LEXINGTON, Va. – The Norwich University wrestling team competed at the 22nd annual All-Academy Championship held at Cameron Hall on the campus of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on Saturday. The even welcomes all eight military academies and universities with the likes of Army West Point, U.S. Naval Academy, The Citidal, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Merchant Marines, and VMI in the United States to compete annually.

The experience of competing against highly ranked wrestlers in the nation is vital for the Norwich wrestlers, despite finishing eighth out of the eight teams in the event. Ten NU wrestlers competed in their respective weight class.

Ben Swanson wrestled in the 157 weight class and took on Army’s Russel Parsons Jr., who finished in second place in the class, in the quarterfinal round and picked up the 17-3 major decision loss. Swanson then faced Navy’s Drew Daniels in the consolation bracket and saw his day end early on an 11-5 decision to Daniels. Daniels would finish fourth in the bracket.

Stephen Briganti wrestled in the 174 pound class and faced Navy’s Jaden Berstein in the opening round. Berstein would pin Briganti in 4:23 and advanced all the way to the championship title, finishing second to Brian Harvey of Army. Briganti went down to the consolation bracket and took on Coast Guard’s Dan Fiorvanti and saw his day come to an end after a 7-3 setback.

The Army West Point wrestling team captured its first All-Academy's Championship title since 2008 behind four individual championship performances for 91 team points, edging out their foe Navy by 2.5 points.

22nd Annual All-Academy Championship
Jan. 30, 2016 • Cameron Hall • Lexington, Va.

Team Scores

Finals
125 – Dalton Henderson (VMI) dec Drew Romero (Air Force), 12-6
133 – Zack Davis (Navy) dec #19 Josh Martinez (Air Force), 7-4
141 – Logan Everett (Army) dec Nicholas Gil (Navy), 6-5
149 – Matt Frisch (The Citadel) dec Jerry McGinty (Air Force), 3-2
157 – Aaron Walker (The Citadel) dec Russell Parsons (Army), 8-3 TB1
165 – Andrew Mendel (Army) dec Shabaka Johns (VMI), 7-6
174 – Brian Harvey (Army) dec Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 4-2
184 – Mathew Miller (Navy) fall Simon Imonode (Army), 1:07
197 – Bryce Barnes (Army) dec Parker Hines (Air Force), 6-2
285 – Marcus Malecek (Air Force) dec Joe Bexley (The Citadel), 9-3

Consolations
125 – Brant Leadbeter (Navy) dec Charles Kearney (The Citadel), 8-2
133 – Dominick Gallo (VMI) dec Austin Harry (Army), 7-2
141 – Ty Buckiso (The Citadel), dec Dylan Hyder (Air Force), 8-2
149 – Corey Wilding (Navy) tech fall Stevan Smith (VMI), 17-2
157 – Neal Richards (VM) dec Drew Daniels (Navy), 7-2
165 – Alex Lopouchanski (Air Force) dec John Keck (Navy), 7-5 SV1
174 – Adam Jackson (Air Force) dec Mark Darr (VMI), 4-3 TB1
184 – Sawyer Root (The Citadel) dec William Baker (Air Force), 5-2 TB1
197 – Michael Woulfe (Navy) fall Mitchell Haas (The Citadel), 2:36
285 – David Farr (Army) dec Urayoan Garcia (VMI), 5-3

Most Outstanding Wrestler - Mathew Miller, Navy
Most Falls Award - Michael Woulfe, Navy (3)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Norwich also wrestled at the Wildcat Open, hosted by Johnson & Wales University on Saturday. No team score was recorded however eight Cadets represented Norwich in the event.

Wrestling in the 149 weight class Brian Swass finished fourth in the bracket. Swass started the day with a 15-2 major decision loss to Brown University’s William McDonald in the quarterfinal round before rebounding with a pair of wins in the consolation on forfeits to advance onto third place match, facing McDonald for the second time in the tournament. Knowing each other’s skills, Swass battled his way through but came up short once again on a 10-5 decision to McDonald and settled for a fourth place finish.

Tyler Jacobs wrestled in the 157 weight class and started his day to a slow start, getting pinned by Josh Fontanez of Springfield Technical Community College in the first round. From there, Jacobs rebounded in the consolation bracket with a pair of wins. He pinned Western New England’s Yuri Gulak in just 2:45 and later picked up the second win on a 22-5 technical fall over University of Albany’s Andrew Rullo to advance onto the fourth round of the consolation bracket. Jacobs would take on host’s James Ryan in the fourth round and fought a tough opponent but came up short with his day ending on a 12-3 major decision.

Norwich is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 6 at home, welcoming Daniel Webster College and American International College (AIC) for a tri-match. The first match is set for 12 p.m. with Norwich hosting Daniel Webster. At 2 p.m., Daniel Webster will take on AIC and then the closing match at 4 p.m. will feature Norwich and AIC.