Best of luck to our two Section 9 alumni who will be competing at the weekend’s NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, OK. Pine Bush graduate Tommy Askey, a third-year sophomore who wrestles at 157 pounds for Appalachian State, punched his ticket to the tournament by winning the SoCon title two weeks ago. Drexel grad student Evan Barczak, a Monroe Woodbury graduate, will be making his third appearance to the big dance after receiving an at-large bid at 165 pounds.
2023 SoCon Champ at 157
157 – Tommy Askey (Appalachian State, Pine Bush)
2022-2023 Season Record: 30-11
Career Record: 49-26
Season Highlights: 2023 SoCon Champion, enters NCAA tournament on a 14-match win streak, placed 8th at the Cliff Keen, placed 7th at the Souther Scuffle, and placed 3rd at the Keystone Classic. Tommy was selected SoCon Wrestler of the Month for February!
High School Accolades: 2020 NYS champion at 152 with a perfect 41-0 record including a title at the Eastern States Classic, 2019 NYS 4th place at 145 pounds with a 42-6 record.
NCAA Tournament Preview: Tommy enters the NCAA tournament as the 24th seed and he will take on 9th seeded Will Lewan from Michigan in the Round of 32. Lewan defeated Askey earlier this year by the score of 8-2, but that was very early in the year! Askey is much improved since then and is riding the momentum of a 14-match win streak. In the last 10 matches, Askey has won by a combined score of 136-39 with no takedowns allowed and eight bonus point victories!
3X NCAA Tournament Qualifier
165 – Evan Barczak (Drexel, Monroe Woodbury)
2022-2023 Season Record: 26-6
Career Record: 91-48
Season Highlights: Went 2-3 at EIWA tournament but received an at-large bid to qualify for his 3rd NCAA tournament. He went 16-1 in duals this season and placed 3rd at the Tiger Style Invite and 2nd at the Keystone Classic.
High School Accolades: Evan was a 3X NYS place winner finishing 3rd as a senior and 6th as a sophomore and junior. He was a 3X NHSCA All-American and a 4X Section 9 champion.
NCAA Tournament Preview: Barczak is the 30th seed at 165 and has to take on 3rd seeded Dean Hamiti from Wisconsin in the Round of 32. Hamiti defeated Evan by a score of 7-1 earlier this year in a dual meet. Barczak knows that this is his last shot at the podium so expect him to pull out all of the stops this weekend!