WORCESTER --Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ), Theo Sawyers (Boston, MA) and Joseph Tully (Carver, MA) all produced a pair of bonus point victories as the WPI wrestling team continued its strong start to the dual meet season as the Engineers went 2-0 Saturday in their home opener in the WPI Sports & Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.   The Crimson and Gray's 4-0 start to the campaign is their best since a run of eight straight to kickoff the 2017-18 season.
 
The Engineers opened with a 30-11 triumph over Norwich before defeating Division II AIC 43-7.  Roger Williams, a team WPI will square off against on the road in January, also was victorious twice on Saturday, coming back to defeat AIC 31-19 and holding off Norwich 30-21.  In the final bout, Norwich knocked off AIC 30-21.
 
It was a quick start again for the hosts in both contests that put the pressure on their opponents.   The very first match of the day was the only one that featured regionally-ranked wrestlers squaring off and it was WPI's Thatcher, third in the NEWA and 15th nationally in the NECA rankings, scoring a 11-2 major decision over the sixth-ranked NEWA wrestler for Norwich. 

The Engineers captured the first four bouts against the Cades to jump out to a 14-0 lead.  Charlie Pavis (Bethleham, PA), eighth regionally at 133 pounds posted a 12-2 major decision of his own before Mason Medina (Orlando, FL) and Mason Basara (Bethlehem, PA) delivered wins by decisions at 141 and 149 pounds respectively.  Medina grinded out a 5-3 victory while Basara used a late escape to win his bout 12-11.

Tyler Russ (Freehold, NJ), ranked seventh at 157 pounds, got Norwich on the board in the fifth bout with a 5-1 triumph.  WPI bounced right back as Theo Sawyers (Boston, MA) pitched a 9-0 major decision shutout at 165 while Tully, fourth in the NEWA at 174, pinned his opponent in just 50 seconds.  Simon Taraska (Willowick, OH) posted a 16-5 major decision for the Cadets at 184 before Nicolas LeSieur (Walnut Creek, CA) got the Crimson and Gray back in the win column with a fall at 2:34 at 197.  Norwich heavyweight Mason Sprinkel (Bel Air, MD), ranked fourth in the latest NEWA poll, closed out the match-up with an 8-0 major decision.
 
Thatcher moved to 8-1 on the season when he kicked off the AIC match with a pin just 1:03 into his bout at 125 pounds.  Pavis joined Thatcher with seven wins in 2024-25 with an 8-3 victory at 133 and Medina delivered his fourth fall of the season in the first period of his match at 141 (2:40).
 
The visiting Yellow Jackets captured two of the next three bouts with Cqari Bacote (Springfield, MA) registering a wild 26-15 major decision at 149 pounds and Teghan McConnell (Bedford, NH) notching a 7-4 decision at 165 sandwiched around WPI's Joey Baisley (Charlotte, NC) recording a first period pin (1:27) for the hosts at 157.  The Engineers rattled off four straights wins to end the afternoon, with Tully claiming a 8-0 major decision at 174 and Sawyers, Joseph Bernard (Stratham, NH) and Trevor Bowen (Frenchtown, NJ) all receiving forfeits over the final three weight classes.
 
All four teams are off next week for the Thanksgiving holiday.  WPI and AIC are back in action on Saturday, December 7th at the Ted Resse Invitational hosted by Southern Maine while the same day Norwich (1-3) ventures to the RIT Invitational and Roger Williams (4-1) hosts NYU and New Jersey City in a tri-match.
 
Round #1
WPI 30, Norwich 11
Roger Williams vs. AIC (see below)
 
Round #2
WPI 43, vs. AIC 7
Roger Williams 30, Norwich 21
 
Round #3
Norwich 30, AIC 21
 
Roger Williams 31, AIC 19
 Weight           Result                                                                                                 Score/Time     Running Score
125                  Jack Sullivan (AIC) Pinned Tyler Lanci (RWU)                              6:11                 0-6
133                  Joseph Aldrich (AIC) Dec. Trey Kaupp (RWU)                                11-7                 0-9
141                  Matthew Castillo (RWU) Major Dec. Aaron Morocho (AIC)          11-1                 4-9
149                  Cqari Bacote (AIC) Pinned Gavin McKenna (RWU)                       6:45                 4-15
157                  Gordon Murray (RWU) Tech Fall Luke Mangiafico (AIC)              16-1 (6:00)      9-15
165                  Matt Lucas (RWU) Major Dec. Teghan McConnell (AIC)              15-3                 15-13
174                  Markys Lissaint (AIC) Major Dec. Rome Smith (RWU)                 12-2                 19-13
184                  Michael Forte (RWU) Won by Forfeit                                              -----                  19-19
197                  Spencer Fetrow (RWU) Won by Forfeit                                           -----                  25-19
285                  Jayden Toppen (RWU) Won by Forfeit                                            -----                  31-19