GRANTHAM, Pa. – Five Ursinus College men's wrestlers earned a top-eight finish in their respective weight classes leading the Bears at the NCAA Region III Championships on Saturday.
 

Junior Anthony Cerulli earned the highest finish placing fourth in the 174-pound weight class. The Bears totaled 58 team points and placed 10th overall, while No. 21 TCNJ won the team title with 174.5 total points. No. 6 Alvernia University (137.5) and Messiah University (128.5) rounded out the top three teams of the 18-team field.

 
"We had some really strong performances this weekend, most notably AJ and Nils," Director of Wrestling Joe Jamison said. "Unfortunately, they fell just short of qualifying for NCAAs, but a lot of our individual performances show how much we've grown this year. Most of our starting lineup is returning, so we are excited for what the future holds."

 
Cerulli was the lone Bear to reach the championship semifinals after round one, but unfortunately fell in the match against the eventual champion, seventh-ranked Hunter Mays of TCNJ via a 12-1 major decision. He bounced back in the consolation round by avenging a previous loss against Muhlenberg's Anson Dewar, securing a 7-3 decision to reach the third-place bout. Cerulli collected a first-period takedown over the 2023 All-American before earning three near-fall points in the final period en route to the decision over Dewar. In his final bout, Cerulli fell by a 12-4 decision against Austin Brass of Messiah University to miss qualifying for Nationals by a single bout. He closes out the season with a 33-13 record while leading the team with 20 victories by fall.
 

In the 184-pound weight class, junior Nils Updale earned a fifth-place finish by finishing with a 2-1 record on the second day of competition. Updale opened with a 4-1 victory over Muhlenberg's Ryan Fairchild to advance to the consolation semifinals. Trailing 1-0 in the second period, Updale secured the go-ahead takedown with five seconds remaining, before earning an escape in the final to collect the victory. In the consolation semifinals, he fell by a 4-2 decision to 12th-ranked Trent Furman of NYU, the No. 1 seed, before entering the fifth-place match. Updale bounced back in his final match by with a 4-1 decision over James Romaine of TCNJ. Updale entered the final period trialing 1-0, but used an escape and a takedown with 11-seconds remaining to secure the victory.
 

Senior Franco Mazza earned a sixth-place finish at 125 pounds behind a 3-3 record in the tournament. Mazza opened with a 4-3 victory over King's Patrick Horvath behind a third-period takedown to advance into the consolation semifinals. Unfortunately, Mazza fell by a 4-0 score against an eventual National qualifier, Malik Asfour of Delaware Valley to make the fifth-place bout. In his final match, Mazza fell by a 4-3 decision against McDaniel's Alex DuFour to place sixth.
 

Jamison spoke on Mazza's tournament, "My heart breaks for guys like Franco who fell short of their goals, but he should hold his head up high. He is an incredible leader and always set the example for everyone in the program. His contributions were second to none and he will be sorely missed."
 

Sophomore Braden Kmak dropped his opening bout in the consolation bracket of the 165-pound weight class, losing by a 16-7 major decision to Justice Hockenberry-Folk of Elizabethtown. Kmak responded in his final bout with a first-period fall at the 2:28-mark over NYU's Hassan Khan to place seventh overall. Junior Michael Adams placed eighth at 133-pounds as he fell in his opening match by a 9-3 decision against Muhlenberg's CJ Horvath. Next, Adams dropped a 2-0 decision against Merchant Marine's Wesley Wydick to close out his tournament.
 

The Bears close out their 2024-25 season and will look to build off a 10-6 overall record and a second-place finish at the Centennial Conference Championships.