Ranking Roundup 11.30.11

Catch up on the Bearcats' rankings with this week's Ranking Roundup! Links are provided to each polls' full set of rankings.

Intermat 11.29.11
#28 Binghamton
#9 Donnie Vinson
#6 Justin Lister

The Open Mat 11.28.11
#9 Donnie Vinson
#5 Justin Lister
#11 Nick Gwiazdowski

The Open Mat Mid-Major Poll 11.30.11
#9 Binghamton 

D1CollegeWrestling 11.28.11
#11 Donnie Vinson
#7 Justin Lister
#25 Nate Schiedel
#25 Cody Reed
#20 Nick Gwiazdowski

Wrestling Report 11.28.11 
#27 Binghamton
#11 Donnie Vinson
#6 Justin Lister
#28 Matt Kaylor
#23 Nate Schiedel
#24 Cody Reed
#23 Nick Gwiazdowski

Wrestling Report Duals Percentage Index
#28 Binghamton

WIN Magazine 11.28.11
#21 Binghamton (tie with Cal Poly)
#6 Donnie Vinson
#5 Justin Lister

Amateur Wrestling News 11.22.11 
#10 Donnie Vinson
#7 Justin Lister

NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll
#25 Binghamton

Two Minute Tuesday with Patrick Hunter: Episode 10

Bearcat Wrestling: *6-0*

It was a great weekend for the Bearcats as we won all four matches at the Northeast Duals and improved to 6-0 on the season.  We beat top 25 ranked Purdue, Army, Arizona State, and Eastern Michigan.  Donnie Vinson, Justin Lister, and Cody Reed all went 4-0 on the day to lead the team.  All four beat ranked wrestlers over the course of the day.  Kaylor and Schiedel started slow and dropped their first bouts before winning the next three.  Steeley beat a returning national qualifier.  Hunter got a pin over a very good wrestler from Arizona State.  Bonaldi scored two over time wins.  Gwiazdowski dropped a close match to a returning All-American and won his other two bouts.

We started the day with a 24-15 win over Purdue.  Steeley started us off with a big win over a returning national qualifier (Eppert) in overtime 13-11 after starting the match down 9-2.  He started slow but came back strong and looked very good late in the match.  Bonaldi picked up a win over a tough Purdue opponent in overtime.  Bonaldi is getting better and better and does not stop wrestling and it paid off here.  Vinson scored a dominate 18-2 technical fall against top ten ranked Lopouchanski.  Donnie was up 13-2 when his opponent called an injury time out.  Donnie stayed aggressive after the break and quickly secured the technical fall.  Lister scored one of his two falls on the day against Purude and wrestled very well.  Reed was very impressive throughout the day and picked up bonus points with a10-2 win.  Gwiazdowski won a tight 3-2 match that he wrestled a little conservative against Vokubratovich.  This was a first win against a Big Ten opponent and the guys wrestled well overall.

In our second match we beat Army 20-13.  Army, as usual, wrestled hard and is a much improved team from last year.  Hunter picked up a good win over White 6-1 with a couple of takedowns.  Vinson had his closest match of the day, a seven point victory over Young of Army.  Lister scored an 8-2 win over a solid Rafferty.  Kaylor got back on track after a disappointing first round loss with a 20-9 major decision.  Schiedel nearly teched his opponent winning 14-0.  Reed picked up a victory and sealed the deal.

We won a 28-15 bout against a very talented Arizona State team.  Hunter had a very exciting bout that saw back and forth action before Hunter pulled away with a solid lead and eventually secured the fall.  His pin was against McGough, who had just majored a top twenty wrestler.  Vinson majored a two-time Junior College National Champion.  Lister picked up another fall right at the end of the match.  Kaylor made it two falls in a row with a barbwire.  Schidel scored the winning takedown right at the end of the match against Radford to secure the win against Arizona State.  Reed beat a ranked wrestler (Burriel) in a solid 9-7 win that saw Reed score two takedowns and two reversals in a match where he outwrestled his opponent in nearly every position.  Gwiazdowski lost a tight 9-6 bout.  He made a freshman mistake late in the third period.  He had Cooper tired and scored a takedown but instead of cutting him and going for the winning takedown, he tried to ride and got reversed.

We finished the day with a 22-12 triumph against Eastern Michigan.  EMU is a very underrated team that is as good of an EMU team as I can remember.  Bonaldi got us on the board with an overtime win 10-8.  Bonaldi got down early but fought back and “never backed down."  Vinson shut his opponent out 10-0 to finish the day a perfect 4-0.  Lister beat returning national qualifier Sulzer 8-4.  Kaylor won 9-5 over nationally ranked France.  Schidel won 4-0 and completely shut down his opponent.  Reed and Gwiazdowski both picked up solid 3-1 decision victories over Whittenburg and Schroeder respectively.

It was a great weekend and we head into Princeton 6-0 Saturday, followed by the Penn State Open on Sunday.  I will preview both of those later this week.  We did a better job as a team hustling and wrestling on the edge of the mat this week.  We will continue to improve and will have a hard week of practice this week.

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Below are two videos from Flowrestling from this weekend's events.

Watch more video of Journeymen Northeast Duals 2011 on flowrestling.org


Watch more video of Journeymen Northeast Duals 2011 on flowrestling.org

Mat Town Open Preview

The Mat Town Open in Lock Haven begins today at 9:00 AM.  It is a small tournament with 167 wrestlers registered.  Teams that are sending wrestlers include but are not limited to:  American, Bloomsburg, Bucknell, Clarion, Cornell, Finger Lakes, Franklin and Marshall, Hofstra, Kent State, Lehigh, Lock Haven, Maryland, Mercyhurst, Old Dominion, Pittsburg, Rider, Rutgers, Shippensburg, and Virginia.  The 149 pound bracket is the largest.  We have five wrestlers competing unattached at the tournament:  Dan Riggi, Colton Perry, Derek Heyman, Ben Price, and Adam Morris.

125

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  John Trumbetti (Lock Haven – 2010 National Qualifier), David Terao (American – 1^st 2011 TCNJ Open and 3^rd 2011 ESU Open), Robert Rehm (Lock Haven – 3^rd 2011 Body Bar and 4^th 2011 ESU Open), and Sean Boylan (Bloomsburg – 3^rd 2011 EWL Conference)

133

BU Entrants:  Dan Riggi and Colton Perry

Other Top Competition:  Chris Kochinsky (Shippensburg – 4^th 2011 NCAA D2 Nationals), Jonathon Childress (Lock Haven – 2010 National Qualifier), Erik Galloway (Pittsburgh – 1^st 2011 ESU Open), Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg – 4^th 2011 Body Bar), Joe Martinez (Virginia – 2^nd 2011 Wolfpack Open and top 8 2011 Body Bar), Jeremiah Biddle (3^rd 2011 ESU Open), Shane Arechiga (Maryland – 2^nd 2011 TCNJ Open and 4^th 2011 ESU Open), Andy Lyman (4^th 2011 TCNJ Open and 5^th 2011 ESU Open), Nikkolas Pena (Finger Lakes – Top 30 recruit in the country last year and 2X CA State Champ), and Joey Gosinski (Hofstra – Top 100 recruit last year and 2X IL State Champ)

141

BU Entrants:  Derek Heyman and Ben Price

Other Top Competition:  Matt Bonson (Lock Haven – 2X NCAA Qualifier, Ranked Top 20, and 3^rd 2011 Body Bar), Trevor Melde (Rutgers – 2X NCAA Qualifier), Joe Stanzione (Cornell – 5^th 2011 Body Bar), Ronnie Garbinsky (Pittsburgh – 2^nd 2011 ESU Open and 7^th 2011 UB Open), Jeremy Minich (Rider – 3^rd 2011 TCNJ Open), Rich Durso (Franklin and Marshall – 6^th 2011 Navy Classic), Matthew Hicks (Bloomsburg – 5^th 2011 TCNJ Open), Daniel Neff (Lock Haven – PA State Champ), and Matthew Rappo (Bloomsburg)

