PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Cadets opened their day with an upset of the fifth seeded Roger Williams, but were unable to capitalize in their following matchup against Springfield on their way to an eighth-place finish at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Dual Meet Championships.
The Cadets were the 12th seed in the tournament. Kyle Merritt (Hope Valley, R.I.) went 4-0 on the day including three pinfalls wrestling at 149-pounds. Merritt also defeated the fourth and second ranked wrestlers in the most recent NEWA Individual rankings. Daniel Curran (Peterborough, N.H.) also went 4-0 with three pinfalls on the day.
Against Roger Williams, the Hawks took an early 9-0 lead after the first two matches. At 141-pounds Joseph Lotruglio (Andover, N.H.) defeated his opponent by pinfall to put the Cadets on the board. Merritt and Cameron Wooldridge (Roanoke, Va.) followed with also won their matches by pinfall to give the Cadets an 18-9 lead.
The Hawks Jacob Cardozo earned three points in his match at 165-pounds, but Curran pinned Jayden Curley in 2:41 for another six points for the Cadets. After droping nine points over the next two matches, Norwich held a 24-21 advantage before Mason Sprinkel (Bel Air, Md.) won his matchup against the seventh ranked Addison Boisver, downing Roger Williams 27-21.
The Cadets then moved on to the quarterfinal contest against the fourth ranked Springfield team.
Springfield earned 15 points in the opening three matches before Merritt took down Parrott the second ranked wrestler by major decision. Down 25-4 Curran earned six points with a win by pinfall in 5:54. At 197-pounds Niko Chitty (Coral Springs, Fla.) earned a pinfall win to close out the Cadet scoring in the 32-16 defeat.
The Cadets then moved into the fifth-place bracket, where they were matched up against Williams. Williams opened up the contest against winning matches at 125, 133, and 141-pounds tallying 15 points. Merritt, Joshua Ducharme (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Tyler Barker (Round Rock, Texas.), and Curran combined for a total of 15 point in their four matches to even things up heading into the 184-pound match.
Dante Gutbrod earned four points at 184-pounds for Williams, but Chitty downed William Smith by technical fall giving Norwich a 20-19 advantage heading into the final match. Thomas Goodwin of Williams was able to defeat his opponent and send the Cadets into the seventh-place match.
In the matchup they were paired against Western New England who was ranked seventh in the pre-championship rankings. The Cadets and Golden Bears traded pairs of wins with the Golden Bears outscoring Norwich 12-11 through the first four matches.
Tristan Julian took a win at 157-pounds by decision taking a 15-11 lead. Wooldridge then pinned his opponent in 4:01 to give Norwich a 17-15 lead. Curran also earned a pinfall victory to push the Norwich lead to 23-15. Western New England were able to win the final three matches to defeat the Cadets 30-23.
Norwich will face off against New England College and Williams on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 12 p.m. in a double dual meet in Andrews Hall.
