Gorham, Maine - February 26, 2023- The Springfield College wrestling team concluded the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championships in the University of Southern Maine's Costello Sports Complex Field House on Sunday and had a pair of student-athletes become national qualifiers.
As a team, the Pride finished third among the 19-team field with 112.5 points and had seven wrestlers earn all-region honors. Leading the way for the Pride was Jacob Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Chase Parrott (Stamford, Conn.), who each earned a spot in the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships, which which will be held March 10-11 at Ferrum College in Roanoke, Va.
Deguire became the first Springfield College wrestler to win a regional title since 2016 as he dominated the 157 pound weight class as the third seed. After two pins on Saturday to reach the semifinals, the sophomore prevailed in a 10-6 decision against nationally-ranked Joe Chapman from Coast Guard to punch his ticket to nationals before pinning WPI's Tommy Dell'Aera in just 1:01 to earn the regional title.
Parrott also earned his first-ever trip to the upcoming NCAA Championships as he took second at 149 pounds. In the semifinals against nationally-ranked Colby Frost of Southern Maine, Parrott battled tough and scored a reversal and takedown in the third period to rally for a 4-2 decision. He would later medically forfeit prior to the championship bout as earn regional runner-up honors.
At 141 pounds, Joey Parsons (Waldwick, N.J.) put forth an incredible effort to finish fourth in his weight class. After going 3-1 on Saturday, Parsons grinded out a decision over Norwich's Joseph Lotruglio as he scored a takedown in the final seconds for a 7-6 win before edging Max Martinzez of Wesleyan, 5-3, to reach the third-place bout. With a spot at nationals on the line, Parsons was upended by top-seeded James Rodriguez of Castleton, 7-2. At 285, Michael Filieri (Garfield, N.J.) also took fourth as he wrestled tough all weekend after an opening round loss. After two wins on Saturday, Filieri clipped Reid Garrison of Merchant Marine, 11-4, and pinned Mason Sprinkel of Noriwch in 2:14 to earn a spot in the third-place match. A third-period escape would prove to be the only scoring as he was edged by NYU's Evan Anderson to finish fourth in the weight class.
Gianni Manginelli (Dumont, N.J.) placed fifth at 133 pounds as he opened up the day with a 15-2 major decision over Wesley Wydick of Merchant before he was edged by a 4-2 decision against Coast Guard's Chase Randall. The senior ended the tournament on a high note as he bested Michael Gonyea of Castleton, 10-4.
At 165 pounds, Myles Leonard (Waldwick, N.J.) battled his way to fifth place to conclude his tremendous first season with the Pride. The nation's leader in pinfalls, Leonard added to more to his total on Sunday, pinning Coast Guard's Steven Rochard in 2:21 and WPI's Mario Barberio in 4:43 in the fifth-place bout after previously falling to Castleton's Michael Angers, 5-3 in the consolation semifinals. For his efforts, Leonard was awarded the Most Pins in Least Time award at the championship site.
Joey Manginelli (Dumont, N.J.) would finish sixth at 125 pounds as he was clipped by a 3-0 decision in the semifinals against Jake Craig of Southern Maine and a 2-0 decision in the consolation semifinals against NYU's Tasei Karachi before bowing out of the tournament with a medical forfeit.
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