149

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  Derek Valenti (Virginia – 2011 NCAA D1 All-American and 2^nd 2011 Wolfpack Open), Owen Wilkinson (Lock Haven – 4^th 2011 Body Bar), Jordan Beverly (Rutgers – 2^nd 2011 Millersville Open and 1^st 2010 Wilkes Open), Bryce Buscler (Bloomsburg – 2^nd 2011 University Freestyle Nationals), Jordan Miss 9Pittsburgh – 5^th 2011 ESU Open), Chris Mecate (Old Dominion – 3^rd 2011 NHSCA Senior Nationals and 1^st 2010 Super 32), Chris Villalonga (Cornell – Top 8 2011 BU Open), David Wesley (Virginia – National Prep Champ), and Travis Erdman (Shippensburg)

157

BU Entrant:  Adam Morris

Other Top Competition:  Eric Hess (Lehigh – 1^st 2011 UB Open and 2^nd 2011 TCNJ Open), Jake Kemerer (Lock Haven – 4^th 2011 Body Bar), Joe Napoli (Lehigh – 1^st 2011 TCNJ Open and 3^rd 2011 ESU Open), Owen Scott (Finger Lakes – 6^th 2011 UB Open), Scott Bosak (Finger Lakes – 5^th 2011 UB Open, Nick Terdick (Hofstra – 5^th 2010 Mat Town Open), Blaise Butler (Virginia – NHSCA Senior All-American), Jesse Shanaman (Finger Lakes – National Prep Champ), and Kyle Dehaut (Maryland – PA State Finalist)

165

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  Steve Fittery (Unattached/College Graduate – 2X NCAA D1 All-American), Tyler Wilps (1^st 2011 Millersville Open and 2^nd 2011 National Collegiate Open), Nicholas Visicaro (1^st 2011 ESU Open and 3^rd 2011 TCNJ Open), Seth Creasy (2^nd 2010 Mat Town Open), Craig Scott (Finger Lakes – Top 8 BU Open), Chris Smith (Bloomsburg – 5^th 2011 ESU Open), Kevin Hartnett (Bloomsburg – 3^rd 2011 Millersville Open), Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State – 5^th 2011 Ashland Open), and Duke Pickett (Finger Lakes – Top 100 recruit last year and VA State Champ)

174

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  Matt Fullowan (Franklin and Marshall – 2011 NCAA D1 Dualifier), Stephen Doty (Virginia), Josh Snook (4^th 2011 Clarion Open and 4^th 2011 TCNJ Open), Sam Shirey (7^th 2011 ESU Open), Luke Deluise (7^th 2011 TCNJ Open), and Aaron McKinney (Lock Haven – PA State Finalist)

184

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  Fred Garcia (Lehigh – 4^th 2011 Body Bar), Rob Fitzgerald (Maryland – 2^nd 2011 Clarion Open and 3^rd 2011 tCNJ Open), Anthony Gardner (Maryland – 3^rd 2011 Clarion Open and 5^th 2011 ESU Open), Matt Latessa (Franklin and Marshall – 5^th 2011 Navy Classic), and John Bolich (2^nd 2011 TCNJ Open, 7^th 2011 UB Open, and 7^th 2011 ESU Open)

197

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition: Michael Wagner (Rutgers – 1^st 2011 Clarion Open, 1^st 2011 TCNJ Open, and 2^nd 2011 ESU Open), Rich Perry (Bloomsburg – 5^th 2011 Body Bar), Tim Murphy (Hofstra – 2^nd 2011 TCNJ Open), and Colin Ely (Franklin and Marshall – 6^th 2011 Navy Classic)

Heavyweight

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competition:  Jack Delia (2^nd 2011 ESU Open, 3^rd TCNJ Open, and 3^rd UB Open), William Smith (Rutgers – 2^nd 2011 TCNJ Open and 3^rd 2011 ESU Open), Patrick Gillen (4^th 2011 Hokie Open), Stryker Lane (Cornell – 5^th BU Open), Henry Turner (Lock Haven – Top 8 2011 Body Bar), Justin Grant (Bloomsburg – 4^th 2011 ESU Open), Alex Henry (Franklin and Marshall – 5^th 2011 Navy Classic), Jacob Aiken-Phillips – 7^th 2011 UB Open), Jesse Boyden (Rutgers – 7^th 2011 ESU Open), Greg Velasco (Rider – 7^th 2011 TCNJ Open), and Zach Corl (Lock Haven – PA State Finalist)

Northeast Duals Preview

Saturday, we will have four dual meets at the annual Journeyman/Asics Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College.  We will wrestle Purdue at 9:30 AM, Army at 11:15 AM, Arizona State at 1:40 PM, and Eastern Michigan at 3:30 PM.  The Open Mat will be doing a live blog of the day's events.  Check it out here. Below is a look at each of the teams that we will wrestle on Saturday.

Purdue is a very solid Big 10 team.  They are a very talented team that placed 28^th at the NCAA Championships last year.  They will be a good test for the team right off the rip.  They are ranked #18 by Wrestling Report, #23 by WIN Magazine, and #24 by Intermat.  They are lead by returning All-American Cashe Quiroga and four returning national qualifiers.  They are 1-1 on the young season coming off of a 37-6 trouncing of Indianapolis.  At 125 pounds, they will start redshirt sophomore Camden Eppert.  Eppert is 5-2 on the season and was a National Qualifier last season.  At 133, Quiroga comes off of a redshirt year and placed 6^th at the NCAA Championships as a true freshman the previous year.  Quiroga is 4-1 so far this year and ranked in the top 10 in the country.  At 141 pounds, fifth-year senior, Jake Fleckstein is a returning Big 10 place winner and 7-3 on the season.  Fleckstein is nationally ranked by Wrestling Report and took 2^nd at the Eastern Michigan Open.  At 149 pounds, Purdue has UNC Greensboro transfer Ivan Lopouchanski.  Lopouchanski finished in the top 12 at the NCAA Championships last year and collected 41 wins on the season.  This year he is ranked in the top five in the country and is undefeated at 6-0.  At 157 pounds, Tommy Churchard is a redshirt junior and is 3-3.  At 165 pounds, redshirt sophomore and returning starter, Kyle Moiser will start.  He is currently 5-2 and was second at the Eastern Michigan Open.  Drake Stein will start at 174 pounds.  He is a true freshman who was a two-time Indiana State Champion and is currently 4-2.  Branden Atwood is the 184 pound starter for Purdue and is a redshirt freshman.  He recently placed 3^rd at the Eastern Michigan Open and is ranked in the top 25 in the country.  At 197 pounds, returning senior 3X National Qualifier, AJ Kissel is ranked in the top ten in the country.  He has only wrestled in one match this season as he just got back in the line-up from an injury.  The heavyweight will be nationally ranked redshirt senior, Roger Vukobratovich.  Vukobratovich is 5-2 on the season.

