Bloom ’10 takes title at Roger Williams Invitational

The wrestling team had a strong start to its season this weekend, opening up at the Roger Williams Invitational in Bristol, R.I. The team emerged with a solid 5th place finish out of a field of 12 teams.

Wrestling powerhouse Johnson and Wales won the tournament, finishing with a total of 142.5 points. Host school Roger Williams University took a close second with 140.5. The Cardinals clocked in at 106.5, close behind Rhode Island College, which finished with 115.5.

Wesleyan’s big story from the tournament was that of Dan Bloom ’10, who went home with a first-place finish in his 125 pound weight class out of 20 entrants. Bloom took down every opponent he faced, going 4-0 in the event. Chris Alvanos ’11 also competed in the 125-pound bracket and finished in 5th with a 4-2 record.

In addition, the Cards saw strong performances from David Bachy ’10, Ahmad Ismall ’12, Josh Berkovic ’10, and a third place finish from heavyweight Dan Conroy ’11.

Co-captain Greg Hurd ’10 came exceedingly close to winning his weight division of 174, winning three straight bouts before facing Johnson and Wales’ Jerome Owens, an All-American who is currently ranked forth nationally. Hurd battled hard in the finals, but was eventually edged out by Owens, who won the match by a 5-4 count.

Co-captain, Alex Segal ’09, had an auspicious start in the 184-pound class, winning two and losing just one while grappling with an injury which eventually forced him to bow out.

The Roger Williams Invitational kicks off what the team hopes will be another strong season. The boys hit the mat again this weekend at the Doug Parker Invitational at Springfield College.