Three KU Wrestlers Win Regional Championships; Four Headed to Nationals

Seventh-ranked Kutztown University wrestling claimed three regional champions for the first time in program history and qualified four wrestlers for nationals in capturing a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division II Super Region I Championships on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa.

The nationally-ranked trio of T.C. Warner (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Bloomsburg)) (174 lbs.), Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) (184 lbs.) and Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)) (285 lbs.), each of whom was the top seed in their respective weight class, brought home regional titles and redshirt-sophomore Joe Renne (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) wrestled back through the consolation bracket to secure the third and final national qualifying spot at 125 lbs.

KU will be sending four wrestlers to nationals for the fifth time since 2012 and featured multiple regional champions for the first time since 2011 when Austin Williams and John Paukovits were weight class winners at the inaugural Super Region I Championships.

Warner's undefeated season rolled on with three victories to take the 174-pound bracket. The senior from Mechanicsburg, ranked fourth in the nation by the NWCA, registered a 5-0 shutout of seventh-ranked Mike Raccioppi (East Stroudsburg) in the finals. It was Warner's second victory over Raccioppi in two weeks.

Warner got his tournament off to a commanding start with a 41-second pin of American International's Ahmad Sharif and locked up a return to nationals for the first time since 2017 with a 6-2 decision over Pitt-Johnstown's Steven Edwards in the semifinals.

Top-ranked Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) matched his senior classmate in remaining unbeaten on the season. Reimel was also out to send a message, advancing to the semifinals with a 1:00 pin of Shippensburg's Ryan Narber.

The Lansdale native downed Gannon's Joel Leise, 10-4, in the semifinals and roared past Pitt-Johnstown's Brock Biddle, 9-2, in the championship bout. Reimel will be making his third consecutive trip to nationals after an All-America fifth-place showing at 184 lbs. last spring.

Redshirt sophomore Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)), ranked No. 4 nationally at 285, put together two major decisions before supplying some late match heroics in the final. The Virginia Tech transfer beat American International's Ray Sherwood, 15-7, in the quarterfinals to become the first KU wrestler with 20 wins this season.

Dunn Jr. would dispose of Millersville's David Wuestner, 12-3, in the semifinals and used a late third period takedown to win the super regional title over Shippensburg's Derek Berberick, 3-2. The Bethlehem native is now 22-2 on the season and a perfect 20-0 against DII competition.

Renne was the surprise of the tournament for the Golden Bears. The grappler from Great Meadows, New Jersey, brought a 7-8 record into the weekend and was unranked in the region.

After taking a 3-1 defeat to Gannon's Jacob Dunlap in the quarterfinals, Renne responded with a 17-2 (5:32) technical fall over East Stroudsburg's Nick Reto and a 2:55 pin of Seton Hill's Derrick Chandler-Christie to reach the consolation final.

Renne stepped up to the challenge of defeating Mercyhurst's Jacob Ruggeri in his home gym with a 10-4 decision to secure his first berth at nationals.

The Golden Bears were second in the team standings with 102 points, behind only nationally-ranked No. 6 Pitt-Johnstown (141 pts.). Gannon took third (94), with Mercyhurst fourth (93.5) and Seton Hill fifth (72).

Dunn Jr., Reimel, Renne and Warner will compete at the NCAA Division II Championships in Cleveland on March 8-9.

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