Army is a program on the rise with second year head coach Joe Heskett.  They recently had a big win over Iowa State and are 2-1 on the season, paced by returning National Qualifier Jordan Thome.  At 125 pounds, Scott Filbert or David White will start.  Filbert is a redshirt freshman who finished in the top eight at the Body Bar with a win over Steeley.  White is a sophomore that started and won 20 bouts for Army last year and placed at the EIWA Championships.  White finished 5^th at the Oklahoma Gold Classic this year and Filbert came in at 6^th in the same bracket.  Thome is a returning National Qualifier at 133 pounds and won the Body Bar Tournament last weekend and beat Hunter in that tournament.  He also took 2^nd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  Thome is 9-2 on the season and ranked in the top 20 in the country.  Connor Hanafee is 8-5 on the year at 141 pounds.  Hanafee is a junior who finished in the top eight at the Body Bar last week.  Daniel Young is a returning starter and finished second on the team last year with 27 wins.  Young is 8-1 and finished 3^rd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  Young is also nationally ranked this year.  Jimmy Rafferty is a senior captain for Army at 157 pounds.  He has a 9-5 record with a 3^rd place showing at the Oklahoma Gold Classic and 6^th at the Body Bar.  At 165 pounds, sophomore Alex Smith won 21 matches last year.  Smith placed at the Oklahoma Gold Classic this season.  Collin Wittmeyer is the starter at 174 pounds and has wrestled well this year with two wins over top ten ranked opponents.  Wittmeyer is a junior that sports a 8-3 record and placed 3^rd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  Wittmeyer is nationally ranked.  Will Brown starts for the Black Knights at 184 pounds.  He has six wins on the season and placed 5^th at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  At 197 pounds, either senior Daniel Mills or senior Orion Ross will start.  Mills has started for all three dual meets and has not competed in either tournament this season.  Ross had a solid showing at the Oklahoma Gold Classic with a 5^th place finish.  Either Stephen Snyder (freshman) or Christian Botero (junior) will start at heavyweight.  Snyder is a two-time Maryland State Champion and Botero was the starter last season.

Arizona State is coming off a season that saw them finish 6^th in the country.  They have a nice mix of young talent and seasoned veterans.  The team led by returning All-American heavyweight Levi Cooper.  ASU is 2-0 as a team so far this season.  At 125 pounds, they will probably start redshirt senior David Prado.  Prado finished in the top eight at the Eastern Michigan Open.  The 133 starter will either be redshirt freshman Shane McGough or redshirt sophomore Kalin Goodsite.  McGough is a former 3X Arizona State Champion and 4X finalist.  Goodsite won 17 bouts last year splitting time between 141 and 133 pounds.  At 141 pounds, ASU will start redshirt freshman Nathan Hoffer.  Hoffer is 6-2 on the season and placed 4^th at the Eastern Michigan Open.  ASU has transfer Victor DeJesus at 149 pounds.  DeJesus is a two-time Junior College National Champion and is a junior.  Kyle DeBerry is expected to start at 157 pounds.  DeBerry is a redshirt senior and is a returning starter.  At 165 pounds, redshirt freshman Derek Felton or redshirt freshman Hans Rasmusson.  Felton is a former 4X Arizona State Finalist and Rasmusson is a transfer from Eastern Michigan University.  Eric Starks is a returning national qualifier who is nationally ranked at 174 pounds.  He is a senior leader for ASU.  Jake Meredith is also a returning national qualifier and PAC Ten Champion who is a senior at 184 pounds.  Redshirt freshman Bobby Bowman could also compete for ASU at 184 pounds.  Bowman has competed in both of ASU’s dual meets this year and finished in the top eight at the Eastern Michigan Open.  At 197 pounds, Tommy Burriel has entered the national rankings as a redshirt freshman.  He placed a solid 3^rd at the Eastern Michigan Open.  Levi Cooper will anchor the team at heavyweight.  He is redshirt junior who placed at the NCAA National Tournament last year and is ranked in the top ten in the country.

Eastern Michigan University is another program that is much improved from last season.  They are 1-0 with a win over Big Ten foe Michigan State.  They have six guys that have been nationally ranked in their line-up, including returning National Qualifier Aaron Sulzer.  At 125 pounds, redshirt sophomore Jared Germaine is nationally ranked and a returning starter.  He is 5-1 on the season with a 2^nd place showing at the EMU Open this year.  Andrew Novak (6-2 so far this year) is a returning starter at 133 pounds.  Novak is a redshirt senior and former MAC Conference finalist who placed 5^th at the EMU Open this season.  At 141 pounds, redshirt senior Corey Phillips is back as a starter.  He is 5-2 on the year and took 5^th at the EMU Open a couple of weeks ago.  Jaylyn Bohl is a redshirt freshman starter for the Eagles at 149 pounds.  He has won four matches so far this season.  Aaron Sulzer is the team leader and returning starter at 157 pounds.  Sulzer is a returning National Qualifier who is nationally ranked and 4-1 on the year.  Sulzer took 2^nd at the EMU Open this year.  At 165 pounds, Lester France started his fifth year with a bang.  He has entered the national rankings in his first year as a full-time starter.  He is 5-1 and won the EMU Open this year.  Phillip Joseph had a very good true freshman year for EMU before being forced to redshirt because of injury last year.  He is back and ranked nationally with a 4-2 record and had a 4^th place showing at the EMU Open.  Mike Curby is a redshirt freshman starter at 184 pounds and prefers to wrestle upper-body.  Nick Whitenburg is back as the starter at 197 pounds and is a redshirt sophomore.  Whitenburg was nationally ranked last season.  At heavyweight, Wes Schroeder is a redshirt senior and a seasoned veteran for EMU.  He is also nationally ranked.

We are excited to compete on Saturday.  The Northeast Duals is a great event that brings excitement to the wrestling world.  Also, we have a handful of redshirts competing at the Mat Town Open in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on Saturday.  I will post a preview of that event tomorrow morning.

Throwback Thursday Thanksgiving Edition: Anwar Goeres

Anwar Goeres is a 2011 BU Graduate.  Anwar was a 2X CAA Champion and 2X NCAA National Qualifier.  He finished with the second most wins in BU's Division I history with 97 and the second most pins with 28.  He gives us an update on what he is doing now that he is done competing.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Ranking Roundup 11.22.11

Below is this week's Ranking Roundup.  As always, links to the complete sets of rankings are provided.

The Open Mat 11.21.11
Donnie Vinson #14
Justin Lister #5
Nick Gwiazdowski #12

Intermat 11.22.11
Binghamton #28 
(tie with Clarion)
Donnie Vinson #10
Justin Lister #6
Nate Schiedel #20

D1 College Wrestling 11.22.11
Donnie Vinson #15
Justin Lister #7
Matt Kaylor #25
Nate Schiedel #22
Nick Gwiazdowski #19

Wrestling Report Duals Percentage Index 11.22.11
Binghamton #25

Wrestling Report D1 Rankings 11.22.11
Binghamton #28
Donnie Vinson #15
Justin Lister #6
Matt Kaylor #24
Nate Schiedel #21
Cody Reed #28
Nick Gwiazdowski #23

Wrestling Report Atlantic Regional Rankings 11.22.11
Derek Steeley #24
Patrick Hunter #20
Donnie Vinson #6
Justin Lister #4
Matt Kaylor #13
Caleb Wallace #24
Nate Schiedel #9
Cody Reed #13
Nick Gwiazdowski #12

Two Minute Tuesday with Patrick Hunter: Episode 9

Also, check out the Photos page for a link to the pictures I took at the Body Bar.

