Shannon Welch/Photo Editor
With an emphatic home victory over SUNY Oswego, Saturday, Feb. 16 marked the end of Wesleyan’s dual-match season and the beginning of tournament play at the conclusion of the day’s bouts. Though crucial matches that inevitably will come to define Wesleyan’s season would occur soon after, the Cardinals found no difficulty remaining focused on the task at hand—an outmatched and overwhelmed SUNY Oswego squad.
From start to finish, the Cardinals held a tight grip on the scoreboard and coasted to a 43-6 team victory. It was a celebration throughout for wrestling’s annual Senior Day—an earnest and heartfelt way of honoring all those wrestlers who have dedicated four years of determination to the Wesleyan wrestling program. The honored seniors included standout captains Nick Scotto and Howard Tobochnik, as well as Jefferson Ajayi, Kyle Roosa, Maika Nagata, Justin Metz, and Gideon Levy. The seniors responded in the most fitting way possible—by taking care of business the way Wesleyan’s program has come to expect.
Following an emotional recognition of all the four-year vets, rookie Taran Carr ’16 kicked off the competition with a dominant performance that set the tone for the remainder of the day’s matches. Just 53 seconds into the first round, Carr found his arm in the air after an extremely quick pin. Following his performance was a one-sided 16-4 victory for 174-pounder Roosa and a clinical pin from 184-pounder Ajayi. The day also found Cardinal victories from 125-pounder James Hamilton ’16, 141-pounder Scotto, and 149-pounder Tobochnik—all of whom downed their opponents by pin fall. Heavyweight Austin Frank ’15 also recorded a victory by forfeit and received a lively cheer from the appreciative Wesleyan crowd.
The victory against SUNY Oswego leaves them with a 15-7 record on the season. All losses were to teams ranked in the top 10 nationally at the time of the defeat. Looking forward, some members of the Wesleyan wrestling team will travel to Roger Williams to take part in the NEWA Futures tournament, while the remainder of the squad will stay in Middletown.
On March 2, the Cardinals will travel to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to take part in the New England Regional Championships with hopes of reclaiming the title they narrowly grabbed from Springfield College last year. This season, Springfield College has defeated Wesleyan in dual matches on two separate occasions, first by a score of 19-18 and the next week by a score of 19-17. The Cardinals hope to gain a bit of redemption and pride by defeating Springfield on their way to winning the New England region for the second time in consecutive years.
Last season, Ajayi and Roosa took the NEWA titles in their respective weight classes. This season, in addition to Ajayi and Roosa, Tobochnik and Scotto highlight the list of Cardinals with legitimate chances of taking the NEWA title in their weight classes. Scotto has the distinct honor of holding the most wins by pin fall in any division in the nation, with 19. Tobochnik, on the other hand, leads the team with a 21-1 dual match record. In addition, Hamilton boasts a legitimate chance of receiving a bid to compete in the NCAAs as a freshman, which requires a top-three finish in NEWAs.