DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The Delaware Valley College wrestling team, ranked fifth in Division III, will look to capture the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional title for the fourth consecutive year and qualify as many wrestlers as it can for nationals, and it will do so on its home mat as the Aggies host the one-day event on Saturday, February 20.

A total of 10 teams will compete for 16 berths (10 weight-class champions and 6 wild-card selections) to the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 5 and 6. Midwest Regional action will take place on three mats inside James Work Gymnasium, starting at 9:00 a.m. The entire schedule is as follows:

Saturday, February 20, 2010
9:00 a.m. – Preliminaries
9:45 a.m. – Quarterfinals
11:15 a.m. - Consolation Preliminaries
12:30 p.m. - Semifinals and Second Round Consolations
2:00 p.m. - Consolation Semifinals
3:10 p.m. - Championship and Consolation Finals
4:30 p.m. - True Second Wrestlebacks (for NCAA wild-card consideration)
5:15 p.m. - Coaches Wildcard Selection Meeting

Delaware Valley, which has run away with the team title in each of its three years in the region, finished the 2009-10 dual meet campaign with a 13-2 record. Its only setbacks were to two of the four teams ranked ahead of them in the latest Division III poll - second-ranked (then fifth) Wartburg College and third-ranked Coe College.

Only one other team at the regional is in the national poll as Trine University is ranked 19th. The rest of the regional field is Case Western Reserve University (OH), Manchester College (IN), The College of Mt. St. Joseph (OH), Olivet College (MI), Thiel College (PA), Wabash College (IN), Washington & Jefferson College (PA) and Waynesburg University (PA).

Delaware Valley head coach Brandon Totten has three nationally-ranked wrestlers in top-ranked 157-pounder Jesse Harrington (New Providence, NJ/Bound Brook), second-ranked heavyweight Kyle Bilquist (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) and eighth-ranked 149-pounder Emmanuel Ajagbe (Bogota, NJ/Bogota).

Harrington, a 2008 national qualifier (second place and a regional wild-card selection at 149 pounds) who missed all of last season with an injury, heads his weight class in 2010. He has won 19 of 23 matches this season and finished first at the Sunshine Open while pacing second at the Cyclone Open.

Bilquist is the two-time defending regional champion at heavyweight, a two-time All-American (fifth in 2008, fourth in 2009) and a three-time national qualifier who recently became the Aggies' all-time leader in victories with 123 (123-18). He holds a 24-3 record in his senior season and took top honors at the Cyclone Open, the Long Island Open and the Messiah Open.

Ajagbe's rookie campaign has seen him notch a 25-6 record with first-place showings at the Long Island Open and the Messiah Open. His weight class features another nationally-ranked wrestler as Isaac Dukes of Case Western Reserve is listed 10th.

Senior Martin Porter (Long Branch, NJ/Long Branch) was ranked for the majority of the season at 184 pounds, but has moved up a weight class to 197 where he placed second at last year's regionals. He is currently 27-7 and has a Messiah Open title and a Cyclone Open runner-up finish to his credit.

Fellow seniors Terrance Clendenin (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) and Justin Barowski (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) will look to cap their careers with regional titles and trips to the NCAA Championships. Clendenin, a former Division I national qualifier from his time at Lehigh University, has won four of six matches for the Aggies at 125 pounds. Barowski, who recently reached the 100-win milestone for his career, is 20-5 and took first at the Cyclone Open and second at the East Stroudsburg Open at 165 pounds.

Junior Dan Daddino (Franklin Square, NY/Carey) and sophomore Zak Andrews (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus) have had impressive seasons for Delaware Valley at 174 and 141 pounds respectively. Daddino, a transfer from Gloucester County College, is 26-11 with a runner-up finish at the Messiah Open.

Andrews has won a team-best 30 matches (30-13), including 21 pins and took first at the Messiah Open and second at the Long Island Open. His weight class at the regionals has a trio of national-ranked wrestlers in No. 7 Vince Tucker of Olivet, No. 9 Jake Strausbaugh of Wabash and No. 10 Nick Garber of Waynesburg.

Freshman Zac Haynes (Newtown, PA/Council Rock North) will represent Delaware Valley in the 133-pound bracket while the 184-pound spot will is still undecided between senior Brian Boudro (Richmond, MI/Armada) and junior Jake Phillips (Centreville, MD/Queen Annes County). Haynes is 11-10 on the season and placed second at the Cylcone Open. Boudro sports a 1-3 mark while Phillips is 3-7.