Week In Review - 11.21.2011

This past Saturday we competed at the Body Bar Tournament in Cornell.  We were without four of our typical starters and it showed in the team score.  Our top place finishers were Nick Gwiazdowski, Nate Schiedel, and Donnie Vinson.  Gwiazdowski finished 2^nd in the heavyweight division.  He made some freshman mistakes in the finals.  Fortunately, he should wrestle Frey (from Drexel) multiple times this year and will work to turn around the result.  He wrestled well his first two matches.  In the semifinals, I would have liked to have seen him create more scoring opportunities.  Schiedel won his first two matches by a combined score of 24-3.  He wrestled hard and scored a lot of points.  He dropped a tight match in the semifinals where he got tilted right off a takedown and was unable to recover against #15 Jon Fausey of Virginia.  He finished third with a nice 10-2 major decision.  Vinson won his first two matches 11-4 and 11-2.  In the semifinals, he saw a familiar face in Santos of Columbia.  The two did not put very many points on the board by wrestled an exciting match.  Vinson nailed a great headlock that planted his opponent on the mat but the referee did not signal for a takedown and Santos scrambled out of it.  Santos scored in the tiebreaker with a suck-back to win.  Vinson won his third place match and toughed his way through some adversity to win.  He showed a lot of heart in his third place match.

Derek Steeley had a better performance this week than last and went 4-2 on the day.  He actually lost to the back-up from Army but then responded by pinning Army’s starter.  He lost in the round to place to #5 ranked Matt Snyder of Virginia.  Joe Bonaldi saw some stiff competition this weekend.  He dropped his first match to #17 ranked Nevinger of Cornell before winning his next two matches.  Then, Bonaldi dropped a decision to #12 ranked Nick Nelson of Virginia.  Patrick Hunter beat a familiar foe his first round in Ricardo Gomez of Ithaca, whom Hunter beat in the junior college national finals.  Joe Chamish picked up a in the first round.  Brian St. James lost on riding time to returning national qualifier Childress of Lock Haven.  Mike Sardo, Tyler Deuel, and Mike McKeever also competed this weekend.

We hope to get our full line-up back for our four duals this weekend.  This Saturday we will dual Arizona State (6^th last year at the NCAA Championships), Purdue (28^th last year at the NCAA Championships), Army (recently beat Iowa State in a dual meet), and Eastern Michigan (fresh off of a win over Michigan State University).  Our redshirts will be competing at the Mat Town Open at Lock Haven on Saturday.  I will preview both of these events later in the week.

Body Bar Preview

The Body Bar is tomorrow at Cornell.  It is a twelve team tournament featuring: Cornell, Virginia, Kent State, Bloomsburg, Army, Columbia, Lock Haven, Drexel, Buffalo, Ithaca, and a few from Minnesota.  We will be without some of our starters this weekend but have eleven guys entered in the tournament.  There should be some great wrestling this weekend.  I am not entirely sure who is wrestling from any of these teams, especially Minnesota as they dual Cornell tonight and Penn State Sunday so I suspect them to only have a few back-ups in the tournament.  The 141 pound weight class is shaping up to be the deepest and most balanced weight class in the tournament.  It will be an exciting weekend of wrestling!

125

BU Entrants:  Derek Steeley and Mike Sardo

Other Top Competitors:  Nic Bedelyon (Kent State – Returning All-American, 3X National Qualifier, and Ranked 4^th in the Country), Matt Snyder (Virginia – Top 12 2011 NCAA Championships and Ranked 6^th in the Country), Frank Perrelli (Cornell – 2011 National Qualifier and Ranked 7^th in the Country), John Trumbetti (Lock Haven – 2010 National Qualifier), Sean Boyle (Bloomsburg – University Freestyle All-American and 3^rd 2011 EWL), David White (Army – 6^th 2011 EIWAs), Robert Rehm (Lock Haven – 2^nd 2011 Clarion Open and 4^th at 2011 East Stroudsburg Open), Sean Walton (Buffalo – 4^th 2011 MAC Championships), Troy Opfer (Kent State – placed at both Eastern Michigan and Cleveland State Opens), Robert Dyer (Columbia – 5^th 2011 Michigan State Open), Max Soria (Buffalo – 6^th 2011 Buffalo Open), and Max Cohen (Ithaca – 2011 D3 National Qualifier)

133

BU Entrants:  Patrick Hunter and Brian St. James

Other Top Competitors:  Jordan Thome (Army – Ranked in the Top 20 in the Country and 2^ndat the 2011 Oklahoma Gold Classic), Jonathon Childress (Lock Haven – 2010 NCAA National Qualifier), Steve Mitcheff (Kent State – 4^th 2010 Body Bar and 2010 Cleveland State Open Champ), Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), Joe Stanzione (Cornell – 2010 Binghamton Open Champ and Nationally Ranked), Matt Nelson (Virginia – 3^rd 2011 Wolf-Pack Open), Nik Pena (Cornell – Top 30 recruit in the Country last year and 2X CA State Champ), Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg – 2010 PSAC Champ and FILA Junior Freestyle All-American), Joseph Martinez (Virginia – 2^nd 2011 Wolf-Pack Open), Ricardo Gomez (Ithaca – 2X Junior College National Finalist), Justin Farmer (Buffalo – 3^rd 2011 Buffalo Open), Craig Barker (Bloomsburg – 2^nd2011 Clarion Open), Alex Gomez (Ithaca – 3^rd NHSCA Senior Nationals), Taylor Golba (Buffalo – 2010 Buffalo Open Champ), and Kyle Gilchrist (Columbia – 2^nd 2011 New York State Collegiate).

141

BU Entrant:  Joe Bonaldi

Other Top Competitors:  Matt Bonson (Lock Haven – 2X National Qualifier, Ranked 11^th in the Country, and 2010 Body Bar Champ), Nick Nelson (Virginia – 3X National Qualifier and Ranked 12^th in the Country), Mike Nevinger (Cornell – Ranked 17^th in the Country and 2^nd2011 Binghamton Open), Tyler Small (Kent State – 2011 NCAA Qualifier and 2^nd 2010 Body Bar), Seth Ecker (Ithaca – NCAA D3 National Champ), Frank Cimato (Drexel – 4^th 2011 CAA Championships), Kevin Smith (Buffalo – 2X National Qualifier and Ranked 18^th in the Country), Connor Hanafee (Army – 4^th 2010 Clarion Open), Elijah Sullivan (Columbia – 3^rd2011 Michigan State Open), Chris Conti (Buffalo), Ryan Ponte (Columbia – 5^th 2011 Michigan State Open), and Matt Rappo (Bloomsburg).

149

BU Entrant:  Donnie Vinson

Other Top Competitors:  Craig Eifert (Cornell – Ranked #17 in the Country and 2011 Binghamton Open Champ), Shawn Harris (Virginia – NCAA National Qualifier), Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg – Nationally Ranked and 2011 University National Freestyle Runner-Up), Dan Young (Army – 6^th 2011 EIWAs and 3^rd 2011 Oklahoma Gold Classic), Marcel Clopton (Kent State – 4^th 2011 MAC Championships and 6^th 2011 Eastern Michigan Open), Ian Miller (Kent State – Ohio State Champ and one of the Top Ranked Recruits in the Country last year), Josh Roosa (Bloomsburg – 3^rd 2011 East Stroudsburg Open), Owen Wilkinson (Lock Haven – 3^rd 2011 EWL Championships), Blake Roulo (Buffalo – top 40 Recruit in the Country last year and 4X High School National Champ), and Tommy Sasfy (Kent State – 4^th 2011 Eastern Michigan Open)

