ITHACA, N.Y. (February 24, 2018)  – Five wrestlers reached Sunday's semifinal round, leading the sixteenth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team to second place after the first day of competition at the 2018 NCAA Mideast Regional, hosted by No. 3 Ithaca College. The Ducks have 56.5 team points and trail the Bombers, who sit atop the 17-team leaderboard with 82.5 points.

Junior Joey Borai (125), sophomore Troy Stanich (133), freshman Brett Kaliner (141), senior Zach Wilhelm (157) and junior Thomas Poklikuha (165) advanced to Sunday's bouts, competing for the right to be called a regional champion. Sophomore Dylan Van Sickell (149) remains alive in the consolation bracket as the top three finishers in each weight class advance to NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. 

"It was a good start, but we need to keep grinding," commented head coach Joe Favia. "There is a lot of wrestling to be done tomorrow and we need to stay focused and finish what we started."

At 125 pounds, Borai earned his 30th and 31st victories of the season to reach Sunday's semifinals. The Toms River, New Jersey native pinned Hunter's Hamad Amir in 56 seconds to begin the day and earned his second fall of the tournament, pinning Cortland's Josh Antoine in the final period. Borai draws top-seeded Jonathan Haas in the semifinals. Haas is ranked third nationally.

Stanich, the nation's top wrestler at 133 pounds, remained undefeated in 2017-18 with a technical fall over Elizabethtown's Josh McLaughlin. The Roxbury, New Jersey was leading 20-1 at the time of the stoppage. The sophomore then won his 34th consecutive match with a pin of Oswego's Evan Corso. The fall was Stanich's 14th of the year, which is tops on the team. Stanich will take on unranked Tito Colom from Ithaca in his semifinal bout as the sophomore aims to repeat as a regional champion.

Ranked third nationally, freshman Brett Kaliner won a pair of bouts to reach his first regional semifinal. The Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year won a 10-3 decision over Oswego's Justin DeLucia to begin the day and then pinned College of Mt. St. Vincent's Michael Foca to reach the semis. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native improved to 30-2 on the year. Kaliner takes on Elizabethtown's Joseph Ghione in his semifinal match.

At 149 pounds,Van Sickell pinned SUNY-Cortland's Matt Caputo in the first period to open his weekend. The Little Silver, New Jersey native fell to TCNJ's Ryan Budzek via sudden victory, but rebounded to earn an 8-0 major decision over Hunter's Ronaldo Rodriguez to advance on the consolation side. Van Sickell will take on Scranton's T.J. Conlon in his first bout Sunday. 

At 157 pounds, Wilhelm earned a fall over Ursinus' Jarret DiGiantomasso, before earning a 7-1 decision over Brockport's Corey Farrell. The Centennial Conference's all-time leader in wins will match up with Merchant Marine's Kieran Duggan in the semis. The Tuckerton, New Jersey native earned a spirited 6-5 decision over Duggan when the two met on January 24 and Wilhelm earned a technical fall over Duggan in the Centennial Championships.

At 165 pounds, Poklikuha extended his unbeaten streak with a pin of Ursinus' Zachary Goranson and a technical fall over Scranton's Kevin Merle. The West Creek, New Jersey native improved to 18-1 on the year. The junior will take on nationally-ranked Zach Zupan in the semifinals.

Senior Josh Smith fell to Cortland's J.P. Puca via major decision. The Bear, Delaware native rebounded to win a 10-3 decision over Brockport's Richard Mills, but Smith's hopes at a third-place finish were dashed at the hands of Oneonta's Ryan Marszal, who defeated Smith via major decision.

Freshman Bruce Parola dropped the first match of his initial foray into the regionals. Cortland's Deuly Espinal, who was ranked second in the regional. RIT's Joe Cutugno ended Parola's inaugural campaign with a second-period fall. 

At 197 pounds, freshman Colin Myles fell to Muhlenberg's Gennaro Cerminara in his first match of the day. The Sparta, New Jersey product then dropped a 9-2 decision to Ithaca's Dymir Davis-Carruth in the consolation bracket.

In the final weight class of the day, freshman dropped a 2-0 decision to TCNJ's Kyle Cocozza and a 5-4 decision to Elizabethtown's Eric Eckstein to bow out of the tournament.

Up Next: The second day of competition at the NCAA Mideast Regional gets underway at 10:00 a.m.

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