Posted: Mar 24, 2018

Eight Golden Bears Earn NEWA Awards

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 24, 2018) – Eight members of the Western New England University wrestling team were recognized with end-of-year awards from the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA), the organization announced on Thursday.

Six Golden Bears were named to the NEWA All-Academic Team, including senior Tim McLinden (Plaistow, N.H.) and sophomores John Boyle (Rowley, Mass.) and Ryan Guers (Orwigsburg, Pa.), who earned National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic Team honors earlier this month.

Additionally, sophomores Alex Starr (Lebanon, Conn.) and DJ Tartsinis (Colchester, Conn.) and freshman Omar Velez (Springfield, Mass.) collected NEWA All-Academic accolades, which requires student-athletes to have a minimum of a 3.2 grade point average and be a significant contributor to their team.

Four Golden Bears were also recognized solely for their performance on the mat.

Boyle earned a spot on the All-NEWA Team at 184 pounds, while McLinden and senior Dom Liquori (Springfield, Mass.) received honorable mention spots at 133 and 285, respectively.

Rounding out Western New England's NEWA honorees is freshman Nick Arborio (Berlin, Conn.), who was named to the All-Rookie Team at 125.

Boyle enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign in which he went 34-5 and became the ninth All-American in program history with his fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships in Cleveland.

McLinden and Liquori placed fourth and sixth, respectively, at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship at WPI. McLinden finished his senior season with a record of 26-14, while Liquori went 10-9 with seven wins by fall.

Arborio made an immediate impact during his first season as a Golden Bear. The freshman's 28 wins 11 pins both ranked second on the team. His top performance came at Ursinus College's Will Abele Invitational, when he went 4-0 en route to the 125-pound title.