AIC Wrestlers Get Ready To Punch Their Ticket To Nationals

The NCAA Super Region 1 National Qualifier tournament is one of the biggest tournaments in a wrestler’s career. This tournament allows all wrestlers the opportunity to qualify for competing in the National Championship. AIC has had thirteen wrestlers qualify before, and they are looking for more this weekend. On March 1, the team will travel to Kutztown, Pennsylvania to compete with a full lineup for the first time under Coach Darby McLaughlin. The full lineup includes:

Liam Pritchard-Holland at 125lbs
Joseph Aldrich at 133lbs
Aaron Morocho at 141lbs
Luke Mangiafico at 149lbs
Kyrie Williams at 157lbs
Alfred MacNiell at 165lbs
Jack MacKiernan at 174lbs
Markys Lissaint at 184lbs
Tommy Caracciolo at 197lbs
Hayden Guadette at HWT

Coach McLaughlin took over AIC’s Wrestling program at the very start of this season, and commented on how far the wrestlers have come. “We have made strides all season long and we’re confident that we are a different animal than we were in September.” During Coach McLaughlin’s first season, he wanted to emphasize the importance of being prepared for every situation one could be put in during a match. The coach expressed his hope that his wrestlers would be “constantly banging the drum for intensity and effort.” Coach McLaughlin expects his wrestlers to go out ready to compete: “We need to have a chip on our shoulder when we compete.”

Many of the wrestlers reflected on their readiness for the tournament. Tommy Caracciolo said, “I’m feeling the best I’ve ever felt in my entire career. My confidence is sky high and I believe in everything I do.”

Nationally-ranked sophomore Jack MacKiernan felt the same. “My goal is to go out there and win the whole tournament,” MacKiernan said. MacKiernan said he would also settle for placing “top three, so I can punch my ticket to nationals. I plan on going out there with confidence and trusting my skills and training to get it done.” MacKiernan is excited for himself and his teammates to showcase their skills and give it everything they have against some of the best wrestlers in the country.

To compete on a stage this big is a huge step in a wrestler’s career. All bets are off and everyone is 0-0. It is an opportunity to wrestle with the ultimate college wrestling opponents and to get their name out there, not only by qualifying, but also by winning. Caracciolo and MacKiernan plan to leave their footprint for the AIC wrestling program by making it to the NCAA championship.

Regionals may be a very important tournament, but it is also a time in these wrestlers’ lives they won’t get back. MacKiernan recounted what going to regionals meant to him. “Competing in regionals is fun because it is where you punch your ticket to nationals, which is ultimately the main goal. It is where we can go out and show all the hard work we have put in throughout the year.”

For Caracciolo, it means something different: “Competing in regionals means everything to me. I’ve given up a lot of time and sacrifices to be as great as I can this year. And being able to compete for this school for another year is a blessing.” No matter the results of the tournament, Darby and AIC wrestling would like everyone to know that when the dust settles, they’ll be back at work, making the improvements and adjustments like they have been doing all along.

“We aren’t going anywhere,” Coach McLaughlin said. “We’re coming.”

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To watch the team compete at Super Region 1, you can find the link on the AIC Wrestling Team’s website.