The wrestling team concluded its season this weekend with a strong showing at the NECCWA Championships at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. The team finished with 57.5 points, good for seventh place along with Rhode Island College, well behind the powerful winning squad from Springfield and too far back to qualify for Nationals. The team score is an indication of several strong individual performances; especially considering the team did not enter a competitor in the lightest two weight classes.
The individual highlight for the weekend came in the 165-pound weight class, where David Bartlett ’06 made a run in the eighth seed and finished second. It was a tough second-place finish, since Bartlett injured his hamstring in the finals and had to withdraw and forfeit the championship. It was especially frustrating considering the day he was having.
“[Bartlett] was poised to win the New Conference as he had smoked the opponent earlier during the tournament,” said Gabe Fierro-Fine 04.’ “Dave was the hero of the day. He took his wrestling up ten notches at this tournament. When you first look at Dave all you see is a nice skinny guy, but when he steps on the wrestling mat he becomes a super hero. He smashed the number one ranked kid in the conference.”
Bartlett was not the only Cardinal wrestler to make a run in the championships. Captain Adam Jonas ’04 finished his year with a solid second-place finish, and it could have been better.
“[Jonas] was selected to be an alternate for Division III National Tournament. During his final match a controversial call, which was officially protested, cost him the victory,” Fierro-Fine said.
Fierro-Fine finished his career with a strong third-place finish. Fierro-Fine became one of the few wrestlers in University history to place at the New England Championships four straight years. Fierro-Fine is one of three seniors that will be moving on now that the season is over, along with Adam Faris ’04 and Matt Moran ’04. Jonas and Lonnie Klein ’04 are seniors with another year of eligibility, so they have the opportunity to continue contributing to the Cardinals’ cause next year.
Kevin Egolf ’05 joined Bartlett, Fierro-Fine, and Jonas in placing for the Cardinals. He finished in fifth place in a very deep 149-pound weight class. Egolf had a key victory against an opponent from Trinity that had beaten him earlier in the year, and he won in dominating fashion. Dan Case ’05 also came out with a strong performance as he got a big victory by pinning an opponent. Also competing last weekend were Adam Faris ’04 at 174, Mike Lima ’07 at 184, and Lonnie Klein ’04 in the heavyweight class.
Although the team had hopes of qualifying for Nationals, they remained upbeat about the great weekend.
“Despite the hardships we wrestled our best had no regrets on a wonderful season,” Fierro-Fine said. “It was an honor and a pleasure to have been a Cardinal Wrestler.”
The team is now ready to relax with the long break before next season. Although no wrestler took first, there were outstanding individual performances and some victories were had.
“We all wrestled really well. Gabe, Adam, and Kevin all wrestled tremendously and defeated highly regarded opponents,” Bartlett said. “Now it’s just time to recover and relax.”
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