157

BU Entrant:  Joe Chamish

Other Top Competitors:  Kyle Dake (2X NCAA National Champ), Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg – 2011 National Qualifier and Ranked #17 in the Country), Jedd Moore (Virginia – 2010 National Qualifier and 2011 Wolf-Pack Open Champ), Jake Kemerer (Lock Haven – was Nationally Ranked last season), Austin Sommer (Drexel – 2010 Body Bar Finalist), James Rafferty (Army – 3^rd 2011 Oklahoma Gold Classic), Jake O’Hara (Columbia – 4^th 2011 Michigan State Open), Wally Maziarz (Buffalo – 2011 University Greco National Finalist), Mallie Shuster (Kent State – 3^rd 2009 Body Bar), and Shane Strumwasser (Columbia – 4^th2011 New York State Collegiate)

165

BU Entrant:  None

Other Top Competitors:  Nick Sulzer (Virginia – Nationally Ranked and won five open tournaments in the last year), Joe Booth (Drexel – 2X National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked #17 in the Country), Marshall Peppelman (Cornell – Nationally Ranked #18 in the Country and 3^rd 2011 Binghamton Open), Ross Tice (Kent State – 2011 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo – Top 12 at 2011 NCAA Nationals and Nationally Ranked #16 in the Country), Chris Smith (Bloomsburg), and Ben Villaret (Columbia – 3^rd 2011 Michigan State Open)

174

BU Entrant: None

Other Top Competitors:  Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg – 2011 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), Collin Wittmeyer (Army – Nationally Ranked #17 and 3^rd at Oklahoma Gold Classic), Brandon Johnson (Kent State – 3^rd 2011 MAC Championships and 6^th 2011 Eastern Michigan Open), Jules Doliscar (Ithaca – 2X Junior College All-American and Nationally Ranked in D3), William George (Cornell – 4^th 2011 Binghamton Open), Vinny Walhauser (Virginia – 4^th 2011 Wolf-Pack Open), and Stephen West (Columbia – 2011 EIWA Place Winner)

184

BU Entrant:  Nate Schiedel

Other Top Competitors:  Steve Bosak (Cornell – NCAA All-American and Nationally Ranked #4 in the Country), Jon Fausey (Virginia – 2011 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked #15), Fred Garcia (Lock Haven – Placed at 2010 Penn State Open), Nick Mills (Columbia – 5^th 2011 EIWA and 4^th 2011 Michigan State Open), Casey Newburg (Kent State – 2^nd 2011 MAC Championships), Jake Waste (Buffalo – 5^th 2011 Buffalo Open), and Nick Kidd (Virginia – National Prep Champ last year)

197

BU Entrants:  Tyler Deuel and Mike McKeever

Other Top Competitors:  Cam Simaz (2X NCAA All-American and Nationally Ranked #1), Ryan Mallo (Virginia – 3X D3 All-American and 2X D3 National Finalist), Mike Salopek (Virginia – 2010 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), Keith Witt (Kent State – 2010 National Qualifier), Brandon Palik (Drexel – 2010 Las Vegas Invite Place Winner), Scott Schiller (Minnesota – 2010 North Country Open Champ and 2010 Kaufman-Brand Open Finalist), Shane Hughes (Columbia – 2011 Michigan State Open Champ), Rich Perry (Bloomsburg – 4^th 2010 Navy Classic), and Justin Heiserman (Buffalo – 6^th 2011 Buffalo Open)

285

BU Entrant:  Nick Gwiazdowski

Other Top Competitors:  Brendan Barlow (Kent State – Top 12 at 2011 NCAA Champioships and Nationally Ranked #9), Kyle Frey (Drexel – Nationally Ranked #16 in the Country), Kevin Lester (Columbia – 2011 NCAA National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), Henry Turner (Lock Haven – 4^th 2010 Body Bar), Matthew Mahon (Ithaca – D3 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked #9 in D3), Jace Bennett (Cornell – 2^nd 2011 Binghamton Open), Zac Walsh (2^nd 2011 EWL Championships), Maciej Jochym (Cornell – 4^th 2011 Binghamton Open), Ethan Hayes (Virginia – 3^rd 2011 Wolf-Pack Open), Stryker Lane (Cornell – 5^th 2010 Body Bar and 2010 Mat Town Open Finalist), and Clinton Snyder (Cornell – 4^th 2010 Body Bar and 2010 Mat Town Open Champ)


Note: I'll be tweeting and updating facebook as often as I can tomorrow throughout the tournament.

Throwback Thursday Episode 6: Josh Patterson

Josh Patterson set the All-Time BU Win Record with a 20 second pin.  Patterson finished with 123 career wins.  Matt Kaylor is looking to break Josh's all time record this season.  Kaylor won six matches this past weekend to bring his career win total to 94 career wins (not counting his redshirt year).  Justin Lister is also in all-time win hunt with 86 career wins (not counting his redshirt year) and also won six matches this past weekend.  Kaylor and Lister are looking to become the 2nd and 3rd wrestlers to reach the 100 win plateau since BU became a NCAA Division I program.

Also -- Photos from the BU Open are now on the Photos page!

Bonus Post! Gwiazdowski AND Borshoff Interviews!

Now that the season is underway, we have a lot to talk about! Check out these videos below. If you missed my first post today, here's the Ranking Roundup!


Nick Gwiazdowski - Binghamton Athlete of the Week!



PAWR Interview with Jasen Borshoff


Watch more video of Binghamton Wrestle-Offs on www.pawrvideo.com

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Excerpt from Coach Popolizio's Weekly Newsletter

Coaches Corner

Overall, I thought the team showed a tremendous improvement from the dual meet to our tournament competition. We competed more aggressively on Sunday and the results showed it, with five of our student-athletes finishing in the top three. The level of competition in this tournament was highly competitive so having four wrestlers reach the finals and another wrestler finish 3rd shows our ability win at the National Level. We will continue to face many ranked opponents throughout the remainder of the season and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

Two student-athletes who had a stand-out weekend are Justin Lister and Nick Gwiazdowski. Justin Lister was behind early in his match against Peppelman of Harvard, but showed a lot of heart and fight, coming from behind to win an exciting match.

Nick Gwiazdowski, a true freshman, demonstrated that his wrestling talent and abilities are legitimate and ready for collegiate opponents.  Nick showed a lot of composure after being down early; coming back to tie up the match and then getting the pin makes a big statement. He has high goals for this season and should find himself in the national rankings very soon.

Upcoming Match

The Bearcats’ next match will be at the Body Bar Invitational held at Cornell University on Saturday, November 19th.  This tournament draws some of the best wrestling teams in the country, including Minnesota this year, so it should be a great day of wrestling.

Tidbits

A special thanks to all of the friends and family of Binghamton Wrestling who helped coordinate food, set-up and breakdown for our wrestling-filled weekend. Thank you for all the help!

 Thank you to Colleen Schiedel and Joanne Perry for all their time and energy spent helping with the hospitality room. No doubt about it—it is arguably the best hospitality room in the country.

 Another special thanks goes to the Morris family for streaming our matches at pawrvideo.com.  It is a huge help to have our matches broadcasted live over the internet for all our fans who cannot attend!

For those that have not bought your Binghamton Bearcats wrestling gear from World Wide Sports Supply, you only have until November 30th to get your gear! 

Get your gear here:

http://wrestling-volleyball-gear-apparel.wwsport.com/search#?w=binghamton

Ranking Roundup 11.16.11

Rankings for the week of 11.14.11:



Intermat 11.15.11
BINGHAMTON #25
149 - Donnie Vinson #7
157 - Justin Lister #6

The Open Mat 11.14.11
149 - Donnie Vinnson #14
157 - Justin Lister #5

D1CollegeWrestling 11.14.11
149 - Donnie Vinson #10
157 - Justin Lister #7
165 - Matt Kaylor #24
184 - Nate Schiedel - #21
285 - Nick Gwiazdowski #20

Wrestling Report 11.14.11
BINGHAMTON #30
149 - Donnie Vinson  #9
157 - Justin  Lister #5
165 - Matt Kaylor #23
184 - Nate Schiedel #24
197 - Cody Reed #29
285 - Nick Gwiazdowski #25

Links to the complete sets of rankings are included above.

