The Wesleyan wrestling team started this season with a lot to prove. Luckily, they had a team who could do it. They dominated the first half of the season, winning seven of their first eight dual matches—their best start since the 2001–02 season—and securing their first tournament win in eight years at the Will Abele Invitational. 

The Cards continued their dual season with the Williams College Quad on Feb. 8. The three match slate saw the Red and Black face off against the rival host first, followed by no. 19 ranked Ithaca College and the State University of New York at Oneonta. 

The Cards got out to a hot start against the Ephs, going up 11–0 thanks to two decision victories by Chris Hong ’27 and captain Max Martinez ’25, respectively, and a tech fall by Hayden Myers ’27. The Ephs responded, but captain Aris Dashiell ’25 secured a major decision to put Wes up 18–16 going into the final match. In the decisive heavyweight match, the Cards came up short, losing the dual 18–22 in only their second loss of the season. 

Looking to rebound against Ithaca, the Cards struggled at first, losing three of the four matches and going down 4–11. A major decision by Myers accounted for their only points. But when Wesleyan needed it most, the captains stepped up, with captain Shailen Savur ’25 landing a 17–1 tech fall and CJ Shea ’25 following up with a 4–1 decision victory to put the Cards up 12–11. The lead did not last long, as the Bombers responded and put the Cards down 12–21. Dashiell secured an 8–7 decision to make it 15–21 heading into the heavyweight match, with Will Orso ’26 needing a pin to level the score. He secured a decision win, putting the Cards closer but not over the hump as they fell to the Bombers 18–21.

Although these were the first back-to-back losses of the season, Shea knew that the Cards would stay on target.

“The spirits after the losses were just like, ‘Let’s get the next one,’” Shea said. “We didn’t hang our heads, we weren’t really dwelling on the losses, but just looking to be the best we can for the next goal.”

The Cards left no question about their determination and ability as they led off the Oneonta dual with four straight pins from Hong, Martinez, Myers, and Ike Guttentag ’26. A decision win by Savur and a tech fall from Shea—as well as wins by captain Andrew Maiorini ’25 and Roman Martinez ’27—extended the massive lead before Orso shut the book on a 49–3 victory with a pin in the heavyweight bout. The 49 points were the most by the Cards in a dual for the whole year.

The final tuneup for Wes was a senior night dual with Centenary University, who had given the Cards trouble in the past. Last season the Cards eked out a win over the Cyclones, and the year before, Wes suffered a 10–26 loss to them. The seniors who experienced that loss looked to rewrite the narrative and show how far the program had come.

After the Cards suffered three defeats to start the dual, the momentum switched with a pin by Kellen Horst ’26, and a Shea tech fall victory got the Cards the lead. They never looked back, winning the rest of the bouts and taking the match 29–13 to improve their dual-season record to 9–3.

“That was a good reference point for me because my sophomore year, Centenary blew us out,” Shea said. “This year we handled them, [which] shows the progression of our team. And that’s just a testimony to our senior class. We’ve all kind of created this culture between our class and the team to always have each other’s backs, keep each other accountable, and be the best person you can be, whether that’s on the mat, in the classroom, as a person in general, and I think that’s why we progressed so significantly.”

Before regionals, the younger members of the team got a chance to compete in the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Futures Tournament.

“It’s a great tournament to give those guys opportunity and kind of put those guys in the spotlight,” Shea said. “It’s good to have them be on the forefront, because they do a lot of great things that people don’t realize.”

Dashiell commented on how the younger players have contributed to the team culture.

“For the freshmen and sophomores, I think they’ve really bought in on what we’re doing,” Dashiell said. “And I think that those guys realize there’s so much work that needs to be done to be a great wrestler, that they’ve really understood that and honed that in.”

Next was the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships on March 1–2, and for the first time since 2014, the tournament took place at Wesleyan. This home mat advantage allowed more Wesleyan supporters to attend the matches, and it provided a crucial upper hand for the home wrestlers.

