Men’s Wrestling Places Four at NEWA Futures Tournament

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 19, 2023) – The Western New England men's wrestling team hosted the annual NEWA Futures Tournament on Sunday morning, placing four in the top five of their respective weight classes and finishing 5^th of 14 team in the tournament. 

How it Happened:
Keon Ayala led the way for Western New England in the 165 lb. weight class, finishing in second place on the day. After a bye, Ayala defeated Anthony Ostrander of Roger Williams University to move into the QF match. Another win for Ayala would come via tech-fall, taking down Alex Tomellini of WPI to continue to move through the championship bracket. Ayala would go on to win the semifinal match over George Glaropoulos of Springfield College via TF, 16-1 to move into the championship match of the event. Ayala would fall short in the match, though finished second in the 165 lb. weight class for WNE. 

Also competing in the 165 lb. weight class was David Lisk for WNE, who finished in fourth place for the Golden Bears. Lisk knocked off Tom Cullerton of Roger Williams in his opening bout via fall in 3:23. Lisk went on to take down both Billy Blumenthal of Springfield College and Eddie Martinelli of Johnson and Wales University before dropping a semifinal match to JWU's Matthew Garcia. Lisk would finish with 4^th place for the Golden Bears, winning three matches on the day. 

Johnny Harwood placed 5^th in the 174 lb. weight class, wrestling in six matches on the day. Hardwood would come our victorious in his first two matches of the afternoon, defeating both Norwich University and Trinity University, via TF and fall, respectively. Hardwood would lose just once on the afternoon, going 5-1 on the day to earn 5^th place in the 174. Hardwood took down Caleb Rojas of Castleton University in his final match of the afternoon. 

WNE also saw Aiden DeLuca place 5^th in the 184 lb. weight class, including taking the win of JWU's John Fiore in the final match of the night to earn the fifth-place finish. DeLuca earned wins over Wesleyan University, New England College and WPI to go along with his final win of the night over JWU to secure fifth place in the weight class. 

As a team, Western New England finished fifth with 55 points out of the 14-team tournament. Johnson and Wales University, ranked third nationally, finished as the top team in the tournament with 185.5 points and five first place winners. 

1. Johnson & Wales (R.I.) – 185 points
2. Castleton University – 145 points
3. Springfield College – 101.5 points
4. Roger Williams University – 73.5 points
5. Western New England – 56 points
6. WPI – 50 points
7. Wesleyan University – 46.5 points
8. Southern Maine – 39.5 points
9. Rhode Island College – 29.5 points
10. Norwich University – 25.5 points
11. Williams College – 23.5 points
12. Trinity (Conn.) University – 22 points
13. Bridgewater State University – 13 points
14. New England College – 5.5 points

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears head to Southern Maine on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26 for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships.