The MIT wrestling team capped off a historic season with a successful team performance at the NCWA Northeast Conference Tournament. The team had five finalists, two champions, and was able to qualify four men’s team wrestlers and three women’s team wrestlers for the NCWA national tournament, set to be held in Allen, TX, March 10th-13th. MIT also secured the women’s division Northeast Conference team title. Coach McNeil was voted NCWA Northeast Conference women’s coach of the year.
The women’s team was led by two first place finishes and one second place finish, Zoe Pasetsky (1st), Sarah Sams (1st), and Viveca Pannell (2nd). In the women’s division team race, MIT beat out Northeastern University, Stony Brook University, Springfield Technical Community College, and the University of New Hampshire. In the finals, Sarah Sams won by fall against Brittney Rosello from UNH. Zoe Pasetsky was able to secure the victory against her teammate, Viveca Pannell. Their performances automatically qualify them for the 2022 NCWA National Tournament. According to NCWA.net, Viveca Pannell and Sarah Sams both hold the #1 spot in their respective weight classes, Zoe Pasetsky sits at #8 in her weight class.
The men’s team was led by strong performances from Samuel Calvert and Keith Skaggs who both finished in second place in their respective weight classes. Skaggs made the semi-finals winning by fall in his quarter finals match against Constantinov of UMass. In the semi-finals, Skaggs won by fall against Ginz of STCC. In the finals, Skaggs lost in overtime to Michael Gonzalez of STCC. Skaggs currently holds the national #4 ranking at 133lbs, according to NCWA.net. Calvert made the semi-finals, winning by fall over Hubbard from Northeastern in his quarter final match. In the semi-finals, Calvert won 11-5 against McCarthy of URI to make the finals. In the finals, Calvert lost by major decision to Capodilupo of UNH. Calvert is currently ranked #8 nationally at 174lbs according to NCWA.net. Both performances from Skaggs and Calvert automatically qualified them for the NCWA National Tournament.
Brendan O’Neill and Logan Madrigal-Silver lost twice on the day, but were both able to secure wildcard bids for their spots at the NCWA national tournament. Andre Hamelberg also competed well for the team in his first year wrestling.