James Lunt, a former Xavier wrestler, won a NCWA national title at 157 pounds Saturday wrestling for Springfield Tech Community College. (Photo courtesy Kareem Small)
East Haddam’s James Lunt, who won a State Open championship with Xavier in 2020, captured his first National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) national championship on Saturday at 157 pounds in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Lunt’s victory helped Springfield Technical Community College to finish fourth in the tournament for club and non-varsity wrestling programs. Lunt was one of seven All-American wrestlers for STCC, including Middletown’s Kalil Shabazz, who finished sixth at 141 pounds.
UConn’s club program finished 15th overall in the field and fifth among Division II programs with one All-American wrestler. Greenwich’s Andrew Nanai finished seventh at 197 pounds for the Huskies.
Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, a team that is transitioning to the NCAA Division I level, won the tournament for the first time with four individual champions and eight All-American wrestlers. Liberty University was second with 189½ points. The Apprentice School out of Newport News, Virginia just finished ahead of Springfield Tech by 1½ points, 135-133½.
Bellarmine is moving their wrestling program from the NCAA Div. II level to the Div. I level. But they are ineligible for NCAA sponsored competitions for a four-year period that began with the 2020-21 season, according to a 2019 story by Intermat.
Lunt went 5-0 to win the national championship with a 4-1 win over Joseph Miranda of Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. Miranda had a great tournament, upsetting defending national champion Ian McIhenny of Liberty University in the second round, 7-5.
Lunt (24-2) won a tight semifinal match over No. 2 seed Nicholas Martino of Fresno State Wrestling Club, 6-4 thanks to a takedown with 10 seconds left.
Shabazz went 3-3 in the tournament earn All-American honors. Other STCC wrestlers to earn All-American honors were Dylan Beddow (4th, 125), Jolan Martori (4th, 15), Shawn Conniff (5th, 235), Michael Gonzalez (6th, 133) and Davyn Peterson (8th at 197).
Nanai lost his second match of the tournament to eventual national champion Josiah Murphy of Liberty but then ripped off three straight victories to earn All-American honors. He is the first NCWA All-American wrestler for the Huskies since 2020.
In the women’s competition, Ottawa University-Arizona won their first NCWA national championship with a 120-80 win over Gray’s Harbor College from Washington State. Ottawa-Arizona had four individual champions and six finalists.
National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) national championships
At San Juan, Puerto Rico
Team results – 1. Bellarmine University-Louisville KY 206½, 2. Liberty University-Lynchburg VA 189½, 3. Apprentice School-Newport News, VA 135, 4. Springfield Tech CC 133½, 5. Grand Valley State-Allendale, Mich. 131, 6. University of Toledo (Ohio) 99½, 7. Ohio State WC 94, 8. Central Florida 92½, 9. Grays Harbor College-Aberdeen, Wash. 78½, 10. Florida 70½, 11. Rowan University-Glassboro NJ 63, 12. Slippery Rock University (Penn.) 54½, 13. University of Dubuque WC (Iowa) 51, 14. Allen University-Columbia, S.C. 50½, 15. UConn 50, 16. Washington State 46, 17. Texas A&M 44, 18. Penn State WC 41½, 19. Rutgers WC 39½, 20. Maine Maritime Academy 39, 21. Ottawa University-Arizona 38½, 22. Williamson College of Trades-Media, Penn. 37, 23. UNLV 35, 24. UMass 34½, 25. Wayne State College-Nebraska 33, 26. Fresno State WC 29½, 27. East Carolina 28, 28. Utah Tech 27½, 29. Clemson and Virginia Tech WC 26
Other New England schools: 36. Northeastern 16, 39. Rensselaer Poly Tech 15, 41. Rhode Island 12½
Division II top five finishers: 1. Ohio State Wrestling Club 94 (7th overall), 2. Rowan University 63 (11), 3. Slippery Rock University 54½ (12), 4. University of Dubuque WC 51 (13), 5. UConn 50 (15).
