SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Freshman Dylan Nuttall (Levittown, Pa.) went 2-1 out of the 125-pound weight class to lead the Bridgewater State University wrestling team during day one of the 2016 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships held on Saturday at Springfield College.

Seeded seventh in his weight class, Nuttall opened the tournament with an 8-7 decision over #10 Tim McLinden of Western New England University. Following a 5-3 setback to number two seed Bobby Jordan of Johnson & Wales University, Nuttall bounced back with a win by fall (2:35) over Dominic DeGraba of Oneonta State.

Nuttall will take on #1 seed James Kaishian of Ithaca College on Sunday morning in the consolation quarterfinals. Nuttall needs to win three straight bouts on Sunday to finish in third place and advance to the NCAA Division III Championships. The top three placewinners in each weight class advance to the National Championship meet which will take place on March 11th and 12th at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Junior 165-pounder Anthony Cote (Danbury, Conn.) was the only other Bear to win a bout on Saturday. Cote went 1-2 with a 6-5 decision over John Davis of Trinity College. Cote's two setbacks were to top-seeded Nick Velez of Ithaca College and #7 Ricondo Cole of Rhode Island College.

The Bears are in 18th place after the first day of competition with 5.5 points. Roger Williams leads the way with 72 points followed by Ithaca (70.5 pts.) in second place and Cortland State (63.5 pts.) in third.