By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The 2023-24 Bridgewater State University wrestling season was all about adjusting for him.
Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.) moved into the Bears' starting lineup at 184 pounds, a jump in weight class after being at 170 pounds for Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School a year earlier.
There were growing pains along the way as Curley went 7-14 with a team-best 32 escapes, four pins and eight takedowns.
The lessons that were learned last winter have been applied in the 2024-25 season, and Curley has moved into the New England Wrestling Association rankings thanks to an impressive start.
Curley, now at 197 pounds in his sophomore season, is 13-4 (tied for the team lead in wins) with nine pins, 23 takedowns and 14 escapes.
He is No. 8 in the most recent NEWA rankings as BSU takes a four-week break before going against Wesleyan University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Jan. 11. Curley was also No. 4 last month in the NCAA Division III Region One rankings set by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Curley reached the final round at the Scott Viera Open at Roger Williams University on Dec. 14, losing to Dylan Harr by fall after winning three straight matches.
He placed fifth at both the Doug Parker Invitational at Springfield College, going 4-2, and the 53rd annual Petrofes Invitational in Pennsylvania, going 5-2 with five pins.
Curley is more comfortable on the college wrestling mat after gaining so much experience as a freshman.
"I had a few good wins and some tough losses to regionally ranked kids last year," said Curley. "I think I performed how I was expected to perform.
"The most noticeable difference for me between high school and college wrestling is the strength of every individual and the skill level. Most of the kids in college are used to being winners in high school. You're not going to have a 31-1 record like high school. Everybody is competitive and everybody wants to win.
"More than anything, it was a learning experience. I definitely learned a lot more from the losses than I would have if I won every match."
BSU coach Frank Cammisa noticed a difference in Curley early in his second season with the Bears.
"Him and I had a conversation about expectations, and I think he really took it to heart and started to go after it and wanted to be the guy," said Cammisa.
"He's definitely having a good year, kind of came out of his shell a little bit and become more offensive. He has the talent. It's just the matter of him having a game plan, going out there and executing. There's still plenty of room for improvement, which is a good thing.
"He's already gotten a lot better. He beat someone at the Doug Parker Invitational who is a two-time New England placer. He's already closed the gap dramatically and surpassed some people. Hopefully, it continues to trend in that direction."
The success this season is coming at a brand new weight class for Curley.
He has made a second jump up since leaving high school and is effective at the higher weight.
"Some of my concern over the offseason when I was solidifying the decision to move up was that I hope I'm not going to be too weak for the weight class,'' he said. "At 184, I felt outmatched in terms of strength.
"But as I grew more comfortable with my own wrestling style, I kind of just accepted it's my wrestling style. I'm not a strong individual, but I'm faster than these other people. People are stronger at 197, but they're also slower.
"I'm still the same speed as 170 in high school. I'm finding a lot of success with the technique I used at a lighter weight."
Curley said he put work into the mental aspect of college wrestling as he prepped for this season.
"The biggest difference for me definitely has to be mindful training, working on mentality," he said. "Through high school and sometimes in my first year of college, I had a lot of anxiety into matches.
"But something I've been emphasizing this year is the fact I can compete with anyone, and wrestling is something I do for fun. I know nobody works harder than me or wants it as bad as I do. I want to win and I deserve to be here. That helped me push forward and have more confidence in my ability to compete."
With the Bears not having any meets until the second week of January, Curley will have more time to volunteer as a coach at his alma mater, Bridgewater-Raynham. Anthony Farrell, another B-R graduate who finished his BSU wrestling career in 2022, is the Trojans' head coach.
It is something that he did a year ago, and Curley hopes to get into coaching when his wrestling career ends.
"I look forward to going back and helping out the kids and wrestling with some of the captains and helping them get better in any way I can," said Curley. "I plan to keep doing it for as long as I can.
"It's a completely different perspective from actually doing the wrestling and seeing the wrestling broken down bit by bit. You notice more things, little things.
"I definitely want to be around the mat after my time in wrestling is done, helping out others."
For now, there are 2 1/2 more years of wrestling at BSU for Curley.
He has already improved in his first year and a half and has become one of the top 197-pounders in the region.
"I didn't expect myself to do this good," said Curley, "but I always expected deep down I could compete with anyone. It was a matter of winning and gaining that confidence.
"As the season continues and I continue to rise to my level of expectations, my confidence continues to increase and I can see myself becoming a better and well-rounded wrestler."