The Cardinal wrestling team had another strong showing at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championships at Western New England College over the weekend, tying for third of 14 teams and finishing with a pair of champions in Dan Bloom ’10 (125) and Greg Hurd ’10 (174). Both wrestlers will make their second straight appearance in the NCAA Championships in March. Bloom was the New England champion last year as well, while Hurd fell in the title bout but received a wild-card berth. Wesleyan had a total of seven wrestlers receive all-New England laurels at the event by virtue of their top-six finishes.

Hurd tore through his weight class with a perfect 5-0 record, including a major decision in his second bout. Hurd won his first four matches by a combined score of 34-4 before taking a 6-4 decision in the title bout, avenging a 2009 championship loss and clinching a spot in the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. After receiving a bye to the fourth round, Bloom won his first two matches by a combined 15-5 score before falling to W.P.I. wrestler Carl Anderson 5-4, sending Anderson into the title bout. Bloom rebounded with a 7-5 win over a Springfield foe before eking out a 2-1 win over Anderson, necessitating an “if match” between the two foes. Bloom took the rubber match 6-2 to repeat as New England’s top 125-pounder.

Two other Cardinals had top-three finishes in the meet. Josh Berkovic ’10 fell in the title bout to the third-ranked 165-pounder in Division III, 10-3. Berkovic had torn through the bracket, recording a pair of pins and a 10-1 major decision to advance to the sixth round, where he fell to his Southern Maine adversary 9-4. A 4-2 victory in the third-place match put Berkovic into the title bout, but despite his strong showing, he was passed over for one of four wild-card bids. Luke Erickson ’12 placed third at 197 with a 4-2 overall record. Erickson cruised into the fourth round with a pair of wins (12-6 and 5-0) but was pinned by the eventual champion in his next match. He won both of his matches in the consolation bracket to advance to the third-place match, but fell in that bout 8-2.

Howard Tobochnik ’13, Zach Rolfe ’10, and Dace Bachy ’10 also recorded top-six finishes and were named all-New England. Tobochnik amassed a 4-2 mark in the 141 bracket, including a pin in his first-round match and a technical fall (16-0) in his first consolation match after an 8-7 second-round loss to the eventual champion. Tobochnik won two of his final three bouts, including a 5-3 victory in the fifth-place match. Rolfe amassed a 2-2 mark for another fifth-place finish at 184; he also advanced past a pair of opponents by medical forfeit, including his Williams foe in the fifth-place bout. Bachy compiled a 2-3 mark that included a narrow 5-4 loss in his first-round match.

Three other Cardinal grapplers competed at the Championships, but did not place. At 133, Maika Nagata ’13 fell to the eventual champion from Springfield after a first-round bye; he rebounded to win his first consolation bout 6-1 but dropped the second 8-2. Heavyweight Dan Conroy ’11 fell in his first-round match; he pinned his Norwich adversary in his first consolation-bracket bout but dropped a 3-2 decision in the next round. 149-pounder Nick Scotto ’13 also dropped his first-round match and was pinned in a third-round consolation bout after a second-round bye.

As a team, Wesleyan amassed 95 team points to tie Johnson & Wales for third place. Williams took first place overall with 128.5 points, with Springfield placing second with 100.5. In addition, the Cardinals were honored for having the highest team GPA of the 14 NEWA teams, and 12th-year head coach Drew Black was named NEWA Coach of the Year.

The NCAA Championships will be held March 5-6 at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Last year at Nationals, Bloom held a 1-2 mark while Hurd fell in both of his bouts as Wesleyan tied for 52nd out of 62 teams.