LA CROSSE, Wisc. — University of Southern Maine senior Dan Del Gallo set high expectations for himself at the Division III wrestling national championships, saying this week that winning a national title is ‘not something that’s out of the ballpark. That’s something that I’m shooting for.”
Saturday night at Mitchell Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the Gardiner native made that goal a reality.
Del Gallo, in the national championships a third straight year, won the 149-pound title with a 4-1 victory over Aaron Engle of Cornell.
Del Gallo, seeded fourth in the weight class, defeated two-time defending national champ Kenny Martin of Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa) 7-5 in the semifinals.
Del Gallo rolled into the semifinal and final matches with convincing victories early in the tournament.
He opened with a 13-1 major decision victory over Ty Johnson of Concordia-Moorhead. He then sailed into the semifinals with a win by fall over Carter Armendarez, which secured All-American status.
It is the first national title for Del Gallo.
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