BRISTOL, R.I. – The Wesleyan wrestling team opens its 2022-23 season with a strong showing at the Roger Williams Invitational. The Cardinals saw three place in the season-opening tournament including a semifinal trip at 174 for Marco Gaita '23 while Jack Wemmlinger '24 finished in fifth place at 149 and Shailen Savur '25 was sixth at 133.

• RESULTS

"It was a strong field of team competition and I felt solid about the day overall," said Wesleyan head coach Drew Black. "It was a positive step in our podium preparation for the season ahead. We have a fun week ahead in making adjustments, adding in some new elements to our skill set and we are looking forward to getting back on the mat next Saturday at Springfield."
 
Competing as the three-seed in the tournament, Gaita dispatched Lenny Breit of Roger Williams in a tight 6-4 decision in the round of 16 before defeating Kenneth Marra of Coast Guard also by a two-point margin (3-1). Gaita's run in the main draw came to an end in the semifinal round with a 6-0 loss to Jared Stricker of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Despite the loss, Gaita rebounded and managed a 2-0 victory over Blaise Wagner of Stevenson in the third place match.
 
Wemmlinger featured for the first time since high school, as the junior impressed with a fifth place showing at 149 in his collegiate debut. Competing in a loaded weight class, Wemmlinger upset the seven-seed Peter Tringali of RWU by a 10-2 major decision before clipping Tylik Epps of Castleton by another wide margin, this time an 8-2 decision. His run in the main draw came to an end in the quarterfinals with a 10-1 loss to second-seed Colby Frost of Southern Maine. Now in the consolation bracket, Wemmlinger defeated Eddie Troyano of RWU by a close 2-0 decision. He then split his final two matches, falling by a 5-3 score to Nick Roeger of Castleton before defeating Elijah Cyr 8-3 in the fifth place match.
 
Savur had a busy day at 133, starting with an 11-0 major decision victory over Nicholas Torres of Johnson & Wales before being bounced from the main draw in a close, high-scoring affair, losing to Michael Gonyea of Castleton 13-12. Sayur bounced back with a major decision victory 8-0 over Chris Tringali of RWU before another 4-0 win over Ayden Robles of Castleton. His run, however, came to an end with a 4-0 loss to Wilson Gomes of Bridgewater before he had to medical forfeit for the fifth place match having already competed in a maximum five matches on the day, a rule instated by the NCAA.
 
Other Cardinals who just missed placing in their respective weight classes included Andrew Maiorini '25 at 149, who went 3-2 in his matches including a tight 3-2 decision win in the consolation bracket over Jacob Woodburn of Coast Guard. Felix Clayton '24 upset the four-seed Colton Sund of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 8-3 in the consolation bracket, highlighting his day wherein he also went 3-2. And at 285, Kolton Gagnon '25 won his opening round match 4-0 over Zach Brown and he picked up two more wins in the consolation bracket before finishing his day with a 3-2 record.
 
Wesleyan is back in action with the Doug Parker Invitational at Springfield College on Saturday, November 19.