ROCKY MOUNT (VA) – Delaware Valley University will send three wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championships as seniors Tim Ambacher (141) and Brenden Velez (133), as well as sophomore Kordell Rush (125) placed in the top three at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. As a team, the Aggies finished sixth in the field of 18.
 
DelVal racked up 76.5 points over the two-day tournament. Fellow Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) school and 15^th-ranked Messiah College won the regional title with 147 points, 14 points head of 14^th-ranked York College. Host Ferrum College and Johns Hopkins University tied for third with 93 points while MAC foe Lycoming College took fifth with 80 points.
 
Ambacher and Rush each finished as the regional runner-up while Velez placed third as the top three in each weight class earn automatic berths to the NCAAs, which will be in Cleveland, Ohio in two weeks. It will be the third straight trip to nationals for Velez while Ambacher was a 2017 qualifier as well. Rush will head to his first NCAA Championship.
 
Ambacher, ranked 10^th nationally and the top seed in his weight class at the regional, used a technical fall and a decision in Friday's action to reach the semifinals. He needed just six seconds to register a takedown on Zachary Rainess (Greensboro). Those were the lone points of the opening period before Ambacher got a reversal in the second. He added riding time at the end for the 5-0 triumph, a NCAA berth and a shot at a second straight regional title and a NCAA berth
 
In the regional final, Ambacher faced Zach Bylykbashi (Washington & Lee). After a scoreless first, Bylykbashi got an escape in the second and then held Ambacher down for the entire third period for riding time and a 2-0 win. Ambacher will take a 22-7 record to Cleveland.
 
Rush, the number two seed in his bracket, reached Saturday's semifinals thanks to a major decision and a pin. In the semis, he took on Samuel Braswell (Averett) and it quickly became a one-sided affair. Rush got a takedown 14 seconds in and then registered two, four-point near falls and a pair of two-point near falls for a 14-0 lead. He then finished off the 17-0 technical fall with a takedown (plus riding time) 10 seconds into the second period to seal a spot in the finals and a NCAA berth.
 
Rush met Dylan Nuttall (York) in the regional championship and the lone points came on a takedown by Nuttall with 34 seconds left in the first period and an eventual 2-0 win. The 3-1 weekend mark by Rush improved his season record to 19-11.
 
Velez, who advanced to the semifinals thanks to a major decision and a technical fall on Friday, battled seventh-ranked Hunter Harris (Messiah) for a berth in the regional finals. He fell behind 4-0 in the first period before getting a reversal to cut his deficit in half. Both had takedowns in the second with Velez adding an escape to trail by just one, 6-5. Velez chose the top position to start the third and he rode Harris for the entire two-minute period to earn one point for riding time and force overtime. However, Harris notched a takedown with nine seconds left for the 8-6 decision and it dropped Velez into the consolation bracket.  
 
Needing two wins to place third and claim a berth to nationals, Velez had little trouble in his bout as he posted a 9-4 decision over Christop Haskin (Greensboro). In the consolation finals, Velez met Bailey Cooper (Ferrum) and he trailed 1-0 heading into the third period. An escape and takedown gave him a 3-1 lead only to see Cooper tie it with a reversal with 29 ticks left. Velez escaped six seconds later and held Cooper off for the 4-3 win, a 24-15 record and a third trip to the NCAAs.
 
DelVal had a fourth placewinner at the Southeast Regional as sophomore Nicholas Bord finished sixth at 184 pounds. Bord, who went 2-1 on Friday, opened Saturday with a 9-4 decision over Max Baker (Ferrum) to reach the consolation semifinals. He then led Jake Paulson (Penn State Behrend), 4-3, after the first period, but Paulson notched the final three points, including a takedown with 37 seconds left, for the 6-4 victory. Bord dropped into the fifth-place match as a result and he was edged, 4-2, by Rexx Hallyburton (Washington & Lee).
 
Anthony Snyder (157), Eliias Vega (174) and Carlos Martinez (197) each went 2-1 on Friday and were still alive in the wrestlebacks as Saturday's action began, but they each fell in their first match and were eliminated. Snyder dropped an 8-4 decision to Dominick Reyes (Johns Hopkins). Vega suffered a 10-2 major decision setback to John Ritter (Wilkes). Martinez was pinned in 67 seconds by Jacob Parson (Penn State Behrend).
 
Dustin Childs (149), Chris Richardson (165) and Marc Isaac (285) also competed for DelVal, but were eliminated from the regional on Friday. Childs won one of three matches while Richardson went 0-2 at his first regional. Isaac reached the quarterfinals, but suffered two heartbreaking losses in overtime to end his run.