EWING, N.J. – Six TCNJ wrestlers advanced to the semifinals and three more remain alive in the consolations as the Lions concluded Day 1 of the Region III Championship atop the team standings.
 
Matthew Griffin (125), Garrett Totten (133), Vinnie Santaniello (141), Jordan Ayyash (165), Hunter Mays (174), and D.J. Henry (197) all reached the semifinals of their respective weight classes for TCNJ, which accrued 97.5 team points to narrowly outpace second-place Messiah (93.5) and third-place Ursinus (80.5).
 
J.J. Giordano (149), Colin Menier (157), and Luke Theis (184) remain alive in the consolations and will need to win three rounds on Saturday to take third place and qualify for NCAAs.
 
For the six-pack of semifinalists, the path is much simpler: win Saturday morning, and pack your bags for nationals.
 
125
Griffin, seeded third, started his regional run with a pin of Jaydin Barreto of Misericordia in 4:24.
 
Griffin took the lead with a late takedown in the first period of his quarterfinal against Michael Adams of Ursinus, then rode out the entire second period with a stalling penalty against Adams to boot. He took down Adams in the final minute of the third and sealed his spot in the semifinals with an 8-0 major decision.
 
Griffin will take on second-seeded Malik Asfour of Eastern in Saturday's semifinals.
 
133
The No. 2 seed, Totten wasted no time moving on to the main rounds after acing a preliminary bout, racing out to a 15-3 lead before his first-round opponent was forced to default due to injury.
 
He made similarly easy work of Eastern's Jackson Orrell his next time up, soaring into the quarterfinals with a 17-2 victory in which he racked up almost five minutes of riding time to seal the tech fall.
 
Elizabethtown's Corey Cope could not cope with Totten's arsenal in the quarterfinals, with the Lions' standout tallying four first-period takedowns on the way to an 18-3 tech fall in 3:46.
 
Totten will take on third-seeded Jacob Venezia of NYU in the semifinals; Totten won by tech fall when the two matched up in the teams' dual in the Big Apple on January 24.
 
141
Santaniello showed his mettle as the No. 1 seed, riding out almost the entire first period after an early takedown en route to an eventual 19-4 technical fall over McDaniel's Andrew Dolezel.
 
The Lions' junior transfer moved on to the semifinals with ease, pinning Alvernia's Quinn Tobin in just 1:19. He'll meet Ursinus' Andrew Schaen, the No. 5 seed, in the semifinals.
 
149
The No. 5 seed, Giordano got off to a fast start, clinching a 16-0 technical fall with 37 seconds left in the first period of his opening bout before advancing to the quarterfinals by dispatching Merchant Marine's Aidan Krass in a hard-fought 4-2 decision. Giordano trailed 1-0 in that match before going in front with a takedown late in the second period and adding an escape to begin the third.
 
Giordano lost a tight 4-2 decision to fourth-seeded Michael Williams of Misericordia in the quarterfinals, but lived to fight another day with an 11-2 major against Seth Karpulk of Albright.
 
157
Menier and York's Frank Gulli were tied at 3-3 in the second period before Menier took control, surging in front with an escape and a takedown to give himself breathing room to absorb a second Gulli takedown in the third. Menier added another takedown later in the final frame, eventually securing a 14-7 decision.
 
Menier jumped out to a 6-0 lead against No. 3 seed Braden Kmak of Ursinus, and still led 6-4 with riding time secured entering the third. Kmak, however, scored a takedown with about 30 seconds remaining and managed to pin Menier to steal a semifinal spot.
 
Menier won by tech fall, 17-2, on riding time against NYU's Robert Leeds to secure his passage to Day 2.
 
165
Ayyash made his regional debut with a 19-3 defeat of Arcadia's Riley Gutierrez, breaking a scoreless deadlock with a takedown in the final seconds of the first period and adding three more in a dominant third period that he closed with a near fall just before the buzzer to clinch a technical fall.    
 
The rookie punched his ticket to the semifinals in thrilling fashion, taking a shot and polishing off an upset of second-seeded Ethan Composto of Gettysburg with a sudden-victory takedown with just 16 seconds remaining in overtime after the pair wrestled to a 5-5 stalemate in regulation.
 
Ayyash will go against No. 3 seed Justice Hockenberry-Folk of Elizabethtown in the semifinals.
 
174
Mays scored a first-period tech fall against Jordan Bentley of King's, notching three takedowns and a pair of four-point near falls to post an 18-2 victory in the first step of his title defense.
 
Mays handled No. 8 seed Andrew Huesgen of Merchant Marine, leading 9-2 on a trio of takedowns before Huesgen was forced into an injury default at 2:23.
 
Mays will wrestle against No. 4 seed Anthony Cerulli in the semifinals.
 
184
Theis, the No. 6 seed, outlasted his first-round opponent in a low-scoring grinder, escaping in the second for a 1-0 lead and riding out the entire third period with a four-point near fall to boot for a 6-0 decision.  
 
Theis lost by major decision to third-seeded Justin Mayes of NYU, but remained alive and kicking thanks to a 5-1 win against DVU's Joseph McCullough.
 
197
Henry opened the defense of his crown in dominating fashion, a pin against Eastern's Nicholas Morey that took barely two minutes to end; Henry already led 14-1 before taking his opponent to the mat for good.
 
Henry's quarterfinal lasted longer but ended the same way – with another technical fall. The junior star cruised past 7^th-seeded Ryan Fairchild of Muhlenberg by a score of 18-2, ending the bout with a takedown 19 seconds into the third period.
 
Henry, the No. 2 seed, will meet No. 3 seed Tyler Withers of Merchant Marine in the semis.
 
285
Coon picked up a quick four-point near fall on Max Shnipes of Scranton in his first bout, pinning the Royal in just 47 seconds to move on to the main rounds.
 
He dropped out of the main draw with a 10-2 defeat at the hands of Misericordia's Aiden Hidley, and his season came to an end with a loss to Albright's Joseph Gassert.

NOTES

• Totten, Mays, and Henry are all seeking repeat regional titles
• Griffin, who finished third in 2024 and second in 2025, is one win away from his third straight NCAA berth
• Coon finished his junior season with an overall record of 16-8, including eight pins
• Giordano, Menier, and Theis will all be first-time regional place-winners; Santaniello will as well after spending two seasons at Division I Pitt