Springfield, Mass.--Junior Nathan Lackman (Wernersville, Pa.) captured the individual championship at 157 lbs. and earned All-Northeast Region honors as the Rhode Island College wrestling team finished 14th (19 teams) at the NCAA Div. III Northeast Regional Championships, hosted by Springfield on Feb. 26-27.

THE BASICS
• RIC finished in 14th place (19 teams) with 41.5 points. Coast Guard won the championship with a team score of 166.5. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Lackman defeated Trent Furman (NYU) in the first place match to become the champion at 157 lbs. He will will make his first appearance in the NCAA Div. III Championship, which will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 11-12. Lackman went 2-0 today with victories in both the semifinals and files to finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.

• Freshman Fred Luchs (Belford, N.J.) went 2-1 on the afternoon and took home fifth place at 125 lbs. He earned All-Northeast Region honors and went 4-2 at the tournament. 

Individual Results
125 lbs: Fred Luchs (RIC) major dec. Wilson Gomes (BSU), 8-0; Christopher DeRosa (NEC) dec. Fred Luchs (RIC), 8-1; Fred Luchs (RIC) pinned David Yeh (Williams) at 0:48.

157 lbs: Nathan Lackman (RIC) dec. Albert Xing (Williams), 8-1; Nathan Lackman (RIC) dec. Trent Furman (NYU), 4-0.