ITHACA, N.Y. – Strong performances throughout the line-up led the Centenary University wrestling team to a third place finish on day one of the NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament hosted by Ithaca College. Eight of the 10 Cyclone wrestlers competing in the event advanced to day two of the tournament.

The Cyclones earned 69.5 points to sit in third place in a field of 18 teams. The only teams to record more points than the Cyclones were Ithaca and The College of New Jersey, who each had 85 points.

"We had a lot of ups and downs today, but the team never lost their fight," said head coach John Garriques. "Getting eight of our ten wrestlers through to the next day is impressive for such a young team. Tomorrow, we have to build on the momentum and punch our tickets to the National Championship."

Freshman Ryan Anderson (149-pounds), sophomore Stanley Wojdylak (157-pounds) and junior Kenny Long (184-pounds) all went 2-0 on the day and will compete in the Championship Semifinals on Sunday morning.

Anderson started his day with a win by fall in 3:41 over Anthony Miraglia of Alfred State. He then followed that up with a win by fall in 1:47 versus Josh Paisley of Elizabethtown. Anderson improved ot 28-3 on the year and his 15 wins by fall rank fourth in single-season history at Centenary. Anderson will take Anthony Gagliano of TCNJ on Sunday morning. He earned a major decision win over Gagliano, when the two wrestlers met in the regular season.

Wojdylak started his regional action with a 5-3 decision against Matthew Sacco of TCNJ. He followed that up with a fall in 1:12 versus Brian Schneider of Elizabethtown. The sophomore will face a tough challenge on Sunday morning as he goes up against Kaidon Winters of RIT, who was ranked fifth in his weight class to end the regular season.

Long registered a pair of wins by decision in his Saturday action at regionals. He started the day with a 7-5 decision over Aidan McNally of Scranton. Long then battled for a 5-3 decision versus Joe Yanis of Brockport. He will face off against Chibueze Chukwuezi of Ithaca Sunday morning, Chukwuezi was ranked 10th at the end of the regular season.

Junior Dylan Luciano (125-pounds), sophomore Jacy Jones (133-pounds), sophomore Cameron Bruffy (141-pounds), senior Jeremy Nurnberger (165-pounds) and sophomore Justin Hopman (197-pounds) all went 2-1 on the day and remain alive in the wrestleback brackets.

Both of Luciano's wins came via second period falls. Jones recorded his victories via fall and major decision. Bruffy was tripped up in his first match of the day but battled back for a tech fall and a decision to stay alive. Nurnberger earned a pair of wins by decision while Hopman picked up his wins by fall and major decision.

All eight of the Cyclones will be back in action on Sunday, March 1 for day two of the NCAA Mideast Regional. The Championship Semifinals and wrestlebacks get underway starting at 10 a.m.