By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Three Bridgewater State University athletes were just one day away from competing in NCAA Division 3 Championship events last week.
Sophomore Edwin Morales was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, seeded eighth in the 184-pound division at the national wrestling meet while senior Joshua Higgins and sophomore Matthew Lighten were in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the track & field championships.
But on Thursday afternoon, they were informed that the NCAA had cancelled all championship events for the winter and spring seasons because of the coronavirus.
Rather than chasing All-America honors, Morales plus Higgins and Lighten had to find flights home with their coaches, the 2019-20 season suddenly over.
“We were about to start our final workout and we were going over strategy and the announcement came over the loudspeaker,” said Bears wrestling coach Frank Cammisa. “(He was) crushed, devastated. He worked all season for this.
“Everyone talks about the process and going through the whole journey. This is literally unfinished business for him. It was taken away from him at the very last minute. On his wallet, he has ’2020 national champion’, on his water bottle he has ‘2020 national champion.’ It was tough.”
Lighten, the No. 2 seed in the 200-meter race, and Higgins, the No. 20 seed in the 800, had just finished a workout and were back at their hotel in Winston-Salem. Coach Connor Foley received a call from Bridgewater State sports information director Mike Holbrook with the news that the meet was not going to happen.
“It was devastating,” said Foley. “They worked the entire season. There’s not a whole lot you can say. Never been in any type of situation like this. It’s not something I’d wish on anybody.”
Morales, who transferred from Camden County College in New Jersey, went 29-4 with nine pins this season and lost to Paul Detwiler of the Coast Guard Academy, who was seeded second in the NCAAs, in the Northeast Regional final.
Morales advanced to the championship round by defeating the defending national champion, John Boyle of Western New England, in the semifinal round.
The only three losses by Morales to Division 3 wrestlers were to Detwiler. Morales was the first BSU wrestler to make the NCAAs since Ricky Caruso in 2014.
Cammisa said that Morales had a good chance to having a successful run at the NCAAs.
“He was very good this season,” said Cammisa. “Everyone wants to be a national champ, but it’s a little more realistic for some rather than others.”
With two seasons remaining at BSU, Morales will have the chance to build on what he did this winter and get a return ticket to the NCAAs.
“I don’t know if it’s possible to motivate him anymore because he’s so motivated,” said Cammisa. “He is passionate, he is driven, he is dedicated. He cares about everybody in the room. He will go help the worst wrestler in the room to make them better because eventually that will make them better. He’s a real student of the sport. We’re lucky to have him."
Higgins had taken part in the NCAA Track & Field Championships during the indoor season in 2018 (800 and 4x400 relay) and the outdoor season in 2019.
He qualified in the 800 this winter with a time of 1:53.84 and was looking to earn All-America honors.
“Josh has been incredible,” said Foley of Higgins, who graduates in May. “He was consistent through his four years, had a chance to qualify for the national championship on three different occasions and was an absolute force for us in the conference.
“He just everything you would want in an athlete. He’s hungry, he’s determined. He has high goals for himself. He was all-in throughout the whole process.
“He was feeling great going into last weekend. He was in the best shape of his life, he was working out great, racing well. He was in position to do something really special.”
Lighten set the meet record at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, finishing the 200 in 21.94 seconds.
After dealing with injuries throughout his freshman season, Lighten had put it all together as a sophomore.
“He was ranked No. 2 in (the NCAAs) and had a great shot at being an All-American and a real chance to winning a national title,” said Foley. “To have that go away that quickly is something that was unexpected and everybody took it hard.
“We really didn’t get to see him run a whole lot last year. We knew coming out of high school he was talented. Things really started to round into shape throughout this winter season. He was having quality races, then in the 200 at the MASCAC ran under 22 (seconds) on a flat track was just wild. You don’t see that.”
Lighten has two more years to get back to the NCAAs after having the chance to compete halted this winter.
“We’ve known all along the potential has been there,” said Foley. “He has a little bit of the experience and knows what it takes to get there and now he’s going to be as hungry as ever to get back there and actually have the opportunity to prove himself.”