The wrestling team traveled to Roger Williams with a select group of wrestlers to compete in the annual NEWA Futures Tournament. Six Cardinal wrestlers represented three separate weight classes at the junior varsity meet, hoping to capitalize on an opportunity to demonstrate potential for the wrestling seasons to come. Though the day would not ultimately be categorized as a success for the team, the individuals who took the mat left satisfied with their results and focused on the future.
In the 141 lb. division, Wesleyan’s Justin Metz ’13 faced a difficult Roger Williams opponent and failed to grab a first-round victory. He went on to lose by pin fall in the third-place bracket and finished 0-2 for the day. Zach Larabee ’15 also went 0-2 in the 149 lb. division, failing to beat his Roger Williams and Norwich opponents. The Cardinals sent three wrestlers—Alex Cannon ’14, Mike Baratz ’15, and Keonmin Hwang ’16—into the 157 lb. bracket. Though Baratz and Hwang failed to grab a victory in the highly-contested weight class, veteran Cannon emerged as Wesleyan’s top performer on the day. After winning by a 4-2 decision in his first bout versus host Roger Williams, Cannon went on to pin his next two challengers from Bridgewater State University and Johnson and Wales University, respectively. Cannon ultimately fell in the championship round, finishing second out of 14 competing wrestlers with a 3-1 record on the day. Rounding out the competitors on the day was heavyweight Blake Cunningham ’16, who represented the Cardinals well and finished 2-2 on the day with one pin. Overall, Wesleyan finished ninth place out of 11 teams competing.
Looking forward, the Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday, March 2 as Wesleyan sends its top performers in every weight class to WPI to compete in the Northeast Regional Championships. The Cardinals enter action defending the NEWA title they won dramatically against Springfield College last year. This season, with the addition of SUNY Cortland, Ithaca College, SUNY Oswego, and SUNY Oneonta, the competition represents not only the 14 NEWA teams, but the Northeast region as a whole.
“While this certainly adds more competition, we are looking to repeat a team title,” said captain Howard Tobochnik ’13. “In order to achieve a team championship, every individual needs to do their part.”
Tobochnik is the one Wesleyan wrestler ranked top-10 nationally in his weight class-—fifth in the 149 lb. division. However, seniors Nick Scotto and Jefferson Ajayi both are listed nationally as contenders, just below the top-ten ranking of their teammate. Though individual rankings may be the more exciting discussion, ultimately the task at hand will be a team endeavor. Entering the tournament on Saturday, Wesleyan is ranked 11th in its division, trailing only 10th-ranked Springfield College and third-ranked SUNY Cortland of the 18 teams competing. The top three finishers in each weight class will move on to compete individually at nationals, but Saturday at WPI exists as the last team competition of the year for the Cardinals.
The challenge will be great for a Wesleyan squad looking to repeat at the Regional tournament. Despite this fact, the Cardinals know the only thing that matters is taking their task in stride.
As Tobochnik nicely summarizes, “Anything can happen at the Regional tournament. There is obviously seeding at each weight, but your record, past accomplishments, wins, losses, etc., don’t mean anything. All that matters now is focusing on one match at a time, wrestling confident, relaxed, and aggressive, and coming out with a win. We have prepared all season for this tournament, and I truly believe that our team will rise to the challenge and finish strong.”