Coach McNeil
Donald McNeil enters his third year as the head coach at MIT for the 2023-2024 season.
Prior to MIT, McNeil coached at Bears Wrestling Club for five years (2015-2020) and most recently at Metrowest United Wrestling Club (2021-present). During this period, McNeil coached several MA and RI high school state champions, many of whom are currently wrestling in college. In addition to coaching, McNeil has served as a high school wrestling official in Massachusetts (2015-present). While working as an official, he has served as a member of the executive board and officiated two Massachusetts all state championship tournaments.
In addition to serving as a coach and wrestling official, McNeil competed on the international men’s freestyle circuit, representing the New England Regional Training Center and New York Athletic Club (2015-2020). During this time, McNeil enjoyed success, winning gold at the Maccabiah Games, gold at the Guelph Open, gold at the York Open, bronze at the Cerro Pelado International, and 8th at the US Open Championships.
In college, McNeil wrestled at the division one level, competing for Rider University. While in college, McNeil placed 8th at the Midlands Championships, qualified for the NCAA tournament, placed 3rd in CAA, placed 3rd in the EWL, and was ranked in the top 20 in his weight class (197lbs). In addition, McNeil was a four year starter and two year captain for Rider, leading the team to a top 10 national team ranking, amassing notable wins over the University of Wisconsin and Lehigh University.
In high school, McNeil won two MA state championships and placed 2nd in the New England Championships for King Philip Regional High School. He also competed for prep powerhouse Wyoming Seminary, capping off his senior year with a prep national championship in addition to awards for the most pins in the least amount of time and most team points scored by an individual.
At the Massachusetts Wrestling Hall of Fame’s spring awards ceremony in 2014, McNeil was awarded the Heart Award for returning to the mat to win his 2nd state title, less than a year after a serious spinal cord injury that initially left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Meet the Wrestlers
Club Officers
Zoe Pasetsky
President
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Zoe is a senior at MIT majoring in Course 20 (biological engineering).
She learned how to wrestle in college with the team. She placed 4th at the 2022 Princeton Open at 123 lbs. She was a 2022 NCWA Northeastern Conference champion and national qualifier at 123 lbs. She was a nationally ranked wrestler in both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 wrestling seasons.
She also competes in Olympic weightlifting.
Samuel Calvert
Treasurer
Hometown: Aberdeen, SD
Sam is a junior at MIT studying Course 6-2 (electrical engineering and computer science).
He won the 2023 NCWA Massachusetts State Championships at 174 lbs. He was a finalist at the 2022 NCWA Northeastern Conference Championships and national qualifier at 174 lbs. He was a nationally ranked wrestler in the 2022-23 season. In high school, he took 5th place at 170 lbs at the South Dakota state championships.
Trace St. Julian
Social Chair
Hometown: Houston, TX
Trace is a sophomore at MIT.
He began wrestling as a freshman at Kinkaid High School, where he was the captain of the varsity team both his junior and senior years. He took 2nd at the 2023 NCWA Massachusetts State Championships at 184 lbs. In high school, he was a Texas Prep State Champion at 170 lbs as a senior.
Outside of wrestling, he is a member of FSAE Motorsports Team, and Zeta Psi fraternity.
Viveca Pannell
Website Manager
Hometown: Los Gatos, CA
Viveca is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 6-2 (electrical engineering and computer science).
She began wrestling in her sophomore year at Los Gatos High School and has enjoyed wrestling ever since. She was a 2023 NCWA National Champion at 130 lbs. She took 8th at the 2023 USMC Women’s Nationals in the U23 division at 62 kg. She placed 3rd at the 2022 NCWA National Championships at 123 lbs.
She is also a member of MIT Radio Society (W1MX) and MIT Christians on Campus.
Team Members
Eric Gai
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Eric is a second-year graduate student in the Computational and Systems Biology program at MIT. Prior to coming to MIT, he completed his undergraduate degree in chemical biology at UC Berkeley.
He took 4th at the 2023 NCWA Massachusetts State Championships at 157 lbs. He wrestled for three years at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA.
He is an avid traveller and has been an aviation enthusiast since he was six years old. He spent his gap year between Berkeley and MIT working as a station attendant for Air Canada.
James Simon
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
James is a senior at MIT majoring in Course 6-14 (computer science and economics).
He started wrestling with the team in 2023. He took 5th at the 2023 NCWA Massachusetts State Championships at 235 lbs.
James also competes on the MIT men’s soccer and basketball teams.
Will Peale
Will is a junior at MIT majoring in Course 16 (aerospace engineering).
Veloria Pannell
Hometown: Los Gatos, CA
Veloria is a sophomore at MIT majoring in Course 6-1 (electrical engineering).
She wrestled for all 4 years of high school in Los Gatos, CA before coming to MIT. She placed 1st and won the title of Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2023 NCWA National Championships at 143 lbs. She placed second at the 2022 Princeton Open. She was a CIF state finalist at 131 lbs in high school.
Outside of wrestling she, “like a grandma,” enjoys baking and knitting in addition to playing music, reading, and drawing.
Andrew Acevedo
Hometown: Aptos, CA
Andrew is a freshman at MIT.
He has considered the wrestling community his second family ever since he first started in 7th grade and vows to never stop loving the sport.
He loves the environment and hopes to work in a sustainability-related field.
Christopher Espitia-Alvarez
Hometown: Cupertino, CA
Chris is a freshman at MIT.
He has been wrestling since 7th grade. He was a CCS qualifier in high school.
David Santana
David is a freshman at MIT.
Seth Robles
Seth is a freshman at MIT.
Eldar Shakirov
Hometown: Kazan, Russia
Eldar is a postdoctoral associate at MIT’s Mechanical Engineering department.
He felt awkward being a Russian with a beard and not knowing much about wrestling, so he began wrestling in Fall 2022 with this awesome team at MIT and has been thoroughly enjoying the experience ever since.