Championship finals
125 Jack Parker (Bellarmine) pin Bruno Alves (Apprentice), 4:17
133 Kaden Blair (Toledo) dec. Dillon Messick (Apprentice), 3-1 OT
141 Alfonso Vargas (Florida) dec. Elijah Gandert (Grays Harbor), 11-9 OT
149 Zac Cowan (Bellarmine) tech fall Thomas Mccane (Central Florida), 22-7 7:00
157 James Lunt (Springfield Tech) dec. Joseph Miranda (Rowan), 4-1
165 Cole Nance (Bellarmine) pin Talon Pisarchuk (Williamson College of the Trades), 3:57
174 Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) pin Josh Kenny (Grand Valley State), 6:48
184 Nicholas Franco (Rutgers WC) dec. Ben Liss (Rutgers WC), 5-1
197 Josiah Murphy (Liberty) dec. Seth Konynenbelt (Grand Valley State), 3-2
235 Jeff Allen (Liberty) dec. Zeke Alleman (Utah Tech), 5-4
285 Frederick Weaver (Liberty) pin Thaddeus Huff (Bellarmine), 6:09
Third place (consolation finals)
125 Dante Mininno (Liberty) dec. Dylan Beddow (Springfield Tech), 8-4
133 Michael Schiffhauer (Bellarmine) dec. Blake Schmitt (Liberty), 6-3
141 Parker Watson (Ohio State WC) dec. Jordan Robins (Apprentice), 3-1 OT
149 Joey Murphy (Grand Valley State) dec. Drevon Wallace (Allen), 15-9
157 Alex Rivera (Bellarmine) dec. Nicholas Martino (Fresno State WC), 6-2
165 Charles Roche (Central Florida) pin Jolan Martori (Springfield Tech), 2:40
174 Zachary Kaminski (Liberty) pin Benjamin Blickle (Ohio State WC), 2:37
184 Kennedy Wyatt (Bellarmine) pin Michael Jackson (Allen), 4:27
197 Matthew Abraham (Toledo) pin Derek Yingling (Slippery Rock), 4:31
235 Joseph Pineda (Dubuque WC) dec. Seth Ellsmore (Liberty), 3-2
285 Jacob Meek (Toledo) dec. Peter Cortapasso (Apprentice), 12-7
Fifth place
125 Chase Arnestad (Liberty) pin Caleb Olgers (Apprentice), 1:21
133 Gabriel Martinez (Grand Valley State) medical forfeit Michael Gonzalez (Springfield Tech)
141 Scott Kilian (Texas A&M) pin Kalil Shabazz (Springfield Tech), 4:00
149 Caden Jacobs (Grand Valley State) dec. Zachary Ortega (Apprentice), 11-5
157 Ezekiel Burkholder (Toledo) dec. Elijah Kidder (Grand Valley State), 5-0
165 Landon Kissell (Apprentice) pin Ethan Baker (Apprentice), 2:23
174 Riley Hackworth (Florida) pin Keith Brubach (Slippery Rock), 3:28
184 Graham Carson (Ohio State WC) dec. Gabriel Hayes (Liberty), 10-1
197 Matthew Micale (West Chester) dec. Sean Gillespie (Liberty), 9-6
235 Shawn Conniff (Springfield Tech) forfeit over Jeffrey Worster (Maine Maritime Academy)
285 Caleb Corrigan (Rowan) dec. Michael Morales (Central Florida), 4-3
Seventh place
125 Tanner Higa (Dubuque WC) pin Avian Martinez (Treasure Valley CC), 4:46
133 Jesus Sanchez (Dubuque WC) dec. Caleb Hernandez (Ohio State WC), 5-2
141 Kenneth Lambert (Clemson) pin Ian Campbell (Grays Harbor), 0:21
149 Charles Hudson (Liberty) forfeit over Jacob Grogan (Texas A&M)
157 Kyle Romano (Georgia) forfeit over Wayne Lamont (Stony Brook)
165 Yury Pozdneev (Ohio State WC) dec. David Over (Liberty), 8-6
174 John Podsednik (Alabama) dec. Derrick Andolsek (Akron), 13-8
184 Stephano Magny (Springfield Tech) forfeit over Aaron Whear (James Madison)
