Wrestling Wraps Up Strong Dual-Match Season

The wrestling squad went 2-1 in its final action of the dual-meet season on Saturday, defeating SUNY Oneonta and Lycoming College while falling to Williams. Wesleyan has finished the season with an 11-7 dual-match record and will now turn its attention to the upcoming NEWA postseason action.

The 25th-ranked Cardinals opened with a 27-9 loss to 17th-ranked Williams. The Cardinals got wins from Josh Berkovic ’10 at 165 (10-6) and Zach Rolfe ’10 at 184 (12-5) as well as a 6-4 overtime win from 125-pounder Dan Bloom ’10, the only Cardinal to go undefeated on the afternoon. Williams took the other seven bouts, however, recording five decisions and two pins to take its second straight over Wesleyan. The Cardinals hold a 43-38-2 edge in the all-time series, however.

Wesleyan edged the hosts in its next match as Bloom, Howard Tobochnik ’13 (141), David Bachy ’10 (157), and Berkovic recorded decisions, and Maika Nagata ’13 pinned his opponent at 133. Wesleyan concluded its afternoon action with a 19-15 win over 26th-ranked Lycoming, with Bloom recording the Cardinals’ second pin of the day and Nagata, Bachy, Greg Hurd ’10, and heavyweight Dan Conroy ’11 won their bouts to give the Cardinals the win.

Berkovic, whose only loss on Saturday was to the fifth-ranked wrestler in the nation in the 165 weight class, led the squad with a 14-4 overall record, while Bloom was right behind at 13-5. As a team, Wesleyan has posted four consecutive non-losing seasons and seven winning campaigns in the last ten years. The Cardinals hold a cumulative 104-76-2 mark over the past decade.

Next up for Wesleyan is the NEWA junior varsity championships, which will be hosted by Springfield on Sunday. The following weekend, the Cardinals’ top wrestlers will compete in the NEWA Championships, which will take place at Western New England College Feb. 20-21.

Lawrence ’12 Leads Track Teams at Tufts

The Cardinal track teams headed to Tufts this weekend for the unscored Stampede Invitational. Jamie Lawrence ’12 took first in the 3000-meter run to lead the Cardinals, as the teams combined for nine top-five finishes.
Lawrence clocked in 8:49.24 in the 3k, nearly 1.6 seconds faster than the second-place finisher from Tufts and the top time of 38 runners. Mike Moody ’10 had the men’s other individual top-five finish, taking fourth in the weight throw with a toss of 46-10. Wesleyan also had three relay teams record top-three finishes as the Cardinals took third in the 4×400 (3:33.26) and second in the 4×800 (8:11.94) and distance medley relays (10:36.36).
Julia Frieze ’12 took second in the 400m to lead the Wes women. Frieze clocked in at 1:00.69, with teammate Lia Monti ’13 taking fifth. Isabella Cucchi ’13 took fifth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 0:07.73, and Ravenna Neville ’10 took third in the 3k (10:40.56). Like the men, the Cardinal women also had a trio of strong showings in the relay events. The 4×800 team of Ceili Brennan ’13, Sarah Hensiek ’13, Jessica Levin ’11, and Helen DeKorne ’12 took first, clocking in 9:56.05, and Wesleyan took second in the 4×400 (4:09.91 and distance medley relays (12:47.30).
Both teams have a pair of events coming up this weekend. Wesleyan hosts the Collegiate Track Championships, which will take place Friday and Saturday in Bacon Field House, while other individuals will compete in the annual Boston University Valentine’s Invitational.