The wrestling team (4-10, 3-6 EIWA) competed in the 119th Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship this past weekend at the University of Pennsylvania, with captain Hunter Adrian ’25 (133 lbs) being the lone Bear to advance to day two of the tournament. No Brown wrestler qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma March 16-18.
Each of Bruno’s nine wrestlers took part in a single-elimination tournament in their respective weight class, with losers dropping to the consolation bracket. The EIWA Championship offered a total of 45 automatic bids to the NCAA tournament, while the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee announced the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers Tuesday.
Adrian, who was the No. 8 seed of the 133 lbs weight class — the highest seed out of any Brown wrestler — won his first match of Saturday in the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over No. 9 seed Pat Phillips of Franklin & Marshall.
In the quarterfinals, Adrian went head-to-head against two-time All-American and No. 1 seed Vito Arujau of Cornell, losing 16-1 by technical fall. Adrian, however, responded in the next match against Sacred Heart’s Andrew Fallon with another 2-1 victory, securing his place in day two of the tournament.
Adrian “lives, trains and competes in a way that demands respect,” Head Coach Jordan Leen wrote in a message to The Herald. “We love watching him compete, win or lose. He has been our best performer all-season with wins over a returning All-American and three Automatic NCAA qualifiers.”
Sunday would pose a challenge for Adrian, who dropped both matches of the day and ultimately finished in eighth place — not enough to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Keegan Rothrock ’25 (165 lbs), Drew Clearie ’25 (174 lbs) and Alex Semenenko ’26 (285 lbs) also picked up a win apiece in the tournament. No. 15 seed Rothrock won against No. 17 seed Noah Bash of Franklin & Marshall in an 8-0 major decision after dropping his first match, while Clearie, the 12 seed, defeated Franklin & Marshall’s Noah Fox in a 5-4 battle after losing his initial bout. No. 16 seed Semeneko emerged victorious in the round of 32 against Marc Berisha of Sacred Heart, winning 2-0, but was unable to advance any further.
Still, none of the three secured an automatic qualification to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee announced Tuesday that no Bears were chosen for the 46 remaining spots in the tournament.
“Several of our guys put themselves in position to win big matches, but at the end of the day the tournament left a lot to be desired,” Leen wrote. “I don’t think anyone feels good about it, including Hunter Adrian, who is probably the most disappointed. I am curious to see how the results fuel the level of commitment we will see in the off-season.”
As a team, the Bears earned 7.5 points in the tournament, thanks to Adrian’s eighth-place finish. Out of the 17 schools in the tournament, the Bears finished tied with Sacred Heart (0-13, 0-7 EIWA) for 15th and ahead of Long Island University (3-10, 1-5 EIWA).
The team will now look forward to the next season, starting with a “critical” offseason, according to Leen.
“The recipe in our sport is commitment over time,” he wrote. “I think we have a core group of guys that want to be successful and are willing to do what is required.”
