PARSIPPANY — Mike Ilic has earned recognition from the New England Wrestling Association.
Brendan Marion was tabbed as the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Co-Rookie of the Year while head coach Steve Hall ’87 took home the association’s Coach of the Year award. Tyler Marsh added to the Crimson and Gray honors by being selected the All-NEWA first team while six others drew honorable mention praise from the conference and 13 were named to the all-academic team.
Marion had an outstanding freshmen year going 26-6 and finishing fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship. The 165-pounder helped lead the Engineers to a dual meet record of 18-4, their best since 1994. WPI finished third at the NEWA Duals and second at the Northeast Regional. Marion was the RIT Invitational Champion, the NEWA Duals Outstanding Wrestler, and was also named a Scholar All-American with a 3.52 GPA in Aerospace Engineering. He shared top-rookie billing with Southern Maine’s Austin Shorey and was named to the All-Rookie team along with Mike Ilic, who was above .500 with six pins, at 174.
Hall was selected the NEWA Coach of the Year after winning the NCAA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year award last month. Since that accolade, the Crimson and Gray, bolstered by seven regional place winners, collected a second place finish at the 17-team regional tournament and Marsh represented the team at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships. WPI also boasted four Scholar All-Americans.
Marsh, a mechanical engineering major and repeat NWCA Scholar All-American, finished second at 157 pounds at the NCAA Northeast regionals and concluded the campaign with a 31-5 record and a team-best 13 pins. The sophomore garnered co-rookie and All-NEWA second team honors a year ago. Mike is a graduate of Parsippany High School Class of 2016.
Austin Shrewsbury, a second teamer last season, garnered his second honorable mention nod at 285 (29-8, 6 pins) while Michael Curtis collected his third at 197 (27-10, 12 pins). Dan Wensley and Stephen Jendritz were repeat selections at 184 (27-9, 3 pins) and 133 (29-10, 5 pins), respectively. Ben Zogby earned his first at 125 (20-9, 5 pins) as did Marion at 165.
Academically, the Engineers were 11th nationally, and fourth in the region, with a 3.49 GPA. The group was led by national honorees Marsh, Zogby, Chase Lind at 165 and Marion. In addition to Marsh, Zogby and Lind, repeat regional selections featured Curtis, Nick Day, Andrew Ellis, Jendritz, Pete Nash, Jack Nigro, Wensley and Tyler Wilson. Marion and Jake Smith represented the Class of 2021. To make Academic All-NEWA a wrestler must have been a major contributor to the team and have over a 3.2 GPA.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation’s first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. WPI’s talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university’s innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
