PROVIDENCE, R.I. –
CJ Shea '25 and
Hayden Myers '27 of the Wesleyan wrestling team are set to appear in the 2025 NCAA Division III Championships hosted at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence on March 14-15. This is the first career appearance at Nationals for both Shea and Myers and the first time Wesleyan has brought more than one qualifier to the NCAA Championships since 2018.
Wrestling at 165, Shea has put together one of the most-impressive seasons by a Cardinal in recent memory, as the senior was just voted Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Northeast Regional. Shea wrestled his way to the 165-lb title, defeating top-seed Jack Richardson of Johnson & Wales in the title bout after a late go-ahead takedown in the third period, becoming the first since 2010 to win a regional title at a weight class of less than 174. The three-time All-Region wrestler is 34-1 this season and is the #4 seed in the 165-lb bracket at the NCAA Championships. His first bout comes against Justin Richey of Gettysburg on Friday morning.
After missing a spot at the NCAA Championships by one finishing place as a first-year, Myers triumphed at this year's NCAA Regional with a third-place finish at 141, earning the last qualifying spot into Nationals in the region. The 2023-24 New England Wrestling Association Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Region wrestler is 32-5 this season. He sits Top 10 nationally in his weight class and went 12-0 in the dual match portion of the season. Myers has 12 wins by pinfall in 2024-25 to go along with five tech falls and five major decisions. Myers is unseeded in the 141-lb bracket and opens the NCAA Championships with a bout against the winner of six-seed Sam Lorenz of Wisconsin-La Crosse against Sam Kotch of TCNJ.
Competition begins at 10 AM on Friday with preliminaries and consolation first round action. Quarterfinals, consolation second round wrestle-backs, and consolation third round begins Friday at 5 PM. Day 2 of the NCAA Championships begins at 10 AM with championship semifinals, consolation wrestle-back quarterfinals, consolation semifinals, seventh, fifth, and third place matches. The championship finals is at 7 PM on Saturday.
