SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 17, 2025) – The Western New England men's wrestling team battled one of the top teams in the nation, the returning national champion Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday afternoon inside the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center, falling short to this year's seventh-ranked JWU, 36-9.
How it Happened:
Starting at the 165 lb. weight class, the Golden Bears fell behind early as JWU's Jack Richardson (165 lbs.) and Shane Reitsma (174 lbs.) earned technical fall wins to put the Wildcats ahead early in the match 10-0. It took JWU's Zachary Miller just 31 seconds to claim a victory in the 184 lb. weight class, as JWU looked to be running away with the match early, leading 16-0. The 197 lb. weight class saw WNE come away with an 11-7 victory as
Charles Maloy battled and overtook JWU's John Bettencourt to come away with three points for the Golden Bears.
The heavyweight class earned the Wildcats six more points, while the 125 lb. and 133 lb. weight classes also went in favor of the Wildcats, who claimed victory following two more technical falls. In the 141 lb. weight class, Western New England's
Austin Monteiro took down Nicholas Torres on a 2-0 decision, earning the Golden Bears another three points to the team total. 149 lbs. went to the Wildcats while the last match of the afternoon went Western New England's way when
Matthew Rodriguez (157 lbs.) earned an 8-3 decision victory over Vincent Faldetta, claiming the final three points of the afternoon for the Blue and Gold, who fell by a final score of 36-9.
Results:
- 165 lbs. - Jack Richardson (JWU) over Teghan McConnell (WNE) – TF, 16-0 (5:00)
- 174 lbs. – Shane Reitsma (JWU) over Nicholas Baccala (WNE) – TF, 22-6 (5:00)
- 184 lbs. – Zachary Miller (JWU) over Jaylen Hawkins (WNE) – Fall, 0:31
- 197 lbs. – Charles Maloy (WNE) over John Bettencourt (JWU) – Decision, 11-7
- 285 lbs. – Adolfo Betancur (JWU) over Luke Donis (WNE) – Fall, 1:03
- 125 lbs. – Nico Rivera (JWU) over Clayton O'Connor (WNE) – TF, 18-3 (6:32)
- 133 lbs. – Peyton Ellis (JWU) over Antonio Intintoli (WNE) – TF, 18-3 (1:37)
- 141 lbs. – Austin Monteiro (WNE) over Nicholas Torres (JWU) – Decision, 2-0
- 149 lbs. – Jared Spahn (JWU) over James Linder (WNE) – Major Decision, 8-0
- 157 lbs. – Matthew Rodriguez (WNE) over Vincent Faldetta (JWU) – Decision, 8-3
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears will break until the New Year, returning to the mat on Saturday, January 10 for a 12:00 PM tri-match at Norwich University with Kean University.