197 Andrew Nanai (UConn) dec. Davyn Peterson (Springfield Tech), 7-2
235 Aaron Sacca (Central Florida) pin Landon Gray (East Carolina), 6:23
285 Brett Boudreau (Grand Valley State) dec. Dustin Uribes (Apprentice), 6-1
Outstanding wrestler: Devon Hendricks, Bellarmine, 174
2023 NCWA brackets and results (FloArena)
2023 NCWA women’s championship
At San Juan, Puerto Rico
Team results – 1. Ottawa University-Arizona 120, Gray’s Harbor College-Aberdeen. Wash. 80, 3. Big Bend CC-Washington State 41, 4. Washington State University 36½, 5. MIT 34, 6. Florida 31½, 7. Grand Canyon University-Phoenix AZ 29, 8. Colorado State 24, 9. Florida A&M 23½, 10. Northeastern 22, 11. Liberty University-Lynchburg VA 21, New Hampshire 21, Western Washington 21, 14. Santa Rosa (California) JC 19. 15. Texas-Arlington 17, 16. Stony Brook 16, 17. University of Texas 12, Texas Tech 12, 19. UNLV 11, 20, Montclair State 8, Slippery Rock University 8, 22. Pacific Lutheran 7½, 23. Texas A&M 6, 24. UCLA 5½, 25. The Apprentice School-Newport News, VA 5, Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 5, RPI 5, 28. Central Florida 3,Fresno State 3, Texas State 3, UMass 3, 32. East Carolina 2½, West Chester 2½, 34. Puerto Rico-Humacao ½
Championship finals
101 Jennifer Alcott (Ottawa – Arizona) pin Caley Kling (Colorado State), 0:48
109 Hermelinda Mendoza (Ottawa – Arizona) pin Daniela Suttles (Grand Canyon), 2:23
116 Lyqualah Kinsey (Ottawa – Arizona) pin Mia Armstrong (Texas – Arlington), 1:36
123 Lauren Stone (Florida) pin Mia Garza (Texas), 1:14
130 Viveca Pannell (M.I.T.) dec. Taliyah Armstrong (Ottawa – Arizona), 10-9
136 Sophia Carson (New Hampshire) pin Julie Wilson (Washington State), 4:59
143 Veloria Pannell (M.I.T.) dec. Anastacia Fucci (Colorado State), 13-4
155 Julia Mata (Ottawa – Arizona) pin Leilani Frazier (Santa Rosa JC), 1:26
170 Samantha Meyer (Big Bend CC) pin Cheyenne Williams (Ottawa – Arizona), 0:56
191 Renaeh Ureste (Grays Harbor) pin Melissa Moore (Texas Tech), 0:25
235 Katie Moore (Stony Brook) pin Kali Hood (Grays Harbor), 4:38
Third place (consolation finals)
101 Ariel Kamat (Texas A&M) FOR Jasmine Cortez (Texas State)
109 Griselda Cuevas (Western Washington) pin Aliya Hammons (Grays Harbor), 1:05
116 Aleyda Rodriguez (Grays Harbor) pin Hannah Ung (Northeastern), 0:28
123 Jada Yamada (Western Washington) dec. Asia Ronan-Johnson (Florida A&M), 8-4
130 Anna Rodriguez (Big Bend CC) dec. Kimberly Iglesias Rodriguez (Florida), 8-2
136 Samantha Tuttle (Grand Canyon) dec. Jasmin Soc-lopez (Ottawa – Arizona), 12-10
143 Petra Bernsten (Washington State) pin Sitlaly Macias (Big Bend CC), 5:12
155 Faith Guevara (Montclair State) dec. Tatiana Molinero-Ceras (Pacific Lutheran), 7-3
170 Katie Gakin (Grays Harbor) pin Maile Ka-ahanui (Liberty), 3:23
191 Megan Webster (Grays Harbor) pin Trinity Robinson (Ottawa – Arizona), 4:52
235 Jojera Dodge (Grays Harbor) pin Jada Robinson (Florida A&M), 2:01
Outstanding wrestler:
2023 NCWA brackets and results (FloArena)
