Morales Captures 184-Pound Title at JWU Wildcat Open

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior Edwin Morales (Philadelphia, Pa.) captured the 184-pound title to lead the Bridgewater State University wrestling team on Sunday afternoon at the Wildcat Open hosted by Johnson & Wales University.

Morales (12-1) notched back-to-back pins to open the day and then recorded a 9-0 major decision over Ky'll Roper of Johnson & Wales to earn a spot in the championship match. Morales dominated the final with a convincing 16-0 technical fall victory over Xavier Pommells of Nassau Community College.

Morales is now 61-11 in three seasons at Bridgewater State.

Senior Wilson Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) placed second in the 133-pound weight class. Gomes won each of his first three bouts with a pair of falls as well as a dominating 19-1 technical fall victory over JWU's Nicholas Torres in the semifinals to advance to the championship bout. Gomes lost by major decision, 18-6, to Garrett Totten of the Peddle School in the finals.

Gomes sees his record go to 26-6 on the season with a team-leading 14 pins. He now has 78 victories in his career as he tied Tom Hennessey (2003-2007) for 13th place on the Bears' all-time wins list. Gomes also became just the second grappler in program history to record 100 near fall points in a season joing current assistant coach Fox Maxwell (2017-20, 2021-22) who hit the century mark twice.

Senior heavyweight Ryan Higgins (Billerica, Mass.) pinned Nick Rogers of Springfield College and won by no contest in the semifinals to advance to the first-place match. Higgins fell to Adolfo Betancur of JWU in the finals.

Higgins (8-4) is now 73-34 in four seasons at BSU. He tied Anthony D'Amico (2004-2007) for 16th place on the Bears' all-time wins list.

Freshman Jonathan Davila (Andover, Mass.) finished fourth out of the 149-pound weight class as he recorded a 4-2 mark. Davila (19-10) opened the day with three straight wins which included a pair of pins and a convincing 15-1 major decision. After losing in the semifinals, Davila bounced back with a tough 6-2 decision over Ed Morales of JWU in the consolation semifinals.

Freshman William Conniff (Wrentham, Mass.) posted a 3-2 mark also out of the 149-pound weight class with three pins including a win by fall over Northeastern's Lucas Welling.

Freshman Sei Dolomengi (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) went 3-2 with a pin out of the 125-pound weight class. Dolomengi battled back with three straight wins after dropping his opening bout, inlcuding a win by fall over Mason Franklin of host JWU, before bowing out in the consolation semifinals.

Senior Ryan McCartney (Haverhill, Mass.) finished 2-2 competing out of the 197-pound weight class with a win by fall over Myles Brown of Air Force.

In upcoming action, the Bears host a tri-match with New York University and U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock.