SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Competing in the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Futures Tournament on Sunday, the Wesleyan wrestling team managed a seventh place finish out of 14 teams in the event. The Cardinals saw wrestlers place in the 157 lb. and 197 lb. weight classes.

• RESULTS

Jake Edwards '24 represented the highest-placing Cardinal on the day, as the junior upset the three-seed Cameron Bailey of Johnson & Wales by pinfall at 6:05 in his round of 16 bout. Edwards won again by fall at 4:27 over Stephen Jennings of Castleton in the quarterfinal round before suffering an injury in the closing minute of his semifinal bout against the two-seed Hunter Rasmussen, taking him out of the competition and placing fourth overall.
 
In the 157 weight bracket, the Cardinals saw Dario Molina '24 and Andrew Maiorini '25 advance to the quarterfinal round of the main draw. Molina defeated Peter Charnley of Western New England by fall at 6:35 of the round of 16 bout while Maiorini defeated Hiyuma Nagai of Springfield by a 6-3 decision. The pair each took a close decision loss in the quarterfinal stage, and in the consolation bracket, both won a pair of matches before deciding not to compete against one another in the fifth-place bout. Molina won by pinfall and major decision in the consolation bracket while Maiorini advanced by way of decision and major decision.
 
Terry Brannigan '24 won a pair of matches in the 133 bracket, defeating a pair of opponents by pinfall before losing in the quarterfinal round. Kellen Horst '26 won a pair of matches in the back draw at 141, defeating Conor Devega of Western New England by pinfall and six-seed Brayan Mendez Membreno by a 7-5 decision before seeing his run come to an end just one win shy of the fifth place bout. Lucas Hughes '24 won a pair of matches in the main draw of the 174 bracket, including an upset of five-seed Caleb Rojas of Castleton in the opening round by pinfall, before falling in the quarterfinals.
 
Wesleyan returns to the mat next weekend where they will take part in the Northeast Regional Championships in a two-day event hosted by Southern Maine on February 25-26.