Wrestling finishes fourth at NCAA Region 2 Championships

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Four RIT wrestlers placed in the top three to help the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Region 2 Championships, Saturday and Sunday. Junior Josh Harkless, seniors Lee Rubin and Michael Glynn III and sophomore Jared Lee each qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships.
  
Harkless won the 285 lb. division and Rubin placed second at 125 lb. Glynn (149 lb.) and Lee (157. lb.) each placed third.
 
Harkless, ranked No. 3 nationally and first in the region, pinned Rocco Arduini (Keystone) 1:22 into his opening match and pinned Maximo Ruiz (Stevens) 1:52 into his quarterfinal match. He pinned Robbie West (Lycoming) 45 seconds into the semifinal match and pinned Caleb Burkhart (Wilkes) at 3:35 in the championship bout.
 
Rubin, ranked sixth in the region, pinned Zach Dellinger (Penn State Behrend) 2:33 into his opening bout and beat Connor Kerwin (Wilkes) with a 28-18 major decision in the quarterfinals. Rubin was a 4-1 winner over Tomah Gummow (Ithaca) in the semifinals before a 2-0 loss to No. 1 Kaden Majcher (Lycoming) in the championship match.   
 
Glynn, ranked third in the region and seventh nationally, pinned Steven Ventricelli (Oswego) 1:36 into his first bout and lost 8-5 in extra time to Xavier Pena (Centenary) in the quarterfinals. Glynn came back to pin Colton Thorpe (Wilkes) at 1:32 in his first consolation match picking up his 100th career win. Glynn was a 14-3 major decision winner over TJ Martin (Penn College) in his second consolation match and defeated Carmen Cortese (Stevens) 16-9 in the consolation semifinals. Glynn beat Avery Leonard (Oneonta) 6-4 in the third-place match.
 
Lee (RIT) defeated Nicholas D`Erasmo (Hunter) with a Fall at 1:12 in the preliminary match and beat Michael Cross (New Jersey City) with a 17-1 technical fall in his second bout. Lee won the quarterfinals with a 5-0 decision over Marquis Larmond before a 9-0 loss to Ryan Smith (Stevens) in the semifinals. He beat Paul Lichter 8-3 in the consolation semifinals and was a 5-2 winner over Jaryn Hartranft (Wilkes) in the third-place bout.
 
Harkless is making his third trip to the NCAA Championships, finishing eighth in 2023 earning All-American honors. Glynn is making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors with an eighth place at last year's championships. Rubin and Lee are making their first appearances at the NCAA's.
 
Sophomore Tyler Balent placed seventh at 174 lb. and first year Jack Lamson places fifth at 165 lb.

RIT returns to action on Friday (March 14) at the NCAA Division III Championships in Providence, RI.