Led by University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Simon Bishop, the Case Western Reserve University wrestling team placed third on Saturday at the 2024 UAA Wrestling Championship hosted by New York University at the Paulson Center in Manhattan, New York.
Each weight class wrestled in a round-robin format with a maximum of six wrestlers and no matches between participants from the same school. Team scores were tabulated based on finishes in the round robin, with bonus points awarded for matches not ending in decision.
After winning his first match of the day by major decision at 174 pounds, Bishop competed for the UAA title in his first-ever conference championship meet. He lost by technical fall, placing second in the weight class and finishing the day with a record of 1-1. First-year Mathew Gummere wrestled in the same bracket, picking up a win by major decision and placing third with a 1-1 record.
Bishop is the first CWRU wrestler to be named Rookie of the Year since Adam Kates in 2019, and the program's eighth overall awardee since the honor was first awarded in 2001.
Sophomore Art Martinez won his first two matches of the day at 141 pounds, besting Danny Lightfoot of NYU by technical fall, 19-1, in 4:55, and defeating Keaton Mayernik of Chicago by fall in 2:10. It was Martinez's team-leading 11th technical fall and his ninth pin of the season. He faced off against Chicago's Sean Conway for the UAA title in his final match.
After one period, Martinez led 3-1, scoring on a takedown but allowing an escape. Choosing bottom for the second period, he increased his advantage to three with a quick escape. A takedown by Conway tied the score at four, but Martinez escaped to gain the lead before the period ended. The Chicago wrestler earned an escape to tie the score at the start of the third period, and the match headed into overtime. Martinez lost by a point on sudden victory, 1:15 into the extra period.
Adding a pin for the Spartans was graduate student Mitchell Arch at 165 pounds, defeating New York's Hassan Khan in 3:30. It was his team-leading 24th pin of the season. Arch placed third in the weight class with a record of 1-2.
CWRU totaled 45.5 team points at the meet. Conference champion NYU had 146.5 team points, and runner-up Chicago earned 118.5 team points.
The Spartans will continue their championship season with the NCAA Central Regional Championship on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 hosted by Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Any Spartan wrestler placing in the top three of his weight class will advance to the NCAA Championships on March 15 and 16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
