U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
Navy Introduces Highly-Touted Rookie Class of Wrestlers
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Eleventh-year Navy wrestling coach Bruce Burnett and his staff have once again assembled one of the top recruiting classes not only on the East Coast, but on a national level as well. Navy's Class of 2014, which features 13 young men who have captured a combined 16 state titles, is ranked 24th by WIN Magazine. Additionally, Navy is one of five EIWA members who is listed among the rankings, joining defending EIWA champion Cornell (No. 3), Rutgers (No. 12), Lehigh (No. 15) and Bucknell (No. 18).
"My assistant Brian Antonelli has done a great job of recruiting a class that is competitive and will provide good depth," said Burnett. "We have a handful of freshmen who are definitely capable of breaking into the lineup due to their talent. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season and seeing how this crop of freshmen will push the veteran members in the wrestling room and vice versa."
Navy Wrestling Class of 2014
Name Wt. Hometown Highlights
Gary Albright 165 Sparks, Nev. 2-Time State Champion, 3-Time State Placewinner
Ray Borja 141 Fort Belvoir, Va. 3-Time State Placewinner, NHSCA All-American, NWCA Placewinner (NAPS)
Justis Flamio 133 Mahopac, N.Y. 3-Time State Finalist, NHSCA All-American
Bent Hunter 149 Harrisonville, Mo. 2-Time State Champion
Zack Johnson 141 Memphis, Tenn. 2-Time State Champion, 3-Time State Placewinner
Alex Johnson 133 Memphis, Tenn. 1-Time State Champion, 3-Time State Placewinner
Jordan Krulick 174 Martinsville, Ind. State Placewinner, NHSCA All-American
Joe Locksmith 133 Kissimmee, Fla. 2-Time State Champion, 3-Time State Placewinner, Fargo All-American
Mike Love 184 Baton Rouge, La. 2-Time State Champion
James Mannier 174 Troy, Ohio 2-Time State Placewinner, Ironman Placewinner, NWCA Placewinner (NAPS)
Walter Pope 149 Framingham, Mass. State Champion, New England Champion (NAPS)
Sam Warne 133 Dent, Minn. 3-Time State Placewinner
Johnnie Watson 165 Lexington, N.C. 3-Time National Prep All-American, 4-Time State Champion, 2-Time Freestyle Champion
The 2010-11 Navy Wrestling Plebe Smoker will be held on Wednesday at Halsey Field House beginning at 7:00 pm for those fans interested in getting their first glimpse of the Navy newcomers. Meanwhile, be sure to come out and support Navy Wrestling over Homecoming weekend when the Mids hold their annual Blue-Gold Challenge Matches at 7:00 pm on Oct. 30.
Navy Wrestling's Glenn Shober Scores High Marks for Academic Success
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy team captain and 2010 NCAA Championship qualifier Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) was among the 74 Div. I wrestlers nationwide to be named to the 2009-10 National Wrestling Coaches Association's (NWCA) All-Academic Team. The team includes 61 NCAA qualifiers, 23 NCAA All-Americans, seven NCAA finalists and five NCAA champions.
With graduation just three weeks away, Shober will soon be commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy where he will begin a career within the submarine community. Over the course of seven-plus semesters at the Naval Academy, he has achieved a 3.51 grade-point average studying ocean engineering. He is ranked among the top 20 percent of his class more than 1,000 students in academic order of merit.
To qualify for the All-Academic Team, a wrestler must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, and either been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule - and must have competed in at least 60 percent of said schedule. The other way to qualify for the All-Academic team is to have a 3.0 GPA and been an NCAA All-American.
Shober concluded his collegiate wrestling career just short of two months ago when he earned his first trip to the NCAA Wrestling Championship in Omaha, Neb. and turned in a 1-2 record which featured a win by fall over Chattanooga's Dean Pavlou. Voted by his peers to serve as the Mids' team captain, Shober put together perhaps his most successful season in his final year. He produced a 23-16 record and included a pair of individual titles. He opened the year by winning four straight matches en route to capturing the 2009 Eastern Michigan Open title at 149 pounds, his first collegiate individual crown. He also laid claim to the 2010 All-Academy Championship by sweeping all three of his matches.
His upset victory over second-seeded Kyle Borshoff of American at the EIWA Championship paved the way for his first NCAA Championship appearance.
Perhaps no win was sweeter than his dominating performance over eighth-ranked Matt Kyler of Army at Alumni Hall in Annapolis on Senior Night. Kyler came into the match with an impressive 27-2 record, however, Shober never backed down. Despite heading into the final period with a 1-0 deficit, Shober fought his way back. The final stanza began with a Shober escape and with 57 seconds remaining, the senior took Kyler to the match for a 3-1 advantage. Unable to ride him out, Kyler was able to narrow the gap with an escape, but Shober sealed the win with a takedown with just four seconds remaining to upset one of the nation's best at 149 pounds.
Shober finished the season with a 23-16 record, marking a personal best in the wins column. Meanwhile, he produced a 74-54 record over his four seasons.
Navy Wrestling Season Comes to an End at NCAA Championship
OMAHA, Neb. — The 2009-10 wrestling season came to an early end for the Midshipmen on Friday, as Navy’s three remaining wrestlers were eliminated in the consolation bracket at the 80th NCAA Wrestling Championship at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
After extending his stay into the second round thanks to a win by fall over Chattanooga’s Dean Pavlou, senior team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) saw his last chance at All-America honors fade away Friday afternoon. Central Michigan redshirt senior Anthony D’Alie dominated his match against Shober at 149 pounds, scoring five takedowns en route to a major decision, 12-3. Shober concluded his season with a 23-15 record and a career mark of 74-54.
Meanwhile, junior Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who gained All-America honors a year ago wrestling at 149 pounds, was bounced from the tournament after being pinned by Michigan State’s 157-pound Anthony Jones less than a minute into the match. For Saddoris, it’s just the third pinfall he has succumbed to in three seasons and the first this year.
Saddoris concluded his season with a 31-11 record and is one of just five wrestlers in program history to win 30 or matches three times during his career. Next year he will set his sight on becoming the first wrestler in school history to reach that milestone four times. With a 110-32 career record, he is one of just 10 wrestlers in Navy history to reach 100 wins. He stands ninth in career wins and trails all-time leader Matt Stolpinski by 31 victories.
Like the opening round, senior Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) came up with a big win to advance into the consolation fourth round. After exchanging escape points in the second and third periods, Steele used 1:04 worth of riding time to get the point he needed to secure a 2-1 victory over Northern Iowa’s Christian Brantley.
Steele’s next match went much the same as his match against Brantley. He and Central Michigan’s Jarod Trice battled in a scoreless first period and then Steele struck first with a point for an escape in the second period. The seventh-seeded Trice evened the match early in the third with an escape, but quickly took Steele down for the go-ahead takedown. Steele managed the the escape, but Trice again put Steele to ground and then added a point for 1:02 riding time to eliminate Steele with a 6-2 win.
Steele closed out his career with an 81-25 record, including a 16-5 mark in a shortened senior season.
“I’m disappointed that our tournament ended so early for our guys, but I am just so proud of how they competed and represented our institution,” said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. “Four of the five wrestlers we brought to the National Tournament had never been there before, and so that’s certainly a learning curve. But we really were thrown some tough draws and we knew going into the tournament how good the field would be and how every round is a battle.
“It’s tough ending your season this way, but on the positive side of things we have three of our five qualifiers coming back next year. We had a solid dual season this year and I think we were able to achieve three of our five goals this year. We have plenty to build off of and I know they we will be back next year working hard to get someone back on that podium.”
With nine wrestlers remaining in the hunt, Iowa continues to pull away from the field where it holds a 19-point lead over second-place Cornell (73.0-54.0) who has seven wrestlers still active in the compeition. Iowa State and Ohio State are tied for third with 46.0 points, while Oklahoma rounds out the top five with 44.0 points.
Cornell leads all of the EIWA teams with 54.0 points and stands second, while American is tied for 12th (28.0 pts), Lehigh is in 14th (26.0 pts), Rutgers stands 25th (18.0 pts), Harvard is tied for 29th (13.0 pts), Bucknell is 32nd (10.5 pts), Army is tied for 40th (7.0 pts), Navy is in 43rd with 6.5 points, Penn is tied for 44th (6.0 pts) and Princeton is tied for 61st (1.0).
NAVY WRESTLERS AT THE 80th NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
First-Round Matches
125 — #11 Michael Martinez (Wyoming) dec Aaron Kalil, 6-2
149 — #4 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) dec Glenn Shober, 4-0
157 — Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado) dec #8 Bryce Saddoris, 6-3
165 — Matt Kaylor (Binghamton) dec Robby Neill, 3-2
HWT — #12 Scott Steele dec Ricardo Alcala (UC Davis), 3-2
Second-Round Matches
HWT — #5 Daniel Erekson (Iowa) fall Scott Steele, 2:37
Consolation Matches
125 — #6 Zachary Sanders (Minnesota) dec Aaron Kalil, 11-5
149 — Glenn Shober fall Dean Pavlou (Chattanooga), 2:38
149 — Anthony D’Alie (Central Michigan) major dec Glenn Shober, 12-3
157 — #8 Bryce Saddoris dec Colton Salazar (Purdue), 8-2
157 — Anthony Jones (Michigan State) fall #8 Bryce Saddoris, 0:57
165 — #4 Jonathan Reader (Iowa State) major dec Robby Neill, 12-1
HWT — #12 Scott Steele dec Christian Brantley (Northern Iowa), 2-1
HWT — #7 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) dec #12 Scott Steele, 6-2
Navy's Steele and Kalil Receive NCAA Wrestling Championship At-Large Bids
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Navy senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) and sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) were among the 50 wrestlers who received at-large selections on Wednesday to compete in the 2010 NCAA Championship slated for March 18-20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Steele and Kalil will join Navy teammates Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2009 All-American, team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) and junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.), who received automatic berths into the tournament by virtue of their placement at the EIWA Championship last weekend.
"I'm so excited for all five of our wrestlers who will be able to perform on the national stage and have the opportunity to stand atop that podium in Omaha," said 10th-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "The schedule we wrestled this year allowed for this to take place, for us to get two at-large selections. We wrestled against some of the best talent out there and in the end, you are rewarded if you competed and performed well. It's a testament to the system"
A fifth-place finisher at the EIWA Champion, Kalil enjoyed a spectacular sophomore campaign that was highlighted by a strong run in the EIWA Tournament. Seeded fourth, he opened the tournament with a major decision over fifth-seeded John McDonald of Lehigh, the same opponent he narrowly defeated in dual action nearly two months ago. Kalil was sent to the consolation bracket by Troy Nickerson of Cornell, who is the No. 2 in the 2010 NCAA Championship. Kalil led 4-0 in his match against the No. 2 seed, Joseph Langel of Rutgers, but a mistake proved costly and Langel overcame the deficit to earn a 7-5 win over Kalil. However, he was quick to recover, posting a 7-4 win over American's Jasen Borschoff, the third seed in the tournament.
Kalil is a first-time NCAA qualifier and will make his way into the national tournament boasting a 22-11 record. He has won 11 of his last 14 bouts. He will face 11th-seeded Michael Martinez, a redshirt sophomore, in the opening round of the tournament.
Steele, meanwhile, can breathe a sigh of relief after receiving not only an at-large selection, but was also seeded 12th. After sustaining a major shoulder injury last December, Steele was forced to undergo surgery and a lengthy rehab that would keep him out of school until this semester. He returned to the mat on Dec. 29 at the Southern Scuffle where he placed second. He came into the EIWA Tournament with a 13-2 record and was poised to make a run at an individual title in what was his first appearance in the conference championship. Instead, Steele was forced to bow out of the tournament with an injury, medically forfeiting his last two matches and a disappointing fifth-place finish.
"Quite frankly I'm pleased that there were some people who recognize the ability that Scott has," said Burnett. "What he's been able to accomplish over the years and especially this season after coming back from one of the most serious shoulder injuries I've seen, it's fantastic that they selected him. He's a little dinged up, but I know he will do everything in his power to get healed up and prepare for this tournament."
Steele, a former U.S. Freestyle Team member and an alternate for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, kept his thoughts simple, "I'm just thankful for having a new lease on life."
That new beginning will kick off with an opening-round matchup against 17th-ranked Ricardo Alcala of UC Davis, who is unseeded.
Among Navy's three automatic NCAA qualifiers, only Saddoris earned a seed. The three-time NCAA qualifier is the only Navy wrestler headed to the national tournament who has made a previous appearance. Saddoris put together a spectacular performance at last year's National Championship where he placed sixth and garnered All-America honors. As the No. 8 seed, his quest to become only the 21st Navy wrestler to become a multiple All-American will begin with a match against the winner of the Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado)-vs.-Hadley Harrison (Clarion) bout.
Shober will battle fourth-seeded Kyle Rushell of Wisconsin in the opener at 149 pounds, while Neill is set to face Binghamton's Matt Kaylor at 165 pounds.
One Navy hopeful who was left out of the tournament was senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), who gave a heroic effort at the EIWA Championship. As the eighth seed, he upset the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds, and came a whistle away from taking down the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler Kyle Dake, en route to placing fourth, just one place shy of the automatic qualifier.
"It's always disappointing when someone is skipped over," said Burnett. "Matt was wrestling the best I've seen him at the end of the year and he had some great wins. He can be proud of what he's achieved over his four seasons and he closed out his career as a winner."
Weight Seed Wrestler First-Round Opponent
125 --- Aaron Kalil (22-11) #11 Michael Martinez, Wyoming
149 --- Glenn Shober (22-14) #4 Kyle Rushell, Wisconsin
157 8 Bryce Saddoris (30-10) Winner of Justin Gaethje, N. Colorado vs. Haldey Harrison, Clarion
165 --- Robby Neill (24-14) Matt Kaylor, Binghamton
HWT 12 Scott Steele (14-3) Ricardo Alcala, UC Davis
Seven Navy Mids Earn Their Way Onto the Podium at 106th EIWA Championship
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Anchored by the efforts of three NCAA Championship qualifiers and seven overall placewinners, the Navy wrestling team placed seventh out of 13 teams at the 106th EIWA Championship held at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa. Juniors Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) each qualified in their respective weight classes (157 & 165) following Saturday's action, while senior team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) punched his ticket on Sunday by upsetting the No. 2 seed in the consolations semis at 149 pounds.
Cornell crowned five individual champions and racked up 160.5 team points to win its fourth-consecutive team title. A strong showing by Penn in Sunday's morning session allowed the Quakers to leapfrog Lehigh for second place with 113 points, while the Mountain Hawks settled for third place with 109.5 points. The Mids, meanwhile, were just 5.5 points behind sixth-place Rutgers and well ahead of Army and Columbia who tied with 65 points.
"I am so proud of the way our guys competed and how they conducted themselves at the tournament this weekend," said head coach Bruce Burnett, who has sent at least one wrestler to the NCAA Championship in each of his 10 seasons at the Academy. "We had some really great performances in a conference that is extremely tough this year. Everybody competed hard and everybody that we brought one a match.
"We've got three guys that are going to the championship and I think we have the potential to get three more wildcards. Last year we were fortunate enough to get two wildcards, including one by a senior, Casey Caldwell, who closed out his career by getting a win in his only appearance at the National Championship."
After Saturday's action sent six wrestlers to the consolation bracket, Saddoris was the lone Navy wrestler who had hopes of winning an EIWA title. The 2009 All-American overcame the odds last year by defeating Academy rival Matt Kyler to claim the 149-pound title and would once again have the odds stacked against him as he looked to upset the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. Though it was a hard-fought match, Saddoris would come up short in his quest to become a two-time EIWA Champion, as Harvard's J.P. O'Connor kept his undefeated record intact with a 3-1 win over his Navy counterpart.
"Bryce is really wrestling well right now and had a strong tournament," said Burnett "He was in on O'Connor's leg a few times, but just wasn't able to get him to the mat. I think he's poised to do some great things in the NCAA Tournament with the way he is wrestling right now and having had the experience wrestling on this stage two other times during his career."
Saddoris, however, will anchor a group of three Midshipmen who are assured of a spot in the 2010 NCAA Championship slated for March 18-20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. Saddoris is making his third trip to the NCAA Tournament, while Neill and Shober will make their debut in two weeks.
