ADA, Ohio — Averett University men's wrestling sent one wrestler to the semifinals and guaranteed itself seven region placers as the Cougars opened action in the two-day NCAA Division III Region 4 Championships hosted by Ohio Northern University on Friday.

Averett currently sits at a comfortable sixth place out of 20 teams.

Junior Adrian Samano earned a technical fall and a quick first-period pin at 125 pounds to advance to the semifinals. At 133 pounds, junior A.J. Orlando III picked up a technical fall before bouncing back in the consolation bracket with another dominant technical fall victory.

In the middle weights, junior Carter Shupert secured a first-round pin and later added a major decision in consolations at 157 pounds, while junior Cooper Comer recorded a fall and a decision to stay alive in the 165 pound bracket. Seniors Michael Gabbard and Khalil Mitchell also delivered key wins in the 174 and 184 pound bracket respectively, with Gabbard earning a pin in consolations and Mitchell opening his day with a 23-second fall before adding a major decision later.

At 197 pounds, Senior Jacob Jimenez earned a second-round pin and a major decision in consolations. Senior heavyweight Carter Erickson responded after an early loss by rattling off three straight consolation wins, one of them being the University of Mount Union's Steven Marra who is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation. 

Today's results guarantees Samano, Mitchell, Gabbard, Erickson, Orlando III, Shupert and Jimenez to be named All-Region.

Day 2 begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the semifinals and consolation rounds before getting to the pavement matches and championships later in the day.
 

2026 NCAA DIII Region 4 Championships (Day 1)

125

Champ. Round 1: Adrian Samano received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Adrian Samano def. Andre Lewis (Wilmington), TF 25-0 (2:16)

Quarterfinal: Adrian Samano def. Brandon Dami (Washington & Jefferson), Fall 0:39

133

Champ. Round 1: A.J. Orlando III received a bye

Champ. Round 2: A.J. Orlando III def. Gavyn Grim (Wilmington), TF 18-2 (3:26)

Quarterfinal: Chase Creque (Baldwin Wallace) def. A.J. Orlando III, Dec 9-3

Cons. Round 4: A.J. Orlando III def. Avan Rosado (Bethany), TF 15-0 (2:21)

141

Champ. Round 1: Mauricio Reyes received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Antonio Shelley (Baldwin Wallace) def. Mauricio Reyes, TF 15-0 (3:44)

Cons. Round 2: Zander Ward (Wilmington) def. Mauricio Reyes, Dec 6-4

149

Champ. Round 1: Landon Neal received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Emmanuel Scordos (Baldwin Wallace) def. Landon Neal, MD 16-4

Cons. Round 2: Landon Neal received a bye

Cons. Round 3: Landon Neal def. Bryce Rodriguez-Uram (Washington & Jefferson), Fall 6:04

Cons. Round 4: Mequan Maxwell (Thiel) def. Landon Neal, Dec 4-3

157

Champ. Round 1: Carter Shupert received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Carter Shupert def. Jonathan Bissell (Thiel), Fall 6:04

Quarterfinal: Casey Smith (Roanoke) def. Carter Shupert, MD 17-6

Cons. Round 4: Carter Shupert def. Matthew Garland (Randolph), MD 10-0

165

Champ. Round 1: Cooper Comer received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Carter Mottley (Otterbein) def. Cooper Comer, Dec 8-4

Cons. Round 2: Cooper Comer def. Jiovanni DeChicchis (Washington & Jefferson), Fall 3:47
Cons. Round 3: Cooper Comer def. Quintez Pratt (Wilmington), Dec 8-1

Cons. Round 4: Aiden Stecker (Mount Union) def. Cooper Comer, Dec 6-1

174

Champ. Round 1: Michael Gabbard received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Michael Gabbard def. Austin Dipzinski (Heidelberg), MD 14-2

Quarterfinal: Thomas West (Baldwin Wallace) def. Michael Gabbard, MD 11-0

Cons. Round 4: Michael Gabbard def. Ethan Kring (Greensboro), Fall 2:01

184

Champ. Round 1: Khalil Mitchell received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Khalil Mitchell def. Nathan Barkley (St. Vincent), Fall 0:23

Quarterfinal: Blaine Chrisman (Mount Union) def. Khalil Mitchell, Fall 2:15

Cons. Round 4: Khalil Mitchell def. Devin Sweeney (Washington & Lee), MD 18-5

197

Champ. Round 1: Jacob Jimenez received a bye

Champ. Round 2: Jacob Jimenez def. Brayden McFetridge (Mount Union), Fall 2:11

Quarterfinal: John Santowski (Washington & Lee) def. Jacob Jimenez, Dec 5-2

Cons. Round 4: Jacob Jimenez def. Dino Longo (Hiram), MD 16-3

285

Champ. Round 1: Andrew Vanscoy (Baldwin Wallace) def. Carter Erickson, Fall 2:51

Cons. Round 1: Carter Erickson received a bye

Cons. Round 2: Carter Erickson def. Zach Kuneff (Bethany), Dec 9-3

Cons. Round 3: Carter Erickson def. Edward Powers (Hiram), Fall 1:29

Cons. Round 4: Carter Erickson def. Steven Marra (Mount Union), MD 11-0