The Wesleyan wrestling team performed admirably at the New England Wrestling Association Championships this past weekend in Hartford, Conn. Of the 14 teams that participated, the Cardinals finished behind only Springfield and rival Williams to place third in the annual competition.

Chris Alvanos ’11 came in second in the 125-pound division, defeating his first three opponents and overcoming a loss to top-seeded Brandon Gauthier of Rhode Island College to win his next match and get to the final round. He had to face Gauthier again, though, defeating him in the second matchup to earn a third, decisive bout. Unfortunately, Gauthier was able to pin Alvanos in the third period of their third match, and Alvanos was forced to settle for second place.

Jefferson Ajayi ’13 similarly defeated his first three opponents to set up a match with the top seed in his 184-pound bracket, Brennan Ward of Johnson & Wales. After Ward defeated him with a pin in the first period, Ajayi crushed the consolation champion to earn a second chance at his conqueror. This time, Ajayi came much closer, but like Alvanos, took second place after Ward beat him in a tight 4-2 match.

174-pound Kyle Roosa ’13 won his first four matches, including a win over top-seeded Zach Bates from Bridgewater State in the semifinals, to enter the finals undefeated. His opponent in the finals was none other than Bates, who redeemed himself with a 10-8 victory, but the double-elimination format gave Roosa one more shot. He completely controlled the rubber match, scoring a 6-1 win for the 174-pound championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Four other Cardinal wrestlers won all-NEWA honors by finishing in the top six of their weight division: Howard Tobachnick ’13 (fifth place in the 149-pound division), Troy Sampson ’14 (157 pounds, sixth place), Luke Erickson ’12 (197 pounds, fifth place), and Dan Conroy ’11 (heavyweight, fifth place).

That gave Wesleyan seven all-New England wrestlers, as well as three finalists. Besides what they accomplished on the mats, the Cardinals were named the NEWA Sportsmanship Award winner and also tied for the top team GPA in the conference. These are testaments to the men’s discipline and good character, as well as to head coach Drew Black. In addition, Roosa’s championship means that the Cardinals have had at least one NEWA champion in each of the last three years, and in five of the last six.

It also means Roosa will be traveling to Wisconsin-La Crosse to participate in the NCAA Division III Championships on March 11 and 12. For the rest of the Cardinal wrestlers, however, the season is over, and their second consecutive third-place NEWA finish means it was a successful one, but they still have room for improvement. The majority of the team, with the exceptions of Alvanos, Conroy, Bryant Jiravisitcul ’11, and Nick Matayoshi ’11, will be back next year as the Cardinals hope to jump from third to first in the NEWA.