8 New England Natives Make DI Nationals
- 29 minutes ago
- 6 min read
It’s that time of year again — March Matness is upon us, and eight New England natives will be a part of it. The field of New England grapplers includes seven returning national qualifiers along with two returning All-Americans. Massachusetts leads the way with four qualifiers, while Connecticut and Rhode Island follow with two qualifiers each.
This year’s NCAA Division I National Championship will take place from Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21 in Cleveland, Ohio at Rocket Arena. Every match will be live-streamed on ESPN+, and each session will be broadcast on one of ESPN’s networks:
Thursday, March 19
Session 1 – 12:00 PM (ESPN2)Session 2 – 7:00 PM (ESPN)
Friday, March 20
Session 3 – 12:00 PM (ESPNU)Session 4 – 8:00 PM (ESPN2)
Saturday, March 21
Session 5 – 11:00 AM (ESPNU)Session 6 – 6:30 PM (ESPN)
Additionally, the entire tournament can be followed on Trackwrestling.com. Don’t miss any of the action as these eight New Englanders fight for their place on the podium.
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No. 7 Nico Provo (RS Jr.) – Stanford University
Stratford, CT – Green Farms Academy
High School Accolades
4x Prep New England Champion (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Prep National Champion (2021)
3x Prep All-American (5th 2019, 5th 2020, 1st 2021)
NHSCA National Champion (2021)
College Accolades
2023
4th Pac-12 Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (0-2)
2024
3rd Pac-12 Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (2-2)
2026
2nd ACC Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Provo returned to Stanford’s varsity lineup after taking a redshirt last season. He finished second at the ACC Championship, beating the returning NCAA champion at the weight, No. 12 Vincent Robinson of NC State, along the way.
Provo was rewarded with the No. 7 seed in the tournament and will wrestle No. 26 Cooper Flynn of Chattanooga in the round of 32. If the matches go to seed, he could see a rematch of the ACC finals against All-American No. 2 Eddie Ventresca of Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals.
133
No. 10 Maximilian Leete (Gr.) – American University
Danvers, MA – Danvers
High School Accolades
3x MA All-State Champion (2018, 2019, 2020)
CNESSPA New England Champion (2020)
3x CNESSPA New England Placer (3rd 2018, 2nd 2019, 1st 2020)
Fargo Greco All-American (8th 2020)
NHSCA All-American (5th 2021)
College Accolades
2024
5th EIWA Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (0-2)
2026
1st EIWA Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
After taking a redshirt year last season, Leete is back in the national tournament for the second time in his career. This time he enters as the EIWA champion and the No. 10 seed in a loaded 133-pound bracket.
In the round of 32, he is slated to wrestle No. 23 Braxton Brown of Maryland. If he advances to the round of 16, he could face either All-American No. 26 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers or returning national champion No. 7 Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Leete is always a tough out and should be competitive. He owns wins this season over No. 11 Tyler Ferrara of Cornell and No. 14 Ethan Berginc of Army.
No. 15 Tyler Knox (RS So.) – Stanford University
Groveland, MA – St. John’s Prep / Northfield Mount Hermon
High School Accolades
MA All-State Champion (2022)
CNESSPA New England Champion (2022)
Prep New England Champion (2020)
Prep All-American (7th 2020)
2x NHSCA National Champion (2022, 2023)
3x NHSCA All-American (7th 2021, 1st 2022, 1st 2023)
College Accolades
2025
4th ACC Championship
8th NCAA Championship (All-American)
2026
2nd ACC Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Knox is a returning All-American and the runner-up at the ACC Championship. Unfortunately for him, the 133-pound class has seen an influx of elite freshmen this season (No. 1 Jax Forrest, No. 2 Ben Davino, No. 3 Marcus Blaze, No. 4 Aaron Seidel, and No. 5 Kyler Larkin).
Those freshmen account for four of Knox’s five losses this season, with the other coming by medical forfeit. As a result, Knox received the No. 14 seed in the tournament.
He will face No. 18 Gunner Andrick of West Virginia in the round of 32 and would likely see No. 2 Ben Davino of Ohio State in the round of 16. Even with a tough bracket, Knox should still be considered a strong All-American contender.