Two Minute Tuesday with Patrick Hunter: Episode 8

Tomorrow look for this week's Ranking Roundup! 

Coach Beasley's Week in Review: GMU, SHU, Binghamton Open

It was a long weekend to start the season as we had two home matches on Saturday and the BU Open all day on Sunday.  There were some mixed results from the team and it is a good starting point that we will improve upon.  I felt like the team wrestled much better on Sunday than Saturday.  We looked like we had more energy and hustle as a team at the tournament.

We beat conference rival George Mason 31-11 to open the weekend, followed by a 39-13 win over Sacred Heart.  I will say that Joe Russell is doing a heck of a job at George Mason and had his team ready to go.  They wrestled hard and hustled.  GMU will improve a lot with Joe in charge.  Sacred Heart was also much improved from last year.  They have a couple of holes in their line-up as Coach Cameron was hired just before the school year started and was not able to recruit so unfortunately they do not have a full line-up, but the guys they do have showed promise.

At 125 pounds, Steeley started with a big lead but couldn’t find an answer to Rodriguez's single leg and Rodriguez scored several times off that shot late in the match to win 13-11.  Steeley then received a forfeit from SHU.  Steeley did not wrestle well at the BU Open going 1-2.  He stopped wrestling in some positions and it cost him in the tournament.  He needs to be more consistant.

At 133 pounds, Patrick Hunter was aggressive and scored with a few takedowns to win his bout against Lavorato 10-4.  He did not wrestle nearly as well in his next match and Polidore of SHU capitalized on Hunter’s mistakes.  Polidore scored with a few tilts on top to earn a 10-2 major decision.  Hunter ended up having eight matches on the weekend as he went 4-2 at the BU Open.  He dropped his first match to the eventual champion.  He wrestled better as the day went on.  His best match of the weekend was his 7^th match of the weekend where he looked very good against Wheeler.  Dan Riggi went 3-2 competing unattached.  He was a match from placing in the tournament.  He looked solid with a fall and two different one point decision wins.  His losses were to a returning national qualifier who took 3^rd and to Cobb of Penn who took 4^th.  Colton Perry picked up a 7-0 win over GMU starter Lavarato and was also wreslting unattached.  Alex Neal, wrestling unattached, also competed here and is gaining experience.

At 141 pounds, Joe Bonaldi wrestled well in his first ever collegiate match and looked solid both offensively and defensively.  Keep an eye on him as he is going to get very good as the season goes on.  He won 7-4 over a very tough Herndon from GMU.  Joe then received a forfeit from SHU.  At the BU Open, Bonaldi went 2-2 with his first loss coming to NCAA All-American Kemmerer of Penn and his second to two-time NCAA National Qualifier Kirchner of Rider.  He picked up 10-4 and 7-2 decision wins on the day.  Derek Heyman went 3-2 at the tournament wrestling unattached.  His best match was a dominant 14-6 win over Ellis of Penn.

At 149 pounds, Donnie Vinson looked like he was ready to win a national title in both bouts.  He pinned both of his opponents (Bakuckas of GMU and Belanger of SHU).  Donnie scored a lot of points in each match but neither opponent was able to make it to the third period.  Wrestling unattached at the BU Open was Vin Grella and Ben Price.  They both went 1-2 at the open.

At 157 pounds, Justin Lister majored Bethea of GMU and pinned Evangelista of SHU.  Against Bethea, he scored a couple of takedowns and some back points, but Bethea made him work hard for every score and did not give him anything.  He was able to secure a pin off a takedown in the first against Evangelista.  Lister went 4-1 at the BU Open, falling in the finals to 2X NCAA D1 National Champ Kyle Dake of Cornell 6-2.  He had a thrilling 6-5 win over returning All-American Peppelman of Harvard to go along with his three pins.  Adam Morris and Angelo Bortoluzzi both wrestled unattached with Morris picking up two tech falls and Bortoluzzi picking up two decision wins.

At 165 pounds, Matt Kaylor majored and pinned his two opponents.  He wrestled very well with a good hard pace.  His major came against Knepp of GMU and his fall was against Rizzitello of SHU.  Kaylor went 6-1 overall on the weekend, picking up 2^nd place at the BU Open.  He wrestled well throughout the weekend but made a mistake in the finals and got taken down to lose 2-3 to NCAA All-American Gillespie of Hofstra.

At 174 pounds, Caleb Wallace started slow and did not wrestle well against McLaughlin of GMU.  McLaughlin took it to him 17-7.  Caleb rebounded with a 8-3 win over Rizzitello.  In the second match, Caleb was more offensive and looked better.  Caleb really started to come alive on Sunday as he placed 6^th and wrestled better.  He looked more confident and aggressive.  Caleb picked up three wins at the BU Open.

At 184 pounds, Nate Schiedel looked very good in his only match on Saturday.  He pinned Hembury of GMU with a bear hug in the second period.  John Paris wrestled at 184 against Moran of SHU.  He was in a tight match when he had to injury default due to a knee injury.  At the BU Open, Schiedel took 3^rd place.  He collected four wins at the open but made a mistake and surrendered the wining takedown in the semifinals.

At 197 pounds, John Paris wrestled up in the match against Tovuujav of GMU.  Tovuujav kept the match on their feet and scored with a variety of takedowns.  Paris dropped the bout 3-14.  Tyler Deuel scored with a pin off a takedown in the match against Morison of SHU.  Cody Reed wrestled very well in the BU Open placing a strong second.  He went 3-1 losing in the finals to 2X NCAA D1 All-American Simaz of Cornell.  He wrestled with a good pace and a lot of energy.  Tyler Deuel and Mike McKeever both competed at the BU Open as well at 197 pounds.

At 285 pounds, Nick Gwiazdowski scored a pin in his first collegiate match over Barnette of GMU in the second period, which was a preview of things to come the next day for Gwiazdowksi.  Mike McKeever bumped up to heavyweight against Neidhart of SHU and dropped a 7-2 decisoin.  Mckeever scored a nice takedown on the edge of the mat but Neidhart got the win.  Gwiazdowksi went 4-0 and won the BU Open.  He was impressive in his first collegiate tournament with two pins, a 14-4 major decision, and a 8-2 decision win.

Overall, I felt like we wrestled okay on the weekend and we will work to improve from here.  We had six BU Open place winners, four finalists, and a champion.  This gives us a gauge from where we are and what we need to improve upon.  We will head to the Body Bar Tournament Saturday.  I will preview that tournament late this week.

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Check out the photos from the duals on Sautrday here.  I'll be posting the ones I took at the Open as soon as I can. 

Also, if you'd like to read the BU Press Release on the weekends events, click here for GMU/SHU and here  for the BU Open.

Binghamton Open Preview

We have 258 wrestlers preregistered as of writing this blog entry and I would expect some more to enter yet.  Currently we have wrestlers coming from Binghamton, Cornell, Finger Lakes, Harvard, Middlesex, Gannon, Sacred Heart, Princeton, Rider, Hofstra, Pennsylvania, Brown, George Mason, Buffalo, Yeshiva, Nassau, Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, and Edinboro.  The tournament is a little smaller than the last couple of years but it is still a high quality tournament.  The 157 pound weight class is particularly stacked with three returning NCAA Division I All-Americans and six NCAA Division I National Qualifiers.  The 133 pound weight class is currently the largest with thirty-four wrestlers preregistered.  Most of our team will be competing this weekend.  All BU wrestlers listed as "unattached" below are projected redshirts for 2011-2012.

