WORCESTER, Mass. – The Norwich University wrestling team competed in a tri-meet hosted by WPI in which they squared off against the host Engineers as well as Roger Williams on Saturday afternoon. The Cadets dropped both matchups, but the top wrestlers solidified themselves with their performances.
Sophomore Dan Curran (Peterborough, N.H.) reeled off a pair of wins at 184 lbs giving him six on the young season. In his bout against WPI, Curran pinned his opponent at the 6:27 mark in the third period. Against the #5 NEWA ranked Anthony Malfitano from Roger Williams, Curran earned a win by tech fall with a 17-1 margin of victory. That is two wins at 184 pounds for Curran this week over top five NEWA ranked opponents.
Senior Mike Wagner (Tyngsborough, Mass.) continued his extended success to start the season with a pair of wins by forfeit at 285 lbs. That makes 12 wins on the season for Wagner who is making a strong case for a loftier position when the next NEWA rankings come out.
Freshman Niko Chitty (Coral Springs, Fla.) grabbed the only other win for the Cadets in the tri-meet but certainly made it count defeating the #4 NEWA ranked wrestler from WPI, Brendan Marion with an 8-6 decision. Trailing 4-3 after the first period, Chitty scored an escape, a takedown and a nearfall for two points to grab a commanding 8-4 lead, then hung on for the 8-6 decision.
Sophomore Tyler Barker (Round Rock, Texas) battled tough in the 157-pound weight class against #6 NEWA ranked Chase Lind from WPI. Barker jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first period. That lead held through the second period and up until there was just less than two minutes left in the final period. Unfortunately, Barker could not prevent an escape which tied the bout at 2-2 and then surrendered a takedown to ultimately lose 5-2.
The young Cadet squad is starting to wrestle with more confidence as the season progresses as can be seen with progressively more wins against strong competition. The team will look to continue to develop when it heads to the RIT Invitational on December 7th.
