LEXINGTON (VA) – Zach Roseberry made Delaware Valley University history on Saturday as the senior heavyweight captured his fourth NCAA East Regional championship and won his 130^th career match to break the school record. Teammates Tim Ambacher (141) and Ben Schweiger (174) won their first regional crowns and they will be joined at the NCAA Division III Championships by 125-pound runner-up Brenden Velez.
 
The Aggies had a fifth placewinner at the regional as freshman 184-pounder Eliias Vega went from being unseeded to finishing sixth. As a team, DelVal notched 81 points at the two-day tournament to finish in fourth place out of 19 squads. Host Ferrum College ran away with the regional crown as its 135.5 points were 29 more than runner-up New York University. Stevens Institute of Technology was third with 104.5 points.
 
The Aggies had the most regional champions with three and the third came in dramatic fashion and in the final match of the entire tournament. Roseberry, the defending national champion, faced All-American Paul Triandafilou of Gettysburg in a rematch of last year's regional final (won by Roseberry, 4-2). After a scoreless first period, Triandafilou picked up an escape point 22 ticks into the second and it stayed that way heading into the third. Roseberry chose bottom and escaped four seconds in to tie the match at 1-1. He nearly got inside on several shots during the period, but it stayed tied at 1-1 and the match went to overtime.
 
With a 55-match winning streak, a fourth regional title, the probable number one seed at nationals at stake and the outright DelVal career victory record on the line, Roseberry got inside on Triandafilou's left leg and brought him to the mat 23 seconds into the extra session for the takedown and the 3-1 win. He celebrated the 130^th win of his career (130-12), breaking the mark of 129 set by 2010 graduate Kyle Bilquist and upped his season record to 36-0. Roseberry also became the first Aggie wrestler to win four regional championships.
 
Roseberry reached the finals with a pair of wins (technical fall, injury default) on Friday and was then up 13-0 before pinning Tate Dulany (Ferrum) 3:56 into their semifinal match-up.
 
Schweiger, who went to the NCAAs last year and was one win shy of All-America honors, had a forfeit win and a pin on Friday to reach the semifinals. The senior and top seed then needed just 2:30 to drop Blake Rosenbaum (Ferrum) for his team-beast 14^th pin of the year and a spot in the finals.
 
Schweiger went against second-seeded Dan Kilroy (TCNJ) and he had takedowns in both the first and second periods for a 4-0 advantage. He was on top to start the third and he kept Kilroy on the mat for nearly the full two minutes. A late escape broke the shutout, but Schweiger had more than four minutes of riding time for a 5-1 win and the regional title. It was his 32^nd win in 39 matches this year.
 
Ambacher, a junior, just missed out on a NCAA berth last year and he placed fourth at the regional (top three qualify for nationals). He was the top seed this year and a major decision and a decision yesterday placed him in Saturday morning's semifinals against Dylan Van Sickell (Stevens Tech). Ambacher had little trouble and clinched a trip to nationals with a 10-3 triumph.
 
In the finals, Ambacher met Maxwell Nauta of Centenary and he fell behind 4-0 as Nauta notched a near fall in the opening moments of the second period. Ambacher eventually escaped and then got a takedown with 1:21 to go and kept Nauta down the rest of the period. In the third, Nauta got an escape to lead 5-3, but Ambacher tied it up with 1:36 remaining. Ambacher did not let Nauta get free the rest of the match as he accumulated more than a minute of riding time for a bonus point and a 6-5 victory. Ambacher will head to the NCAA Championships with a 28-6 record.
 
Velez was national qualifier last year as he placed third at the regional. This year, the junior reached the semifinals thanks to a bye and 10-3 decision. He then blanked Matthew Insogna (Gettysburg), 7-0, on Saturday morning for a berth in the finals and a return trip to the NCAAs.
 
Velez met Zachary Beckner of Ferrum in the finals and went up 2-0 with an early takedown. Beckner got an escape in the first and then earned a reversal early in the second for a 3-2 advantage. Neither wrestler scored a point in the third and Beckner had riding time for a 4-2 decision. Velez will take 23-12 mark to nationals.
 
Vega, unseeded in his weight class, nearly reached the semifinals on Friday as he fell in overtime to the third seed. He stayed alive for Saturday's action with a win in consolations and opened the second day with a 7-4 decision over Jake Pooton (McDaniel). That assured Vega of placing at the event, but a loss in the next round ended his run for a NCAA berth. Vega then lost 4-1 in the fifth-place match against Cody Richmond (Ursinus) to finish sixth.
 
Kordell Rush (133) and Sekou Harris (157) were each 2-1 on Friday and still alive in the consolation bracket when Saturday's action began. They each needed to win three straight to place third and stamp a ticket to nationals. However, Rush dropped a 7-4 decision to Dylan Luciano (Centenary) while Harris suffered an 11-2 setback to Erik Beshada (Merchant Marine) to end their tournament runs.
 
Nick Ottum (149), Brandon Rudy (165) and David Furmato (197) also competed for DelVal at the East Regional, but each were eliminated on Friday.
 
The NCAA Division III Championships will take place in Lacrosse, Wisconsin on Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11.