Shober came into the final day of action needing only to win his first match of the day in order to qualify for the NCAA Championship. It's an easy statement to make, however, Shober would face a tough opponent in American's Kyle Borshoff who was seeded No. 2 in the tournament and had beaten Shober in an earlier dual (4-1) this season. But for Shober, it was his time to shine, as he continued to use the momentum he gained from his win over Army's Matt Kyler, this year's EIWA Champion, just two weeks ago to help lead him to a 4-3 win over Borshoff and earn the automatic bid.
In the third-place match, Shober came up just short as seventh-seeded Cesar Grajales of Penn used an escape to earn a 2-1 win in the tie breaker to earn the win over Shober.
Six wrestlers from the EIWA qualified for the NCAA Championship at 165 pounds and sixth-seeded Neill scored that sixth slot to earn the automatic berth. Neill fought his way through the consolation bracket on Saturday to set himself up for an opportunity to wrestle in the third-place bout. However, Columbia's Eren Civan, seeded fourth, had other plans as he produced a 5-2 win over Neill and sent him to the fifth-place match instead. Unable to bounce back from his narrow loss, he found himself in a vulnerable position and fifth-seeded Stephan Burak of Penn put Neill on his back for the fall at 3:55.
Navy had three other opportunities to pick up automatic berths, but two of the three came up just one win short.
Sophomore Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.), who has been spectacular on the mat this season, finished fifth at 125 pounds with the NCAA taking the top four placewinners. Wrestling in his first EIWA Championship, Kalil led 4-0 in his match against the No. 2 seed, Joseph Langel of Rutgers, but a mistake proved costly and Langel overcame the deficit to earn a 7-5 win over Kalil.
"It's really a shame for Aaron," said Burnett. "He has really been wrestling well, especially during this tournament. He made one mistake the entire weekend and it just happened at the wrong time and cost him the match and an automatic bid. I'm hopeful that his season is not over and that perhaps he'll be able to get one of the at-large bids from the NCAA."
Kalil was quick to recover, however, posting a 7-4 win over American's Jasen Borschoff, the third seed in the tournament.
Senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) is also hopeful he will receive an at-large selection, as he put forth a yeoman's effort as the eighth seed to finish fourth. Following back-to-back wins on Saturday, including a 4-1 victory over Academy rival and fifth-seeded Casey Thome of Army, Pagan upset third-seeded Trevor Melde of Rutgers, 6-5. This was a huge turn of events from the last time the two battled in the circle, as Melde had his way with Pagan and eventually scored a tech fall to end the match with an 18-2 win. Like Shober, this was Pagan's final chance to get to the NCAA Championship and his best effort was certainly rewarded.
That elation, however, turned to despair when Penn's Zack Kemmerer claimed third place with a 7-4 win over Pagan.
Navy's final wrestler to have a chance at an automatic bid was senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.). However, a nagging ankle injury in which he tweaked on Saturday would keep Steele from the mat, as he was forced to medically forfeit both matches on Sunday and would have to settle for fifth. Ranked ninth nationally and 10th in the Div. I Wrestling Coaches Panel poll, Steele does have an outside chance at getting picked as an at-large selection.
Meanwhile, freshman Andrew Buck's (Carson, Wash.) season likely came to an end on Sunday, dropping a 4-0 decision to Brown's Bran Crudden in the seventh-place match. Buck, who posted a 20-10 record, fought off countless injuries throughout the season, but maintained his drive and focus.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on Wednesday. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; qualifying event placement; quality wins; results against common opponents; winning percentage; RPI; coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.
