Springfield, MA --- Three WPI wrestlers picked up sixth place finishes at the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championships, and in the process earned All-New England honors. As a team, the Engineers collected 22 points and finished in 13th place at the two-day event, which concluded Sunday night at Springfield.  Williams enters the championship round with a 30 point lead over second-place Johnson & Wales.

Senior Scott Guzman (Acton, ME) dropped matches to opponents from Roger Williams and Rhode Island College on Sunday.  The 197-pounder totaled a career-high 10 wins this winter.

At 157 pounds, sophomore Tyler Howe (Danbury, CT) was on the short end of a pair of two-point decisions to wrestlers from Norwich and Plymouth State.  Howe was an impressive 24-9 during the 2008-09 season with a team-best 11 pins.

125-pounder Carl Anderson (Billerica, MA) fell to opponents from Roger Williams and MIT, with the later bout settled by tie-breaker #1.  The junior, who returned this weekend after missing nearly six weeks due to injury, amassed a stellar 14-5 mark this season.

It was the first All-New England award for all three grapplers.   

On Saturday, the Engineers also received single wins on the day from 174-pounder Larry Loomis (Plainfield, CT) and 149-pounder Matt Wainwright (North Attleboro, MA).  Loomis picked up a major decision in his opening match but his bid for his third straight All-New England honor was stopped by a pair of losses.  Wainwright notched a pin in the consolation round before being eliminated by his opponent from Southern Maine.

Other competitors from WPI included Rich Wingert (Hyde Park, MA) at 133 pounds, Alex LaBeef (Pomfret, MA) at 141 and Garrett Yablonski (Mt. Sinai, NY) at 184.  Joe Vanni (Hamilton, MA) lost his opening match at 165 and medically forfeited his second bout, while sophomore Anthony Corbo (Port Washington, NY) weighed in 285 pounds but did not wrestle due to injury.  

WPI ends its season with a 10-8 dual meet record under second year head coach Lance Baden.  The 10 wins are the most for the Crimson and Gray since the 2003-2004 finished 16-5. 

Results (PDF)