125 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Derek Steeley and Mike Sardo

Other Top Competitors (28 Registered):  Frank Perrelli (Cornell – Nationally Ranked in the top 10 D1, 2011 National Qualifier, and 4^th 2010 BU Open), Steve Bonanno (Hofstra – Nationally Ranked in the top 15 D1 and 2X National Qualifier), Garrett Frey (Nationally Ranked in the top 15 D1, National Qualifier, 3^rd 2010 BU Open), Nick Arujau (Finger Lakes – Nationally Ranked in the top 20 D1 last year and 5^th2010 BU Open), Caleb Richardson (Finger Lakes – 3^rd 2011 Buffalo Open), Nahshon Garrett (Finger Lakes – 5^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Tyler Biscaha (Cornell – 2^nd 2010 BU Open), Vince Rodriguez (George Mason - top 50 recruit in the country last year, NHSCA Senior and Junior National Champion), Bricker Dixon (Cornell – top 50 recruit last year and multiple time MO State Champ),  Arik Robinson (Buffalo – 4X NY State Champ and 7^th at 2011 Buffalo Open), Joe Barbato (Harvard – NY State Finalist), and Abdulqwai Mohamed (Buffalo – NHSCA Junior Champ and NY State Champ)

133 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Patrick Hunter, Dan Riggi (unattached), Colton Perry (unattached), and Alex Neal (unattached)

Other Top Competitors (34 Registered):  Bryan Ortenzio (Penn – 2010 NCAA D1 National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked in the top 15 in the country), Steven Keith (Harvard – 2X D1 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked in the top 20), Joe Stanzione (Cornell – 2011 BU Open Champ), Adam Weinell (4^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Nik Pena (Cornell – top 30 recruit in the country last year and 2X CA State Champ), Chris Perez (Princeton – NHSCA Senior National Runner-Up), Vinny Fava (Rider), CJ Cobb (Penn – top 100 recruit last year), Jeff Canfora (Penn – top 100 recruit last year), Joey Gosinski (Hofstra – 2X IL State Champ), Jamie Franco (Hofstra), Justis Flamio (Unrostered), Ryan Osleeb (Harvard – NY State Champ and 3X Placer), Dan Gormley (Buffalo – 6^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Brandon Pesarchick (Bucknell – PA Placer), and Cody Wheeler (Lock Haven – PA Runner-Up and Multiple Time Placer)

141 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Joe Bonaldi, Derak Heyman (unattached), and Ben Price (unattached)

Other Top Competitors (32 Registered):  Zack Kemmerer (Penn – NCAA Division I All-American, 2X National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked in the top 5 in the country, and 2010 BU Open Champ), Jimmy Kirchner (Rider – D1 National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked, and 3^rd 2010 BU Open), Luke Vaith (Hofstra – 5^th 2010 BU Open Champ), Adam Krop (Princeton – 6^th 2010 BU Open), Mike Nevinger (Cornell – 6^th 2010 BU Open), Joe Rendina (Finger Lakes – 5^th 2011 Buffalo Open and top 100 recruit last year), Chris Villalonga (Cornell), Patrick Hogan (Harvard – NY State Finalist), and Ryan Dunphy (Cornell)

149 Pounds

BU Entrant:  Vin Grella (unattached)

Other Top Competitors (26 Registered):  Vince Varela (Hofstra – National Qualifier), Aaron Nestor (Rider – 4^th BU Open), Craig Eifert (Cornell – 5^th 2010 BU Open), Rickey Bronson (Buffalo – 7^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Blake Roulo (Buffalo – 4X High School National Champ and top 40 recruit last year), Steven Robertson (Penn – top 100 recruit last year and 4X IL State Finalist), Chris Dowdy (Finger Lakes – 3X National Prep Placer), Zach Bintliff (Princeton – EIWA Placer), and Paul Liguori (Harvard)

157 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Justin Lister, Adam Morris (unattached), and Angelo Bortoluzzi (unattached)

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  Kyle Dake (Cornell – 2X D1 National Champ and 2010 BU Open Champ), Walter Peppelman (Harvard – NCAA D1 All-American, Nationally Ranked top 5 in the country, 2^nd 2010 BU Open), Johny Greisheimer (Edinboro – top 12 D1 National Tournament), Zac Cibula (Rider – National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked, CAA Champ, and 5^th 2010 BU Open), Justin Accordino (Hofstra – National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), Daniel Kolodzik (Princeton – Nationally Ranked), Jesse Shanaman (Finger Lakes – 4^th 2010 BU Open), Tyler Banks (Hofstra – 6^th 2010 BU Open), Scott Owen (Finger Lakes – 6^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Ramon Santiago (Rider – 2010 CAA Runner-Up), Lorenzo Thomas (Penn – PA Finalist), Giuseppi Lanzi (Brown), and Jaaziah Bethea (George Mason – 4^th 2010 CAA)

165 Pounds

BU Entrant:  Matt Kaylor

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  PJ Gillespie (Hofstra – 2011 D1 All-American and Nationally Ranked in the top 5 in the country), Marshall Peppelman (Cornell – 5^th 2010 BU Open), Brandon Rolnick (Princeton), Craig Scott (Finger Lakes – 2X NY State Champ), Keith Stoerr (8^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Rich Eva (Princeton – 3X VA State Champ), Duke Pickett (Finger Lakes – top 100 recruit last year and VA State Champ), James Brundage (Rider), and Patrick Jennings (Edinboro – NHSCA Senior All-American)

174 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Caleb Wallace and John Paris

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  Jim Resnick (Rider – 2011 D1 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo – 2X National Qualifier and MAC Champ), Frank McLaughlin (George Mason – 5^th 2011 Hokie Open), Brett Terry (Gannon – D2 National Qualifier), Ryan Callahan (Princeton – 5^th 2010 BU Open), Jon Rizzitello (Sacred Heart), Billy George (Cornell – 5^th 2011 National Collegiate Open and 3^rd Edinboro Open), Tanner Eitel (Finger Lakes), Ian Korb (Penn – OH Finalsit and 3X Placer), Michael Alexander (Cornell), Rickey McDonald (Brown – NHSCA Senior All-Americna and 2X NV State Champ), and Matthew Cunningham (Cornell)

184 Pounds

BU Entrant:  Nate Schiedel

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  Steve Bosak (Cornell – NCAA D1 All-American, Nationally Ranked in the top 5 in the country, and 2010 BU Open Champ), Ben Clymer (Hofstra – NCAA D1 National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked in the top 20 in the country, and CAA Champion), Zack Zelcs (Gannon – 6^th 2011 Buffalo Open), Ryan Hembury (George Mason – PA State Champ), Dan Santoro (Princeton – 2011 Clarion Open Champion), and Cameron Croy (Harvard)

197 Pounds

BU Entrants:  Tyler Deuel, Cody Reed, and Mike McKeever

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  Cam Simaz (Cornell – 3X D1 All-American 3^rd, 3^rd, and 8^th place), Bagna Tovuujav (George Mason – 2X D1 National Qualifier and Nationally Ranked), James Fox (Harvard – NJ State Champ), Donald McNeil (Rider), Matt Lowe (Hofstra – 4^th 2011 CAA), and Sterling Hecox (Brown)

285 Pounds

BU Entrant:  Nick Gwiazdowski

Other Top Competitors (Registered):  Paul Snyder (Hofstra – 2011 NCAA National Qualifier, Nationally Ranked, and CAA Champ), Oney Snyder (Cornell – 3^rd 2010 BU Open), Zeal McGrew (Hofstra – 4^th 2010 BU Open), Stryker Lane (Cornell – 5^th2010 BU Open), Evan Craig (Rider – 4^th 2011 CAA), Jace Bennett (Cornell – 5^th2010 BU Open), David Ng (Harvard – 2X NY Placer), Jacob Aiken-Phillips (7^th 2011 Buffalo Open), and Maciej Jochym (Cornell)

I will be tweeting and posting results on Facebook throughout the tournament.  Also, Mark Morris (PAWR) will be streaming it LIVE and FREE on his website.  Check it out (link is on the left of the blog).

