Four RWU Wrestlers Head to NCAA Championship on Friday

BRISTOL, R.I. – Nicholas Barbaria (Scarsdale, N.Y.), Tyler Gazaway (New Providence, N.J.), Taylor Shay (New Fairfield, Conn.), and Connor Humphries (East Longmeadow, Mass.) are getting ready to represent Roger Williams University at the 2018 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship.
 
All four Roger Williams wrestlers earned their way to the NCAA Tournament after finishing in the top three of their respective weight classes at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship.
 
Barbaria, a senior 125 pounder, earned a berth to the tournament after placing third at 125 at the NCAA Northeast Regional. On the year, Barbaria sports a 36-9 overall record, is tied for the team lead wins, and is first on the Hawks in dual points (102). In addition, he also collected his 100th career win during the season. He is slated to face Jonathan Haas of SUNY Brockport, who is seeded third in the bracket.
 
Gazaway, a sophomore 157 pounder, finished in third place at the Northeast Regional in his weight class to earn his first berth to the NCAA Championship. He enters the championship with a 33-9 overall record — the third-most wins on the team — as well as 82 dual points, which is second-best on Roger Williams. Gazaway will compete against fourth-seeded Mark Choinski of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the opening round.
 
Shay, a sophomore 165 pounder, was the Northeast Region Champion at 165 after finishing 4-0 with two wins over regionally-ranked opponents. His 36-6 overall record also ties him for the team lead in wins, in addition to ranking first on Roger Williams with a .857 winning percentage. He is seeded seventh in his bracket and will take on Jeremy Vester of Central College (Iowa).
 
Humphries, a junior 184 pounder, took third place at the Northeast Regional to make his way to the NCAA Championship for the first time. He was regionally ranked throughout the season and will head to Cleveland with a 23-13 record. Humphries will square off against Jake Ashcraft of Ithaca College, seeded second in his bracket.
 
The championship will begin Friday morning, with the matches being streamed via trackwrestling.com.