HARTFORD, Conn. -- Senior Ethan Raymond (Middlebury, Vt.) captured the 165-pound title at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Division III Championships on Sunday at Trinity College.

Raymond will now advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in his career.  The national tournament will take place on March 11th and March 12th at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Raymond, who came into the tournament ranked second in New England at 165, went 5-0 over the two-day NEWA Division III Championships capped off by a 4-2 victory over Michael Monson of Roger Williams University in the title bout.  He also posted a 4-3 overtime win over top-ranked Jon Archambeau of Springfield College in the winner's bracket final.

Fellow senior Zachary Bates (Leyden, Mass.) placed second in the 174-pound weight class as he went 6-2 at the tournament.  After dropping a 7-4 decision to Kyle Roosa of Wesleyan University in the winner's bracket semifinals, Bates battled his way through the wrestleback.  He posted three straight wins, capped off by a 14-6 decision over Springfield's Derrick Longo, to advance to the finals. 

Matched up with Roosa in the finals, Bates posted a 10-8 triumph to force the if necessary match.  His run would come to an end, however, as Roosa rebounded with a 6-1 win to capture the 174-pound title.

Also earning All-New England honors for the Bears were junior Ken Francis (New Bedford, Mass.) and freshman Steven McCarthy (Brockton, Mass.).

Francis finished third in the 125-pound weight class as he went 5-2 over the weekend.  He also responded after an early loss by posting four straight wins.  Francis would see his tournament come to an end with a loss by fall to Chris Alvanos of Wesleyan in the wrestleback final.

After a first round bye, McCarthy breezed to a 21-6 win in his first match of the weekend.  He then was pinned by eventual 133-pound champion Billy Cole of Southern Maine in the winner's bracket semifinals.  McCarthy would drop two more bouts including a tough 9-8 decision to WPI's Mike Perruccio in the fifth place match.

In the team standings, Bridgewater State placed seventh overall with 65.5 points.  Springfield won the team championship with 141 points followed by Williams College (107 pts.) in second place and Wesleyan (94.5 pts.) rounding out the top three.