“It was so much better than last year,” Myers said. “We got to sleep in our own beds. We had more fans and family members show up. For the team, that was huge. We felt like we were truly at home. It didn’t feel like regionals, it just felt like another day.”

The Cardinals capitalized on their home mat advantage, as eight different wrestlers qualified for the second day of the tournament. Myers and Shea both reached the semifinals of their respective weight classes. Martinez, Guttentag, Dashiell, Orso, Maiorini, and Ronnie Christolin ’28 all remained in the backdraw of their weight classes, needing three wins to finish third in the championships and qualify for the national championships. 

Shea and Myers led the way for Wes on day two. Shea earned his way into the finals by way of a 5–1 decision win against Plymouth State University’s Chase Anestis. With the win, Shea secured his spot at the national championships that took place two weeks later. All that stood between him and a regional championship was Johnson & Wales University wrestler Jack Richardson. After two intense periods of wrestling, Shea nabbed an immense takedown in the third period that pushed him ahead 5–4. He held his own the rest of the period to secure the title match.

Myers, after losing a close match in the semifinal against Castleton University’s James Rodriguez, stayed positive and worked his way to the third-place match, where the winner would advance to nationals. His opponent, University of Maine wrestler Kyle Moore, jumped out to an early lead, putting Myers on the defensive sooner than expected. As he finished the second period down 9–4, Myers leaned on his previous and current coaches’ advice to guide him into the final period.

“Ever since high school, coaches have been telling me to focus on one point at a time,” Myers said. “In my match, [Coach Drew Black] was telling me that, but I already knew it. It was a big deficit, but I kept thinking ‘One point at a time, and the points will build. Just stay calm and don’t do anything dumb.’”

Myers slowly but surely climbed his way back into the match, racking up points throughout the period. Eventually, the sophomore took charge, with a takedown and a near fall that flipped the score in Myers’ favor. As the third period ended, the momentum had swung Myers’ way, and he completed an impressive 13–9 comeback victory that earned him a place at nationals.

Two weeks later, on March 14–15, Shea and Myers headed to Providence, R.I., for the NCAA Division III National Championships. 

In his first-round matchup, Shea secured a 4–1 decision victory but fell by decision to the College of New Jersey’s Nick Sacco in the second round. Shea rebounded and fought his way through the consolation bracket, ultimately taking home 7th place out of the 32 wrestlers competing in the 165 weight class. 

Myers earned his way into the championship flight after a back-and-forth first match against the College of New Jersey’s Sam Kotch. Their high-scoring battle saw Myers once again seize his opportunity in the third period, as he surged ahead and snatched the victory. While he fell in his first match of the championship flight, he picked up one more win on the weekend in consolation matches before losing his final one and finishing the weekend at 2–2.

Both Shea and Myers expressed their gratitude for the support they had all weekend and the experience of competing in both of their first national championships.

“I wouldn’t have asked for it any other way,” Shea said. “I love my coaches, and I wouldn’t want anybody else in my corner. A bunch of the guys on the team came to the tournament with us. It meant a lot to me to have all of those guys come out and support us. It’s a testament to the brotherhood we’ve all developed over these four years.”

The wrestling team finished its year with a regular-season record of 9–3. Eight different wrestlers finished regionals with All-Region honors, and Shea and Myers’ appearances in nationals put the cherry on top of a well-accomplished 2024–25 campaign. Myers credited the seniors’ and captains’ leadership for fueling their success. 

“In the spring last year, the captains came up with a saying: TBG, toughness, brotherhood, and gratitude,” Myers said. “We embraced that, we embraced the grind, and we appreciated the work everyone was putting in. It really felt like we were a family, and we’ve had such a great team culture.”

With four of their eight All-Region wrestlers returning for next season, things are looking strong for Wesleyan wrestling.

“There’s always gonna be great wrestlers, there’s always gonna be people that have great technique and are really good at the sport, but having a great team culture is what really shifted us,” Dashiell said. “It’s like that saying: a rising tide brings everyone up with it. So I think that the guys who are going to take over now are really going to be able to take what we’ve created and run with it and only trend more upwards as time goes on.”

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.