In 2019, the UConn club wresting team finished second in Division II at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association’s national championships in Texas. (Photo courtesy Sam Janicki / SJanickiPhoto.com)
The club wrestling team at the University of Connecticut is fundraising so that members of the team can attend and compete at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) national championship meet in Puerto Rico on March 9-11.
The UConn team last attended in the NCWA nationals in 2020 when they finished fifth in Division II with three All-Americans. A year earlier, they were second in Division II. The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2021 tournament, and the UConn squad wasn’t able to participate in 2022 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases last winter.
The team, which has a goal of $15,000, has raised more than $6,900 through a Go-Fund Me campaign with donations from 71 people.
While the team does get some funds from UConn, it can be a challenging process requiring up to six weeks lead time to get approval, according to head coach Chris Warran in the Go-Fund-Me proposal. That presents a challenge when wrestlers qualify for the national tournament just two weeks earlier at the regional tournament, scheduled for Feb. 25 at Springfield Technical Community College.
Most members of the UConn team graduated from high schools in Connecticut.
The NCWA was founded in 1997 to provide collegiate athletes with an opportunity to compete in wrestling at a regional and national level. The NCWA helps develop programs under the school’s athletic departments, student services department and sport club departments.
The UConn club has been in existence since 2007. UConn dropped their varsity wrestling program following the 1981 season.