141
No. 16 Ryan Jack (Gr.) – NC State
Danbury, CT – Danbury
High School Accolades
4x CT Open Champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
3x CNESSPA New England Champion (2018, 2019, 2020)
4x CNESSPA New England Finalist (2nd 2017, 1st 2018, 1st 2019, 1st 2020)
NHSCA National Champion (2019)
3x NHSCA All-American (6th 2017, 3rd 2018, 1st 2019)
Super 32 Finalist (2nd 2018)
College Accolades
2022
2nd ACC Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (2-2)
2023
2nd ACC Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (1-2)
2024
1st ACC Championship
7th NCAA Championship (All-American)
2026
3rd ACC Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Jack took a redshirt season last year but knocked the rust off and qualified for his fourth NCAA tournament. An All-American for NC State in 2024, he has work to do if he hopes to return to the podium. He earned the No. 16 seed and will face No. 17 Caedyn Ricciardi of Navy in the opening round. If he advances, he would likely meet returning NCAA champion No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in the round of 16.
Jack has struggled against ranked opponents this season but owns a win over No. 10 Jack Consiglio of Stanford and has the pedigree of a former NCAA All-American. He will need to find his 2024 form if he hopes to return to the podium.
157
No. 20 Jimmy Harrington (Sr.) – Harvard University
Tyngsboro, MA – Belmont Hill
High School Accolades
2x Prep New England Champion (2019, 2020)
Prep National Champion (2021)
3x Prep National All-American (8th 2019, 5th 2020, 1st 2021)
NHSCA All-American (4th 2021)
College Accolades
2024
Competed at EIWA Championship (1-2)
2025
5th Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (1-2)
2026
4th Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Harrington returns to the NCAA tournament as an automatic qualifier after finishing fourth at the Ivy League Championship. As the No. 20 seed, he will face No. 13 Derek Raike of Ohio in the round of 32. Harrington is the lone qualifier for Harvard this season.
He enters the tournament with a 21-8 record and owns a win over No. 19 Kai Owen of Columbia, though he has struggled against ranked opponents this season.
165
No. 12 Cesar Alvan (Sr.) – Columbia University
Ludlow, MA – Northfield Mount Hermon / Springfield Central / Ludlow
High School Accolades
3x MA All-State Placer (5th 2017, 3rd 2018, 1st 2019)
MA All-State Champion (2019)
2x CNESSPA New England Placer (4th 2018, 1st 2019)
CNESSPA New England Champion (2019)
Prep National Champion (2021)
NHSCA All-American (3rd 2019)
College Accolades
2023
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (0-2)
2025
2nd Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (0-2)
2026
1st Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
For the third time in his career, Cesar Alvan is heading to the NCAA tournament. This season he captured the Ivy League title and earned the No. 12 seed. He will face No. 21 Brock Woodcock of SIU Edwardsville in the round of 32.
Alvan has had a solid season with several quality wins, most notably defeating Big 12 champion and No. 4 seed Nicco Ruiz of Arizona State earlier this season. At minimum, Alvan should be in position to secure his first NCAA tournament win and could realistically push for a top-eight finish.
174
No. 16 Nick Fine (Sr.) – Columbia University
Cumberland, RI – Bishop Hendricken
High School Accolades
4x RI State Finalist (2nd 2018, 1st 2019, 1st 2020, 1st 2021)
3x RI State Champion (2019, 2020, 2021)
2x CNESSPA New England Placer (4th 2019, 2nd 2020)
3x NHSCA All-American (7th 2018, 6th 2019, 1st 2021)
NHSCA National Champion (2021)
College Accolades
2022
7th EIWA Championship
2025
3rd Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier (1-2)
2026
2nd Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Fine automatically qualifies for NCAAs for the second year in a row after finishing runner-up at the Ivy League Championship. Down a weight class from last season, Fine has looked solid with a 24-8 record.
He earned the No. 16 seed and will face No. 17 Jared Simma of Northern Iowa in the round of 32. A potential round-of-16 matchup would likely be against returning national champion and No. 1 seed Levi Haines of Penn State. Fine owns a win this season over EIWA champion and No. 10 seed Myles Takats of Bucknell.
197
No. 18 Andrew Reall (So.) – Brown University
North Scituate, RI – Ponaganset
High School Accolades
3x RI State Champion (2022, 2023, 2024)
3x CNESSPA New England Placer (6th 2022, 3rd 2023, 2nd 2024)
College Accolades
2025
5th Ivy League Championship
2026
1st Ivy League Championship
NCAA National Tournament Qualifier
Andrew Reall punched his ticket to NCAAs while continuing a historic season for Brown. He became the program’s first Ivy League conference champion and set the school record for winning percentage during the regular season.
Reall earned the No. 18 seed and will face No. 15 Remy Cotton in the round of 32. If he advances, he will likely meet All-American and No. 2 seed Rocky Elam of Iowa State.
Reall owns wins this season over No. 17 Dillon Bechtold of Bucknell and No. 23 Mikey Squires of Binghamton.
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