Vinson Is Runnerup At Midlands Championship

Graduate student Donnie Vinson won five matches to reach the finals at the prestigious 50th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championship at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. Vinson (18-1) dropped a 3-1 decision to fourth-ranked Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech in the title bout - his first loss of the season.

Brascetta, the reigning ACC champion, utilized a first-period takedown and a third-period escape for his points. Vinson managed an escape in the second period but despite pressing in the third period, ran out of time. Brascetta was hit for stalling late in the match but fended off Vinson to win the title. The championships were shown on The Big Ten Network.

Binghamton is in 14th place (out of 48) in the team standings.

Vinson, ranked No. 3 at 149 and seeded second, went 4-0 on Saturday. He started with a pin and a technical fall in his first two matches. He then posted a 6-1 decision and in his closest bout of the day, edged seventh-seed David Habat of Ediinboro in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals Sunday afternoon, Vinson defeated third-seeded Steve Santos of Columbia, 6-1.

Senior 197-pound Nate Schiedel went 3-2 in the tournament, just missing out on top-8 honors. Seeded fifth and ranked sixth in the country, Schiedel began his tournament with a 15-7 major decision. But he then suffered a first-period pin against an opponent from CAA-rival Old Dominion in his second match. He rebounded with an 11-1 major decision over an opponent from North Dakota State late Saturday night and began Sunday with a convincing 13-0 major decision against an opponent from Central Michigan. But in the wrestleback round of 12, Schiedel was pinned by a former three-time All-American from Maryland. 

Senior 125-pound Patrick Hunter scored two wins - including an 8-5 upset of the No. 7 seed - before back-to-back losses ended his tournament. Hunter opened with a 16-1 technical fall.

More than 30 Division I teams, along with numerous national champions and finalists from Division II and III programs, are participating in the event. Of the 32 Division I teams at this year’s Midlands, 14 of them placed in the top-25 at the 2012 NCAA Championship.

Seven other Bearcats competed at the Lock Haven Brute Invitational on Saturday with senior 133-pound Dan Riggi gaining the most success. Riggi went 5-1 to place third. He notched three pins and a major decision. Redshirt 125-pound freshman Mike Sardo went 4-2 to place fifth. Sophomore 174-pound Caleb Wallace went 3-2 to place fifth and sophomore 141-pound Joe Bonaldi won twice to place sixth. Bonaldi, working his way back after an injury last month, picked up a pin and a major decision before injury defaulting out of the event after a quarterfinal loss.

Information: John Hartrick (hartrick@bingthamton.edu)

Post by: Marissa Sarfati (msarfat1@binghamton.edu)

Interviews with Vinson and Schiedel 12/12

 Videos by Marissa Sarfati (msarfat1@binghamton.edu)

Bearcats return with 2 wins this weekend

Bearcat wrestling returns to Binghamton with two new wins under their belt, first beating Princeton University 23-12 on Saturday and then defeating Boston University 26-13 on Sunday.

The dual against Princeton was an exciting first win for the Bearcats.  After being neck and neck with Princeton throughout the match, the Bearcats won the final three matches, including a come-from-behind overtime win by junior 184-pound Cody Reed, to secure the win.

Hunter started off the dual with a win over Max Rogers (Princeton) 10-5.  Then, with Vinson's major decision vs Bintliff 17-5, Grella's defeat against Ziegler 11-5,  Reed's overtime victory vs Gibbons 7-5, and Schiedel and Deuel's tech falls vs Santoro and Lampman, Binghamton finished on top.

Sunday afternoon the Bearcats kept their same winning attitude and drive to capture another win against Boston University.  With 6 winning bouts, one being a pin and two being tech falls, the Bearcats racked up 20 bonus points and ended the weekend 2-0 in duals.

Senior 125-pound Patrick Hunter was the first to put the Bearcats on the board once again, scoring a technical fall in his match, defeating Mike Mayo 26-11. Steeley (133) followed with a major decision against Suitor 14-4.  Vinson pinned Colin Saunders early in the second period making the overall score 15-6 for the Bearcats.  The next wins were by Vincent Grella at 165, Reed at 184, and finally Schiedel with a tech fall against Meys 17-2- resulting with a final score of 26-13.

After a victorious weekend, Vinson and Schiedel still remain undefeated.

Post by Marissa Sarfati (msarfat1@binghamton.edu)

Vinson and Schiedel; rising to the top

For the first time in program history, Binghamton wrestling has two wrestlers ranked in nation's top-6. Donnie Vinson, senior 149 pounder, is ranked third while Nate Schiedel, senior 197 pounder is ranked sixth. Both wrestlers hold an undefeated season (Vinson 12-0, Schiedel 11-0) with a perfect dual record of 7-0.

Vinson, a reigning All-American, remains No. 3 in the latest InterMat rankings. He is No. 1 in the Amateur Wrestling News poll and No. 2 in both the WIN Magazine and D1CW rankings. At 11-0 to start the season, Vinson has also received the first regular season honor from the CAA, which named him its Wrestler of the Month. Vinson is 6-0 in duals, improving his career duals mark to a remarkable 60-8. He is 110-24 in his four-year career and is moving closer to the program’s all-time wins mark of 123, set by four-time NCAA qualifier and All-American Josh Patterson (2006-10).

Schiedel, also unbeaten in 2012-13 at 10-0, bumped up a spot in the InterMat poll to No. 6. He is No. 6 in the AWN rankings, No. 8 in the WIN Magazine version and No. 5 according to D1CW. Schiedel is also 6-0 in duals and has produced a team-high 24 dual points. He is 54-10 in career duals and 101-28 overall.







Post by Marissa Sarfati (msarfat1@binghamton.edu)
Information: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)