Five things you should watch at D2 regional

Five things that you should observe in the Super Regionals of NCAA Division II

The Nach season wrestling of NCAA Division II begins on Saturday with six super regional tournaments across the country. The three most important wrestlers in each weight class move with the D2 NCAA championships from March 14th to 15th in the Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

The field is wide and for top teams like #1 Nebraska-Kearney, #2 St. Cloud State, #3 Wisconsin-Parkide and #4 Central Oklahoma, this path to a national title begins this weekend.

Here are five things that you should watch during the Super Regionals of Division 2 this Saturday.

Wisconsin-Parkide seems to be a run

Traditional PowerHouses Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma and St. Cloud State won together with 11 of the last 13 national titles in Division 2.

Upstart Wisconsin-Parkide has national title commitments this season and is loaded with nine wrestlers, who are among the top 12 in 1 Cayden Henschel with 141 pounds, #2 Matthew Chi at £ 125 and #3 Reece Worachek at 184 pounds.

While the Rangers have many top-end talents, their title hopes can be based on qualifying newcomers such as #8 Easton Worachek (£ 149). He entered the starting line -up in the middle of the season and his success was no surprise for coach Nick Becker.

“The day on which Easton stepped on campus was a worker, a man who is competitor,” said Becker.

Worachek will have his work cut out for him on the way to the NCAA tournament with four other rankings in the region, including #4 Colby Njos (St. Cloud State), #5 Wyatt Turnquist (Northern State), #6 Cael Larson (Augustana) and #12 Ethan Doty (Upper Iowa). Becker is not worried about Easton Worachek hits the moment.

“I think he even seems a little more when the lights are brighter,” said Becker.

Can Nebraska-Kearney maintain dynamics?

The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers, who started the season in 5th place, enter the Super Regional Tournament as No. 1 team in the wrestling of the Division 2. The Lopers have built dynamics throughout the season and have nine wrestler in the top 10, including No. 2 Zachary Ourada (125 pounds), Nick James (£ 149) and #1 Crew Howard (285 pounds).

Howard, who finished third in 2024, is the anchor for the Loper. This third place is a motivating factor for Howard.

“If there is someone who is better than I do, that makes me a little crazy,” he said. “I want to beat everyone.”

The Loper Heavyweight is 21-0 with seven pens and five technical storms.

Trainer Dalton Jensen has only praise for Howard.

“Crew embodies everything our program stands for,” he said. “He does not take away any days and always challenges himself to make himself better. He is the time and effort that are necessary to be successful in all aspects of life.”

For Jensen, Howard is not just a D2 talent at the highest level.

“He has more than just the ability to be a national champion of Division II,” said Jensen. “At the moment I would say that he is probably one of the top -15 -top -20 wrestler across the country.”

In addition to Howard, the Lopers line-up with three times all-American and returning national finalist Nick James with £ 149. James stepped again in mid-February and the Loper drove his presence to a No. 1 ranking.

Kvien and Blubaugh: round 4

The 197-pound class could contain a Matchup marquee between #2 Logan Kvien (McKendree) and No. 3 Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis). Kvien is a two-time all-American who took third place at the NCAA tournament of last year, while Blubaugh is a returning national champion and three-time finalists. They met three times throughout their career, with Blubaugh gaining the first two fights and Kvien the third. Each game was within four points and the last game was decided in overtime.

Blubaugh enters the tournament with a 15-2 record and only loses against Kyle Homeet from Kvien and Glenville.

Glenville State Lineup shifts

Glenville State wants to make noise at the NCAA championships. The pioneers were classified under the top five for most of the season and have six wrestlers in the top 12, including National Champion #5 Gavin Quiocho (£ 141), #4 Guy Deleonardis (157 pounds), #1 Hayden Pummel (174 pounds) and #5 Kyle Homeet (184 pounds).

The pioneers have made a few installation shifts. Quiocho wrestled with 133, 141 and 149 games this season. Homeet had struggled by £ 184 until February when he bumped into 197 pounds and defeated the returning national champion Derek Blubaugh.

It remains to be seen whether these changes are available for super -regional or whether both wrestlers return to their previous weight classes. At 133, the pioneers would have three wrestlers who legitimately fought for a title, which made them a force with which one had to expect at the NCAA championships.

For the trainer of Glenville State Dylan Cotrell, the goal is to qualify as many as possible.

“On paper I think we should take care,” he said. “I would be very satisfied with eight, but I would be enthusiastic at 10.”

Top matchups

Each super-regional can have several matchups between high-ranking wrestlers. Some of the most important matchups to concentrate on:

133 Pound in region 5- #1 Reece Barnhardt (Umary) and #2 Matthew Chi (Wisconsin-Parkside)

174 Pound in region 3 – #1 Hayden Pummel (Glenville State), #2 Sevi Garza (Ashland), #4 Josh Kenny (Grand Valley State) and #6 Carter Winegardner (West Liberty)

197 pound in region 5 – #1 Dominic Murphy (St. Cloud State) and #4 Max Ramberg (Augustana)

197 Pound in region 3 – #2 Logan Kvien (McKendree) and #3 Derek Blubaugh (Indianapolis)