PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Wesleyan wrestling team saw both CJ Shea '25 and Hayden Myers '27 make their first career appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships on Friday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Shea won three matches to secure a Top 8 finish and All-American honors while Myers went 2-2, finishing one spot shy of a Top 8 placement.
 
The #4 seed at 165, Shea started the day with a 5-2 decision win over Justin Richey of Gettysburg. Shea landed an early takedown in the first period and held on for his first career win at Nationals. Shea then took a 5-1 defeat, just his second loss of the season, to Nicholas Sacco of TCNJ. Now in the wrestle-backs consolation bracket, Shea started her run to the Top 8 with an 8-3 victory over Carson Martinson of Central (Iowa). After a high-scoring first period, Shea led 5-3 entering the third period where he landed a takedown with 32 seconds left in the frame for some insurance points in the win.
 
Needing one more win to secure a Top 8 finish, Shea wrestled his way to an 8-4 win over Christopher Stathopoulos of Stevens to land an All-American honor. Shea led 3-2 heading into the third period where he landed a takedown with 51 seconds remaining to secure the four-point win. Shea's triumph makes him the ninth Cardinal in program history to earn All-American honors. He will come back on Saturday and look to continue his run, starting against Tanner Gerber of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Shea can finish as high as third in the weight class.
 
Wrestling in the 141 bracket, Myers found success in his first bout, defeating Sam Kotch of TCNJ by a score of 14-10. With the score tied 10-10 but the riding point secured in the final period, Myers landed a takedown with 1:02 remaining to secure the win in a high-scoring affair. Myers was then defeated by Pierre Baldwin of Central (Iowa) 14-3 in the championship flight. Still competing in the consolation bracket, Myers saw his run come to an end with a 14-3 loss to Bradley Rosen of North Central (Ill.) as the sophomore finished 1-2 in his first career NCAA appearance.
 
Shea will be back in action at 10 AM on Saturday in Providence.