After a string of successful matches during winter break, the Wesleyan wrestling squad picked up steam. Now, it’s safe to say that the team is on fire. After stumbling from their preseason #1 ranking in NEWA (New England Wrestling Association), the Cardinals have bounced back to third in the rankings with their impressive performances on the mats.
On Saturday, Feb. 11, the squad competed in its final regular season action with a home dual match up against Oswego State. Wes came into the bout on the heels of three blowout victories in its previous action, but Oswego State proved to be a tougher test for the Cardinals. With three matchups remaining, Wesleyan found itself on the wrong end of a 15-12 score. Howard Tobochnik ’13, wrestling at 149 lbs., put on a stellar performance, as he leveled the overall score to 15 apiece. 157-pounder Alex Cannon ’14 also won his matchup with a 3-0 decision, followed by a 11-3 major decision win by Tom Oddo ’12 at 165 pounds. When it was all said and done, thanks to the clutch performances of the aforementioned trio, the final score read 22-15, advantage Wesleyan. There were three other Wes victors that day, including Kyle Roosa ’13, who won by major decision at 174 in the opening matchup, and Luke Erickson ’12 and Joey Schwartz ’14, who were victorious at 197 and 133, respectively.
Wesleyan’s win capped off the dual match slate for the season, giving the squad an 11-6 record in duals and its fourth consecutive winning season. The 11-6 mark is even more impressive considering the fact that Wes started off 1-5 before winning 10 of the final 11 duals of the season. Schwartz wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 mark in duals, followed by juniors Jefferson Ajayi and Tobochnik at 13-4, with Roosa not far behind at 12-5.
The team’s next action will be at Roger Williams on Sunday, Feb. 19 at the NEWA Futures tournament. Wesleyan will then host the NEWA championships on February 25-26th, during which the Cardinals will have the opportunity to nab a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships.