Two members of the Muhlenberg wrestling team in their first year of collegiate competition qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships.

Sophomore Joey Lamparelli (125) and freshman Brandon Bowles (149) earned trips to the national meet, scheduled for March 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by placing in the top three with dramatic wins at the Mideast Regional.

Two other Mules, freshman Anson Dewar (157) and senior Luca Colestock (197) placed fourth, coming within one win of a bid to nationals. As a team, Muhlenberg placed sixth at the regional meet, one place higher than in 2020.

In the first bout of the day, Lamparelli was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation with an opponent from Oneonta. The two-minute overtime produced no points, so the bout went to a rideout. Lamparelli had the top position for the first 30 seconds and rode his opponent for the entire time. Lamparelli started on the bottom for the second half and escaped in the first 10 seconds for what proved to be the winning point. He then fought off a takedown attempt by his opponent in the waning seconds to secure his spot in the regional championship final, and the NCAA Championships.

With both competitors assured of a bid to nationals, Lamparelli fell 5-3 to a Brockport wrestler in the championship final. Lamparelli is the first Mule 125-pounder ever to earn a bid to nationals.

Bowles wrestled three extremely close bouts on the second day of competition, winning all three by two points. He advanced to the consolation final with a 3-1 overtime win against a Centenary opponent and found himself in a heated third-place bout against an opponent from Ithaca who had handed him a 9-8 loss on the first day of the tournament. 

Bowles scored the only offensive points of regulation on a second-period takedown and was tied 2-2 when he was called for stalling for a second time late in the second period. The Muhlenberg coaches challenged, and after video review, the stalling call and point were taken off the board. Bowles took a 3-2 lead when he escaped early in the third period, but another stalling call with three seconds left in regulation tied the score and sent the winner-take-the-bid match into overtime.

Bowles finally ended the bout on a takedown 1:13 into the extra period, becoming the first Mule freshman since Matt Loesch in 2004 to qualify for nationals.

Dewar notched a major decision against an Ursinus opponent to advance to the consolation final, where he lost by decision. Colestock defeated the same McDaniel opponent for the second straight day to reach the consolation final.

Pictured above are placewinners Bowles, Ramiro Osuna (sixth at heavyweight), Lamparelli, Dewar, Frank DiEsso (seventh at 133) and Colestock.

Team Scores
1. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) 163.5
2. Ithaca (I) 135.5
3. Cortland (Co) 123
4. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) 119
5. Ursinus (U) 95
6. MUHLENBERG 82.5 
7. Johns Hopkins (JH) 66.5
8. Brockport (B) 60.5
9. McDaniel (Mc) 56.5
10. Centenary (Ce) 52
11. Oswego State (Os) 47.5
12. New Jersey City (NJC) 44.5
13. Oneonta State (On) 36
14. Alfred State (A) 32
15. Scranton (S) 30.5
16. Elizabethtown (Eli) 23.5
17. Keystone (K) 19.5
18. Penn College (PC) 18.5
19. Pitt-Bradford (PB) 10
20. Elmira (Elm) 4

Muhlenberg Results (placewinners only) (complete brackets)
125
Joey Lamparelli (Muhl) over Jaden Hansen (A) by forfeit
Lamparelli dec. Matthew Griffin (I), 8-1
Lamparelli dec. Cody Merwin (On), 3-2 (tb)
final: Matt Caccamise (B) dec. Lamparelli, 5-3

133
Frank DiEsso (Muhl) dec. Brent Lorin (JH), 15-11
Luis Hernandez (I) dec. DiEsso, 6-1
DiEsso dec. Scott Reagan (Eli), 8-4
Jake Giordano (TCNJ) dec. DiEsso, 6-1
seventh-place match: DiEsso over Romeo Rodriguez (U) by forfeit

149
Brandon Bowles (Muhl) pinned Michael Cross (NJC), 1:29
Matthew Beyer (I) dec. Bowles, 9-8
Bowles pinned Tyriel Jefferson (Mc), 2:36
Bowles dec. Marquis Larmond (B), 5-3
Bowles dec. Cameron Bruffy (Ce), 3-1 (ot)
consolation final: Bowles dec. Beyer, 5-3 (ot)

157
Anson Dewar (Muhl) pinned Ryan Meisner (On), 3:44
Dewar dec. Gunner Gehr (Eli), 8-2
Kaidon Winters (RIT) pinned Dewar, 6:07
Dewar maj. dec. Shawn Marchesano (U), 8-0
consolation final: Jeff Johnson (NJC) dec. Dewar, 6-1

197
Luca Colestock (Muhl) pinned Jaedyn Harris (Mc), 1:53
Colestock dec. Jhordyn Innocent (On), 7-3
Jordan Wallace (I) pinned Colestock, 6:52
Colestock dec. Harris, 6-2
consolation final: Josh Harkless (RIT) dec. Colestock, 5-1

HWT
Ramiro Osuna (Muhl) over Richard Knapp (B) by injury default, 0:41
Osuna dec. Darius Green (Elm), 4-0
Edwin Rubio (I) dec. Osuna, 7-1
Malcolm Hunt (U) maj. dec. Osuna, 11-3
fifth-place match: Caleb Burkhart (K) dec. Osuna, 11-6