106th EIWA Championship
Pl Points Team Champions
1 160.5 Cornell 5 - 125 Troy Nickerson, 133 Mike Grey, 141 Kyle Dake, 174 Mack Lewnes, 197 Cam Simaz
2 113.0 Penn
2 109.5 Lehigh 1 - HWT Zach Rey
4 103.5 Bucknell 1 - 165 Andrew Rendos
5 96.0 American 1 - 184 Michael Cannon
6 87.0 Rutgers
7 81.5 Navy
8 65.0 Army 1 - 149 Matt Kyler
65.0 Columbia
10 55.0 Brown
11 52.5 Harvard 1 - 157 J.P. O'Connor
12 24.0 Princeton
13 2.0 Franklin & Marshall
CH - Champions
Special Awards
The Coaches Trophy (Most Outstanding Wrestler) - Mack Lewnes, Cornell
Coach of the Year - Rob Koll, Cornell
Good Sportsmanship Award - Princeton
Sheridan Award (Most falls) - Matt Fisk, Lehigh (2 in 5:44)
Fletcher Award (Most career points at EIWA Championship) - Troy Nickerson, Cornell
Navy Wrestlers
125 - Aaron Kalil (No. 4 Seed; Placed 5th)
* won by major (5) John McDonald (Lehigh), 14-2
* lost by major (1) Troy Nickerson (Cornell), 9-0
Sunday
* lost by dec. (2) Joseph Langel (Rutgers), 7-5
* won by dec. (3) Jasen Borschoff (American), 7-4
133 - Allan Stein (No. 8 Seed)
* won by major Zachary Bintliff (Princeton), 15-4
* lost by fall (1) Mike Grey (Cornell), 2:06
* lost by dec. Cortlandt Choate (Brown), 11-6
141 - Matt Pagan (No. 8 Seed; Placed 4th)
* won by fall Matt Murray (Franklin & Marshall), 5:25
* lost by dec. (1) Kyle Dake (Cornell), 5-4
* won by dec. Luis Ramos (Princeton), 10-3
* won by dec. (5) Casey Thome (Army), 4-1
Sunday
* won by dec. (3) Trevor Melde (Rutgers), 6-5
* lost by dec. (4) Zack Kemmerer (Penn), 7-4
149 - Glenn Shober (No. 4 Seed; Placed 4th) - has qualified for NCAA Championship
* won by fall Eric Norgard (Franklin & Marshall), 6:48
* won by dec. (5) Joseph Napoli (Lehigh), 4-2
* lost by dec. (1) Kevin LeValley (Bucknell), 8-4
Sunday
* won by dec. (2) Kyle Borshoff (American), 4-3
* lost by dec. (7) Cesar Grajales (Penn), 2-1 TB
157 - Bryce Saddoris (No. 2 Seed; Placed 2nd) - has qualified for NCAA Championship
* won by major Derek Schreiner (Cornell), 12-2
* won by dec. (6) Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh), 3-0
* won by dec. (2) Steve Fittery (American), 3-2
Sunday
* lost by dec. (1) J.P. O'Connor (Harvard), 3-1
165 - Robby Neill (No. 6 Seed; Placed 6th) - has qualified for NCAA Championship
* won by major Tanner Shaffer (American), 8-0
* lost by dec. (3) Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh), 3-2
* won by major Adam Hogue (Harvard), 9-1
* won by dec. (7) Greg Zannetti (Rutgers), 10-3
Sunday
* lost by dec. (4) Eren Civan (Columbia), 5-2
* lost by fall (5) Stephen Burak (Penn), 3:55
174 - Mike Billings
* lost by dec. (7) Matt Fullowan (Franklin & Marshall), 4-2
* won by dec. David Lalo (Harvard), 8-7
* lost by dec. (8) Michael Erdman (Princeton), 12-11
184 - Andrew Buck (No. 5 Seed; Placed 8th)
* won by fall Harrison Cook (Penn), 1:01
* lost by major (4) Steve Bosak (Cornell), 11-0
* won by dec. Cary Aldrich (Columbia), 9-7 SV
* lost by fall (8) Collin Wittmeyer (Army), 4:57
Sunday
* lost by dec. (7) Bran Crudden (Brown), 4-0
197 - Russ Kropp
* lost by major (2) Richard Starks (Army), 12-0
* won by major Colin Ely (Franklin & Marshall), 11-2
* lost by major (8) Louis Miller (Columbia), 11-1
HWT - Scott Steele (No. 3 Seed; Placed 5th)
* won by dec. (6) Kevin Lester (Columbia), 8-5
* lost by dec. (2) Dominick Russo (Rutgers), 4-0
Sunday
* lost by medical forfeit (8) Tyler Blakely (Penn)
* lost by medical forfeit (6) Kevin Lester (Columbia)
Navy Mids Sixth at EIWA Championship
Mids Stand Sixth at EIWA Championship, Saddoris and Neill Punch Tickets to NCAA Championship
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Seven Navy wrestlers remain active, one in the championship bracket and six in the consolations, following the first day of action at the 106th EIWA Championship, as the Midshipmen currently sit in sixth place in the team standings with 73.5 points. Meanwhile, reigning EIWA Champion Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and junior 165-pound Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) have already clinched berths to wrestle at the 2010 NCAA Championship in Omaha, Neb. on March 18-20.
