Josh Etzel Wins 141-Pound Title At Midwest Regional; Heads To NCAA Championships
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Sophomore Josh Etzel (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward) {pictured middle of bottom row} became the first Washington & Jefferson College wrestler to win a regional title since 2003 after claiming the 141-pound title Saturday at the Midwest Regional hosted by Case Western Reserve University.
Etzel posted three victories, including a 9-3 victory over Olivet’s Kenneth Richmond in the championship match to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships which will be held March 9-10 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. W&J all-time wins leader Kevin DeJuliis ’03 and Byron Johnson ’04 both were the last Presidents to make national championships appearances in 2003.
Olivet claimed the team championship with 123 points led by five individual champions. Waynesburg was second with 83 followed by Wabash (82.5), Trine (71.5), Thiel (70.5), Alma (58.5), Mt. St. Joseph (51.5), W&J (36.5), Manchester (28) and Case Western Reserve (25.5). Thiel 133-pounder Corey Brown was the only other champion from a PAC school.
Etzel improved his season record to 24-3. He opened with a 13-1 triumph over Alma’s Frank Stepnoski before edging Thiel’s Sean Byham 6-5 in the semifinals.
Senior heavyweight Taylor Potts (Wellsburg, W.Va./John Marshall) placed third after earning a 3-1 record with two falls. He tied the W&J school record for single-season victories after finishing with a 36-11 mark this winter. Potts tied DeJuliis for the single-season wins record which the former All-American set in 2003.
Potts, who also tied senior teammate Zach Cecchetti (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) with 83 career victories (4th in school history), pinned Alma’s Mason Ley in 2:48 in his first match before falling to Waynesburg’s Brandon Fedorka 4-1. He bounced back to defeat Thiel’s Will Ringer 7-6 and then Case Western Reserve’s Cale Harter in 30 seconds by fall.
Cecchetti notched a 2-2 record in his final tournament to place fifth in the 133-pound bracket.
