BOSTON - Three Terrier wrestlers, seniors Rayes Gonzales (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Courtney Howard (Sitka, Alaska), along with sophomore John DaCruz (Ludlow, Mass.) will represent Boston University at the 75th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in St. Louis from March 17-19.

The trio gained entry into Nationals thanks to championship-match appearances at the 2005 Colonial Athletic Association Championship, held March 4-5 at B.U.'s Case Gym. It is the first NCAA Championship appearance for each wrestler.

Howard, ranked No. 2 in the CAA Championship, posted a career-best 29-9 record as the Terriers' heavyweight, going a perfect 9-0 in CAA matches. His seven pins tied for second on the team. He won 17-of-18 matches during a stretch of the season from Dec. 5 through February 5. His 2004-05 resume also includes top-5 finishes at the Empire Open, Keystone Classic, Nittany Lion Open, and CAA Championship.

Gonzales, ranked No. 1 in the CAA Championship at 149, won 20 matches for the second time in his Terrier career. This season, he posted a 24-5 record, going 6-0 in CAA matches and 9-1 overall in dual matches. He was 24-10 as a sophomore in 2002-03. He is tied with Howard with seven pins, and enters the NCAA Championship having won 13 of his last 14 matches. His season highlight this year came in late November when he won the title at the Keystone Classic, defeating VMI's Sam Alvarega, 4-2, to record his first-ever championship victory. He made it all the way to the CAA title match at 149 before having to medicial forfeit.

DaCruz was seeded No. 2 at 197 at the CAA Championship. He won his quarterfinal-round match in usual fashion, pinning Campbell's William Johnson 1:12 into the match. That win came on the heels of a pin over Harvard's Andrew Dane in a staggering 18 seconds. DaCruz leads the team in victories by way of pinfall with 13. The runner-up finish at the CAAs was his third second-place showing this season. He was second at the Empire Open and at the Keystone Classic. After finishing 20-9 as a freshman last year, DaCruz has posted a 19-6 mark as a sophomore.

B.U. finished fourth at the CAA Championship. The Terriers were 10-6 (5-4 CAA) this season. The Terriers have sent at least two Terrier wrestlers to Nationals in each of the last 27 years. Head coach Carl Adams has been here for 24 of those years and, including this year, has sent 55 Terriers to Nationals for a total of 85 appearances.