EWING, N.J. -- McDaniel's Thomas Monn became just the second wrestler in Centennial Conference history to win regionals three times to lead conference competitors at the 2026 NCAA Region III Championship on Friday and Saturday at The College of New Jersey. Monn was the lone CC wrestler to win gold and one of five to qualify for the NCAA national tournament. 

With the victory, Monn joined an elite club previously occupied only by Ursinus' Derek Arnold, who won titles at 149 in 2015 and 2016 and a 157 title in 2017. Joining Monn at nationals will be the Ursinus trioo of Braden Kmak (2nd at 157), Mohamed Abdelatty (2nd at 285) and Andrew Schaen (3rd at 141), and Gettysburg's Gavin Pascoe (3rd at 157). The top three placewinners in each weight class qualify for nationals. 

All six Centennial teams competed at the Region III Championship in the regional format from the NCAA that began last year. Ursinus finished tops among CC teams in fourth place with 109 points, followed by Gettysburg (t-8th, 80 pts), McDaniel (13th, 50 pts), Merchant Marine (14th; 40.5), Muhlenberg (16th; 29.5) and Johns Hopkins (17th; 18.5) in the 21-team event. 

Monn, who is ranked No. 2 nationally by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and No. 1 in Region 3, is a two-time All-American, finishing sixth at nationals in 2023 and fifth in 2025. He finished the weekend with a perfect 5-0 record with two tech falls, posting two decisions on Saturday against two regionally-ranked wrestlers in No. 4 Michael Williams of Misericordia, 4-1, and No. 6 Chance Babb of Alvernia, 5-2. With two more wins on Saturday, Monn is now 40-0 this season and just the second wrestler to win 40 matches in a season in program history. 

Ursinus' first national qualifier came at 157 as Kmak earned a 6-5 decision over second-seeded Gavin Pascoe of Gettysburg. Kmak avenged a loss to Pascoe at the Centennial Conference Championships by earning a comeback victory to reach the finals. He faced a 5-1 deficit entering the third period before tallying an escape and a takedown to tie the match at five with 31 seconds remaining. After an injury timeout, Kmak chose bottom and secured the go-ahead point with an escape to clinch the victory and punch his ticket to Cedar Rapids. He finished second overall after falling by a 17-4 major decision in the finals to Albright's fourth-ranked and top-seeded Trent Mahoney.

At 285, Abdelatty secured his championship appearance by defeating Misericordia's Aiden Hidlay, 9-5, in the semifinal round. Abdelatty recorded a pair of takedowns en route to the win. He also finished second after falling by fall in the regional final to Arcadia's fourth-ranked Logan Flynn.

At 141, Schaen dropped his semifinal bout to top-seeded and eventual champion Vincent Santaniello of TCNJ. He responded in the consolation bracket with a 5-2 decision over Messiah's Jacob Cunningham and an 8-1 decision against Eastern's Ryan Mansueto to finish third and clinch his first appearance at nationals. Against Mansueto, Schaen secured a pair of takedowns and fended off several late shots to seal the victory.

Pascoe led the Bullets with a third-place finish to advance to the national championship for the second straight year. Pascoe had an opening round 10-3 win over Alvernia's Ian Vitalo before recording a pair of major decisions, downing Johns Hopkins' Giorgio DiFalco 15-3 and King's Martin Turi 17-4 to advance to the semifinal. Braden Kmak edged Pascoe 6-5 to advance to the title bout. Pascoe then recorded a 14-4 win in the consolation semifinals before taking down Noah Rice (Messiah) 15-3 to place third and earn the final qualifier in the bracket.

The 2026 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships will be held March 13-14 at Alliant Energy Power House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Brackets will be released on Friday, March 6.

CC National Qualifiers 
141: Andrew Schaen, Ursinus (3rd place)
149: Thomas Monn, McDaniel (1st place)
157: Braden Kmak, Ursinus (2nd place)
157: Gavin Pascoe, Gettysburg (3rd place)
285: Mohamed Abdelatty, Ursinus (2nd place)