roanoke), Fall (4:19)
Quarterfinal - 174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Luke Moore (Delaware Valley), Dec 3-2

Prelim - 184 Khalil Mitchell (Averett) def. Eric Liu (Penn State Behrend), Fall (0:23)
Round 1 - 184 Hunter Lowe (Wilkes) def. Khalil Mitchell (Averett), Dec 13-11
Cons. Round 1 - 184 Khalil Mitchell (Averett) def. Ethan Fragoso (Ferrum), MD 13-3
Cons. Round 2 - 184 Ryder Slayton (Messiah) def. Khalil Mitchell (Averett), Dec 2-0

Prelim - 197 Jaden Markus (Southern Virginia) def. Jaleel Jones (Averett), MD 13-2
Round 1 - 197 Mauro Pellot (Alvernia) def. Jaleel Jones (Averett), Fall (1:17)

Prelim - 285 Jamar Christian (Averett) def. Phil Nave (Gettysburg), MD 12-3
Round 1 - 285 Rayshawn Dixon (Ferrum) def. Jamar Christian (Averett), Dec 3-2
Cons. Round 1 - 285 Jamar Christian (Averett) def. Trent Patrick (Waynesburg), Dec 4-0
Cons. Round 2 - 285 Matt Majoy (Washington And Lee) def. Jamar Christian (Averett), Dec 3-1


Day 2 Results
Semifinal - 125 Mason Barrett (Averett) dec. Luke Hoerle (Stevens), Dec 3-2
First Place - 125 Mason Barrett (Averett) def. Jacob Blair (Delaware Valley), SV-1 (3-1)

Semifinal - 149 Hai Siu (Averett) def. Kobin Karper (Lycoming), Dec 3-2
First Place - 149 Hunter Gutierrez (Stevens) def. Hai Siu (Averett), Fall (2:32)

Semifinal - 157 Ryan Smith (Stevens) 20-6 def. Jesse Alvarado (Averett), Dec 9-3
Cons. Semi - 157 Jared Bair (York) def. Jesse Alvarado (Averett), Fall (4:25)
Fifth Place - 157 Garret Cornell (Messiah) def. Jesse Alvarado (Averett), Fall (1:24)

Semifinal - 165 Matt Lackman (Alvernia) def. Anthony Taylor (Averett), TF 18-1 (6:50)
Cons. Semi - 165 Harrison Hinojosa (Stevens) def. Anthony Taylor (Averett), Dec 14-10
Fifth Place - 165 Anthony Taylor (Averett) def. Frankie Theroux (King's), Fall (5:47)

Semifinal - 174 Colby Morris (Waynesburg) def. Alex Turley (Averett), Dec 3-1
Cons. Semi - 174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Jared Townsend (York College), Fall (4:49)
Third Place - 174 Alex Turley (Averett) def. Kade Kravits (King's), Dec 5-0


Team Scores
1. Stevens Institute Of Technology, 181.0
2. Alvernia University, 144.5
3. Washington And Lee University, 109.0
4. York College (Pa.), 97.0
5. Wilkes University, 87.5
6. Averett University, 86.5
7. Delaware Valley University, 82.0
8. Ferrum College, 66.0
T-9. Lycoming College, 60.5
T-9. Roanoke College, 60.5
11. Messiah University, 57.5
T-12. Greensboro College, 51.5
T-12. King`s College (Pa.), 51.5
14. Gettysburg College, 36.0
15. Thiel College, 19.5
16. Waynesburg University, 18.5
17. Southern Virginia University, 16.5
18. Washington And Jefferson College, 15.0
19. Shenandoah University, 12.0
20. Marymount University, 11.5
21. Penn State Behrend, 2.0

Awards
Most Falls: Gable Crebs (Lycoming)
Regional Outstanding Wrestler: Josh Wilson (Greensboro)
Regional Staff Person of the Year: Alex Radsky (Washington and Lee)
Regional Coach of the Year: Nathan Shearer (Washington and Lee)