SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 25, 2024) – The Western New England men's wrestling team hosted the NEWA Futures tournament on Sunday, placing tenth as a team out of 17 teams. WNE saw Tristan Julian place fourth in the 165 lb. weight class to lead the Golden Bears.

How it Happened:

WNE junior Tristan Julian opened the 165 lb. weight class with a major decision victory over Roger Williams University's David Ras on a 14-4 score. Julian collected four takedowns in the match to pace his way to an opening-round victory. Julian moved into the round of 16 by collecting another major decision victory, this time coming over Johnson & Wales' Jesse Baldwin on a 14-2 score. Julian would again record four takedowns while picking up additional points on an escape move and riding time to move into the quarterfinal round of the weight class. Julian would record a win in the QF round, seeing the bout go the distance, coming away with a 6-2 win over Syrus Colon of Castleton University. Julian would go down 1-0 in the second period of the match, though grabbed a takedown a minute later and never looked back to move into the semifinal round. In the semifinals, Julian would come up short to Caslteton's Connor Gregory, the eventual champion of the weight class. The Stafford Springs, Connecticut, native would finish fourth overall in the 165 lb. weight class.

Western New England would see multiple Golden Bears fall just short of a placement on Sunday. Ayden Cheng would go 3-2 on the day in the 141 lb. weight class, grabbing wins over Trinity's Bolan Sharp and WPI's Mason Medina, both coming on decision wins while also earning a BYE in the opening consolation round bracket. David Lisk would also mark a 3-2 record on the night, winning his first two bouts in the 174 lb. weight class, pinning RIC's Roel Johnson while grabbing a 15-0 tech-fall victory over Roger Williams. Lisk would also get a pin in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket, though would fall just short of the fifth/sixth-place match. Louis Stabile would match his teammates with a 3-2 record, coming in the 149 lb. weight class, grabbing wins via flagrant misconduct and two major decision victories. Nicholas Baccala would also finish with a 3-2 record on the day in the 165 lb. weight class. The first year would record opening victories in his first two matches of the day, taking down NEC's Dominic Demaio while getting a near 3-2 victory over Darius Mangiafico of Castleton University on a 3-2 win. Baccala would win by a major decision, 19-9, in the consolation round of eight match though would fall one victory short of advancing to the fifth/sixth-place match on the day.

Overall, the Golden Bears finished with 34.5 points on the day, finishing in 10^th place out of 17 teams. Castleton University would win the NEWA Futures tournament, coming away with 176 points, four first-place winners and five second-place winners, both tournament highs.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will be back on the mat on Saturday, March 2, at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A start time will be determined this week.