By Alex Gilbert
Juggling an engineering student’s workload at college is difficult, but the challenge intensifies when you are also on the University’s wrestling team. Engineering students are often busy studying for numerous high-level courses and meeting project deadlines, but for a student-athlete, it is essential to balance both sports and assignments.
Charles Maloy, a senior at Western New England University, has mastered the balance between sports and academics, recently earning the title of Scholar All-American from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Maloy, raised in Pocono Summit, PA, has been attending WNE for the last four years, studying for his degree in civil engineering and competing on the men’s wrestling team.
Maloy said, “I’ve been working for this award since my freshman year, and to finally achieve it senior year means so much to me.” To be recognized as a Scholar All-American, wrestlers must win at least 66% of their matches, with a minimum requirement of 15 matches, while earning a GPA of 3.2 or higher. Maloy’s personal record was 18-8 in the 2024-25 season, which earned him recognition and helped the team achieve a 13-5 season score.
During wrestling season, Maloy has full days, going to class, working in the concrete lab, leading the steel bridge team, attending wrestling practices, training in the weight room, and completing his homework. With a lot to do, Maloy said that “the most important part is realizing when you’re doing too much.” He continued, “I take a step back and realize what’s most important.”
A heavy part of Maloy’s schedule is spent in the concrete lab, where he works on Professor Chang Hoon Lee’s research. During his shifts, he mixes concrete, tests compression samples, and keeps the lab operating smoothly. The lab gives Maloy a chance to expand his knowledge of concrete, a fundamental material in construction.
Soon after leaving the concrete lab, instead of relaxing in his dorm, Maloy heads to the gym in time for wrestling practice. At practice, Maloy and the rest of the wrestlers endure physically demanding workouts, including practice live wrestling matches against each other, sprints, and various drills. The focus and intensity of practices vary depending on the day, with instructional technique-based practices on Mondays, cardio-intense practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, morning one-on-one practices with a partner on Wednesdays, and match prep practices on Fridays. Maloy consistently pushes himself through his draining wrestling practices and academic workload, acknowledging that “you realize that you can do a lot more than what you think.”
As a Division III wrestler, it is simply not enough for Maloy to be in peak physical shape. He must have total control over his weight, or he will lose his spot on the roster as the 197 lb. wrestler. Prior to each match, wrestlers are required to weigh in and meet a specific weight class that they are registered to wrestle in. If he weighs a pound over 197 lbs., he will be disqualified from competing. To be within the 197-weight class, he can weigh as low as 185 pounds, though a few extra pounds of muscle can make all the difference in a match.
The strict diet and cardio conditioning of a wrestler adds an additional challenge to Maloy’s life as a college student. He carefully chooses what foods go into his body to keep his weight on target. He explained, “It’s all about making sure that you eat the right things and don’t eat in excess.”
All the effort paid off during the NCAA Division III Region 1 tournament when Maloy placed seventh in his weight class. He said, “That match was very intense and afterwards it was so amazing. My hand getting raised and everything I ever wanted being achieved was such a great feeling.”
As a senior student, Maloy is mapping out his future with plans to get his master’s in civil engineering at WNE. He dreams of starting his own engineering firm in New York City, where he spent the past summer interning as a civil engineer. Maloy enjoys project-focused courses such as his senior capstone design course and recalls fond memories of his freshman smart project. Maloy’s passion for engineering projects carries him throughout his busy schedule and even motivated him to become a leader within the American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter’s Steel Bridge team.
Maloy has spent countless hours working on this year’s steel bridge design, which is currently being constructed out of welded steel members for the upcoming regional Student Steel Bridge Competition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Even after wrestling season is over, Maloy continues to strive for more success with his engineering skills.
“If you really put your head down to the grindstone and push through,” said Maloy, “you really can do anything. After wrestling, everything else is easy.”