Coach Beasley Previews Tomorrow's Duals with George Mason & Sacred Heart

We are just over 24 hours away from the Bearcats' season opener at West Gym! The excitement kicks off at 4pm tomorrow vs. George Mason.  If you are unable to attend the matches, make sure you check out Facebook and Twitter, as I will be updating throughout. (Note: If you don't have a twitter account, no need to sign up just to follow our posts.  You can click on the link to our profile and see the updates.)  Also, Mark Morris of PAWR will be broadcasting these duals free on his website.  Click on the PAWR link to the left of this post for more information.  

GMU 125 – Vince Rodriguez will start for George Mason as a true freshman.  He was one of the top ranked recruits in the country out of all weight classes last year and was recently named to the Preseason CAA All-Rookie Team.  He finished as an NHSCA Senior National and Junior National Champion.  He is making his transition to college wrestling and won two matches at the Hokie Open last weekend.  Rodriguez excels on his feet and is difficult to score on.  

SHU 125 - Joe Harris will get the nod for Sacred Heart.  Harris is a sophomore and started part of the year last year.  He wrestled in limited action last year, competing in seven matches.

BU 125 - Derek Steeley will start for BU and is much improved from last year.  Keep an eye on Steeley as he can score a flurry of points quickly.  Rodriguez and Harris will probably try to slow the pace of the match and Steeley will try to keep the pace of the match high and control the match on the mat.  Mike Sardo may get a match in here for BU.

GMU 133 – Junior Rich Lavarato should start for George Mason.  He has not wrestled much in the last few years but is very athletic.

SHU 133 - Andrew Polidore returns as the starter for SHU.  Polidore is one of the Pioneers' best wrestlers.  He had the third most matches of anyone on the team last year.  He is long and lanky and difficult to score on.

BU 133 - Patrick Hunter is making his BU debut and is looking to make an immediate impact on the team.  Hunter is a grinder and will try to wear his opponents down as the match goes on.

GMU 141 – George Mason will start Dan Pak at this weight. Pak won a match last weekend at the Hokie Open.  Pak is a freshman from New Jersey and was a two-time state place winner.  Pak rides well and has solid shots.  

SHU 141 - Justin Belanger was 3rd on the team in wins last season and is a returning starter.  He is a senior and leader for SHU.

BU 141 - Joe Bonaldi will compete in his first dual at BU on Saturday.  He maintains great positioning and will be on the attack.  In both duals, guys will be battling for positioning, looking to score first.

GMU 149 – Shohei Takagi, a junior, competed last year for GMU at 149, 157, and 165 pounds.  He is back down to a more natural weight of 149 pounds and is expected to start again this year.  He has good hips and likes to throw. 

SHU 149 - Joe Evangelista will start for SHU.  He is just a sophomore but started last year as a freshman and competed in 18 matches.

BU 149 - Vinson likes to wrestle upper body and is very good in all positions.  Vinson will be looking to put on a performance for the home crowd.

GMU 157 – Jaaziah Bethea, a junior, is one of the top returners for GMU.  He finished 4^thin the CAA last season and led the team in CAA wins.  He is best on his feet where he is extremely and will look to keep the match on his feet as much as possible.  

SHU 157 - SHU will likely forfeit this weight on Saturday.

BU 157 - Justin Lister will be looking to make a statement in his senior year and Bethea is the first he will face on his quest for a national title.  Lister will be looking to put him away at the first opportunity.

GMU 165 – Ty Knepp is a junior who will start at 165 pounds.  He wrestled in a handful of matches early in the season last year before being sidelined with an injury.  Knepp is back to full strength now and is hungry to compete as he has not competed since November 13^th of last year.

SHU 165 - Sam Sheppard, a sophomore, is expected to start at this weight.  He saw limited action last year and competed in ten matches.

BU 165 - Matt Kaylor, much like Lister, is looking to start his senior year in dominate fashion.  Kaylor will set a high pace in the match and will look to score a lot of points.

GMU 174 – Frankie McLaughlin is a senior co-captain for the Patriots.  He is the leader on the team both on the mat and by title.  He competed at the Hokie Open last weekend and placed, winning five matches on the day.  He has been nationally ranked in the past and redshirted last season.  During his collegiate career, he has placed at the Citadel Open (1^st), Hokie Open (4^th and 5^th), Navy Classic (3^rd and 5^th), National Collegiate Open (6^th), Pembroke Classic (6^th), Southern Scuffle (7^th), and CAA Championships (4^th).

SHU 174 - Jon Rizzitell lead the team last year in wins with twenty, including winning eight of his last nine matches of the year.  He is one of SHU's best and is looking to improve upon past success this season.  He is moving up from 165 pounds last year.

BU 174 - Caleb Wallace is rapidly improving and will be ready to compete Saturday.  These three wrestlers fight through positions and could get into some very good flurries.  Caleb needs to win the flurries.  These should be some of the more exciting matches of the dual meet.  John Paris might also wrestle in one of the dual meets.

GMU 184 – George Mason has a good true freshman out of Pennsylvania starting here.  Ryan Hembury won the Pennsylvania State Championship last year and was one of GMU’s top recruits.  He competed at Hokie Open last weekend and is adjusting to the Division I level.  Hembury wrestles at a steady pace.  

SHU 184 - Zach Moran is a sophomore who wrestled twenty-five matches last year and has improved.  He is the returning starter at this weight for SHU.

BU 184 - Nate Schiedel is a leader on the team in several ways and will be looking to lead us to a pair of wins on Saturday.  He has good shots and is very tough on top.  Schiedel is a veteran and will try to distance himself from these two good young wrestlers.

GMU 197 – Mendbagana Tovuuja (a senior) is arguably GMU’s best wrestler.  He is a two-time national qualifier and has been ranked as high as 11^th in the country.  He is a former CAA Champion and “Outstanding Wrestler” of the CAA Championships, in addition to a CAA Runner-Up finish.  He is a very dangerous wrestler, especially from a tie-up.  He will be looking for throws and trips.  

SHU 197 - TJ Neidhard will start again for SHU.  He is a very good wrestler from Long Island and was a great recruit for SHU a couple of years ago.  He is a redshirt sophomore and started last season.  He is moving up a couple of weight classes but is good enough to wrestle with anyone.

BU 197 - Tyler Deuel will start at 197 pounds this weekend.  He will need to wrestle smart and stay away from Tovuuja’s big moves.  Deuel will also try to use his size and strength against a smaller opponents.  Mike McKeever may also wrestle here.

GMU HWT – Adam Barnette will take to the mats for the Patriots.  He has not competed much over the last few years.  He did compete at the Hokie Open last weekend and picked up a win.  Barnette is a full sized heavyweight.  

SHU HWT - They will most likely forfeit heavyweight this weekend.

BU HWT - Nick Gwiazdowski will make his first start for BU on Saturday.  Barnette will have a distinct size advantage over Gwiazdowski so Gwiazdowksi will need to use his speed and attacks to wear down the bigger man.

*Note: Coach Beasley will preview Sunday's Binghamton Open tomorrow.