Wrestling | 2/22/2017 10:15:00 AM
ROCHESTER, NY – Ten grapplers will represent the RIT wrestling team as they head to M&T Fieldhouse/Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center in York, Pa. to compete at the 2017 NCAA Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26. Action on Saturday begins at 11 a.m., while Sunday's wrestling starts at 10 a.m.
The NCAA Mideast Regional Championship qualifying tournament is a two-day, double-elimination format. The top three finishers in each weight class will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Division III Championships March 10-11 at La Crosse, Wis. Nineteen different teams will compete for the team title.
RIT has enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history to date, winning nine dual matches, which is tied for the third most in the program's 90-year run. Four different grapplers have at least 18 victories this season.
Senior
Jake Sepor (Stafford, NY/Pavilion) has enjoyed an incredible final season for the Tigers, recording a 23-2 overall record at 141 lbs. with a 14-1 mark in dual matches to go along with six pins and five major decision victories. He won his second consecutive RIT Invitational title in December, was a two-time RIT Male Athlete of the Week, and the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 17. Sepor has 86 career victories.
Senior
Tory Cain (Ontario, NY/Wayne), a 2015 NCAA All-American at 174 lbs., returned to the team in January after a year off and immediately made his presence felt, recording a 9-1 record and runner-up finish in his weight class at the ECWC Championship. He went 6-0 in dual matches and recorded three wins by pin. Cain leads all active RIT wrestlers with 87 career victories.
Nicholas Greenquist (Spring Lake, NJ/St. Rose) has enjoyed excellent success in his RIT career and this season is no exception, recording a 21-12 mark at 184 lbs., while recording 11 dual victories. He has nine wins by major decision and five technical falls. Greenquist, who was fifth at the 2015 NCAA Mideast Regional, has 75 career victories.
Sophomore
Dempsey King (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) is tied for the team lead with 23 victories in 2016-17 at 157 lbs. Like Sepor, King was 14-1 in dual matches. He has recorded six wins by major decision and three pins in 2016-17. King was the ECWC co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 17 and RIT Male Athlete of the Week on Feb. 6. In just two seasons, King, who finished sixth at the 2016 NCAA Mideast Regional, has a spectacular 45-14 career record.
Junior
Sam Weinger (Blooming Grove, NY/Washingtonville), who led RIT with 31 wins and a fifth place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional a year ago, is 18-6 at 285 lbs., despite battling various injuries in 2016-17. He has eight wins by pin during the season and went 8-1 in dual matches. Weinger has a career mark of 74-35.
Junior
Andrew Flanagan (Holley, NY/Holley) and sophomore
Isaiah Ocasio (Vineland, NJ/Vineland) have both enjoyed success for the Tigers in 2016-17. Flanagan, who will represent RIT at 125 lbs., has nine victories this season, including five dual wins. Ocasio, RIT's choice at 133 lbs., has 13 wins, with eight coming in dual matches. He was the RIT Male Athlete of the Week on Jan. 9.
Senior tri-captain
Evan Vershay (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy) has recovered from injury to compete at 149 lbs. for the Tigers this weekend. Sophomore
John Donohue (Smithtown, NY/Hauppauge) has four victories via pin and nine overall for RIT at 165 lbs. in 2016-17 and he will be looking to a make a deep run this weekend.
First-year wrestler
Tim Baumer (Avon, NY/Avon) will represent the Tigers at 197 lbs. He has gained valuable collegiate wrestling experience as the year has progressed.
