LEXINGTON (VA) – The Delaware Valley University wrestling team is in fourth place and has five competitors in the semifinals following day one of the NCAA Division III East Regional Championships.
 
The Aggies racked up 52 points on Saturday to trail only Stevens Institute of Technology (66.5 points), The College of New Jersey (56.5 points) and Ursinus College (52.5 points) in the 18-team field.
 
Individually, two-time All-American and regional champion Zach Roseberry (285) heads the group of DelVal wrestlers that have advanced to the semifinals. Joining him in the semis are Brenden Velez (125), Conor Kirkegard (133), Tim Ambacher (141) and Ben Schweiger (165). Meanwhile, Nick Menkin (149), Nick Della Fera (184) and Josh Richardson (197) are alive in the consolation semifinals. The top three finishers in each weight class earn automatic berths to the NCAA Division III Championships in Iowa in two weeks.
 
Roseberry, the top seed and second-ranked heavyweight in the country, had little trouble in his first two matches. The junior opened by pinning Kyle Paterson (NYU) with 34 seconds left in the first period (2:26) and followed with a 16-1, technical fall triumph over Zeb Pfeiffer (Ursinus) in the quarterfinals. Roseberry is now 23-1 on the year.
 
Velez, a sophomore, had a bye in the opening round and then notched a 7-2 decision over Michael Mui (Merchant Marine) in the quarterfinals. The win was his 20^th in 30 matches this season and he will take on second-seeded Chris Tan (Ursinus) in Sunday's semifinals.
 
Kirkegard, a senior and two-time regional placewinner, opened his final regional with a 16-0, technical fall triumph over Patrck Sockler (Muhlenberg) to move to the quarterfinals. He then edged Rob Cunningham (Ferrum), 3-2, to move his season record to 21-7. Kirkegard will meet returning All-American and top-seeded Nathan Pike (NYU) in the semifinals.
 
Ambacher, a sophomore transfer, opened Saturday's action with a technical fall of his own, a 19-4 triumph over Matthew Sparks (King's). He then upset the second seed, Ryan Wilson (Stevens Tech), 9-7, for a spot in the semifinals. Ambacher, who is 15-13 on the year, will meet No. 3 seed Alvontae Drummond (McDaniel) on Sunday.
 
Schweiger, a junior and two-time regional placewinner, began strong as well as he blanked Dylan Lojac (NYU), 17-0, for the technical fall win. He followed with a pin in 4:47 over Anthony Kubish (Centenary) to improve to 12-9. Schweiger will meet top-seeded and fourth-ranked Nick Herring (College of NJ).
 
Menkin (8-10) fell into the consolation bracket as he was pinned in the opening round. However, he bounced back with a 14-6 major decision over Robert Armus (Muhlenberg) and then pinned fourth-seeded Quinn Merrigan (Gettysburg) to reach the consolation semifinals.
 
Della Fera (18-11) blanked his first opponent, Blake Bunce (Merchant Marine), 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. A 6-5 setback to Dan Wojtasek (College of NJ) dropped him into the consolation bracket, but the senior came back and pinned Ethan Pentz (Muhlenberg) in just 63 seconds to remain alive.
 
Richardson (13-13) suffered a wild 16-13 loss to Adam Bresson (Ferrum) in the opening round. However, the freshman followed a bye in the first round with a 5-4 decision over Mark Papish (NYU).
 
Junior Sekou Harris (157) and sophomore Chris Jastrzebski (174) also competed at the East Regionals for DelVal but were eliminated on Saturday. Both went 1-2 with Jastrzebski having reached the quarterfinals. 

Action will resume on the Washington & Lee campus at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.