John Boyle qualified for the NCAA Championships, while Dom Liquori, Ryan Guers and Tim McLinden earned All-Northeast Region honors over the weekend at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships at WPI.

Posted: Feb 25, 2018

Boyle Punches Ticket to NCAA Championships, Three Other Golden Bears Earn All-Northeast Region Honors

Western New England places ninth in the 17-team field

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 25, 2018) – Four members of the Western New England University wrestling team earned All-Region honors for their top-six finishes over the weekend at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the Sports & Recreation Center.

Sophomore John Boyle (Rowley, Mass.) led the way for the Golden Bears with his second-place finish in the 184-pound weight class. After going 2-0 on Saturday, Boyle opened Sunday's action by punching his ticket to the NCAA Division III Championships with an 11-2 major decision victory over Connor Humphries of Roger Williams in the semifinals.

Boyle lost a hard-fought, 4-3 overtime decision to Khamri Thomas of Johnson & Wales in the championship bout, as he placed second with a 3-1 record for the weekend.

Boyle is Western New England's first NCAA national qualifier since Jamison Sacco, who accomplished the feat in both 2010 and 2013.

Senior Tim McLinden (Plaistow, N.H.), who entered Sunday's action in the consolation bracket at 133, defeated Southern Maine's Caleb Austin (16-6 major decision) and Springfield College's Ian Tolotti (7-6 decision) to reach the third place bout.

McLinden finished fourth after losing an 11-1 major decision to Owen McClave of Coast Guard.

Also earning All-Northeast Region accolades for the Golden Bears were sophomore Ryan Guers (Orwigsburg, Pa.) and senior Dom Liquori (Springfield, Mass.).

Guers dropped his semifinal bout to Malik Settles of New England College (7-0 decision) before bowing out of the tournament with an injury on his way to sixth place at 174.

Liquori pinned Adum Patsun of Roger Williams (1:34) before suffering the same fate against Jonah Aurelio of Johnson & Wales (3:57) in the consolation semifinals en route to a sixth place finish at 285.

Also in action on Sunday were freshmen Nick Arborio (Berlin, Conn.) and Ryan Monteiro (Wilbraham, Mass.). Both were eliminated with losses in their first bouts, as Arborio dropped a 10-1 major decision to WPI's Ben Zogby at 125, and Monteiro was edged in a 1-0 decision by Brady Robin of Johnson & Wales at 157.

Western New England finished ninth in the 17-team field with a score of 59.5.

The NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships will be held on March 9-10 at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.