Saddoris and senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) came into the tournament as the Mids' highest seeded wrestlers, each drawing a No. 3 seed. Saddoris easily won his opening match by way of a major decision over Cornell's Derek Schreiner before facing Lehigh's Sean Bilodeau for a second time this season. When the two squared off in mid-January, Saddoris scored a 10-3 decision. While Bilodeau was a more formidable opponent on Saturday, the result was the same, as Saddoris picked up a 3-0 win and advanced to the semifinals against the No. 2 seed Steve Fittery of American.
Saddoris and Fittery last met on Jan. 8 in what was Navy's first dual of the season. Additionally, it marked the last time Saddoris lost a match, as the 2009 All-American came in to the tournament riding a nine-match winning streak. That streak remains alive at 12 in a row after Saddoris picked off Fittery, who is ranked fourth nationally and third according to the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Panel Rankings, 3-2. A tall task is ahead of Saddoris on Sunday as he will face the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler, Harvard's J.P. O'Connor, who boasts a flawless 29-0 record this season. Saddoris, meanwhile, has put together 30-9 record this season and adds his list to an elite group of Navy wrestlers who have made three appearances on the 30-win list - all-time wins leader Matt Stolpinski, Greg Gingeleskie, Mark Conley and John Reich.
Seeded sixth in one of the most competitive weight classes in the tournament, Neill has had to fight his way back through the consolation bracket in order to earn what is his first NCAA Championship berth. Neill opened up with an 8-0 win over American's Shaffer, marking the second time this season he has held his AU foe scoreless after beating him 7-0 in an earlier dual. However, Neill's run in the championship bracket came to an end when Lehigh's Brandon Hatchett, the No. 3 seed, narrowly defeated him by a 3-2 count.
Neill bounced back, however, and collected back-to-back wins over Harvard's Adam Hogue (9-1) and Rutgers' Greg Zannetti (10-3). Neill will now face fourth-seeded Eren Civan of Columbia for a chance to qualify for the 3rd/4th-place match.
Navy sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) and senior team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) at 149 pounds need to win their first match of the day in order to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Both weight classes are assured of four wrestlers to send to the NCAA Championship in a few weeks. Kalil looked spectacular in making his EIWA Championship debut, scoring a major decision over fifth-seeded John McDonald of Lehigh. The same opponent he narrowly defeated in dual action nearly two months ago. In an unfortunate draw, Kalil then met up with the buzz saw known as Troy Nickerson of Cornell, who is ranked No. 2 in the country. Nickerson bounced Kalil by major decision, 9-0, and now Kalil will face No. 2 seed Joseph Langel of Rutgers on Saturday morning. Langel, who was upset by Princeton's Garrett Frey, bested Kalil during the regular season behind a 9-5 decision.
Shober, seeded fourth, is wrestling perhaps at the top of his career, riding the momentum he gained from upsetting Army's Matt Kyler just two weeks ago. Shober pinned Franklin & Marshall's Eric Norgard in his opening match before securing a 4-2 victory over Lehigh's Joseph Napoli in the quarters. Top-seeded Kevin LeValley of Bucknell, ranked seventh nationally, clipped Shober, 8-4, in the semis, sending Shober to the consolation bracket. Shober has the sobering task of facing the No. 2 seed Kyle Borshoff of American, who he lost to, 4-1, in early January.
Seniors Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) at 141 pounds and Steele both need to win two matches on Sunday to earn an NCAA Championship bid. Pagan began the day by pinning Franklin & Marshall's Matt Murray and nearly scored the upset of the tournament in the second round, but instead succumbed to No. 1 ranked Kyle Dake by a 5-4 decision. Dake, a freshman, owns a 22-2 record this season.
Pagan, however, has battled his way back through the consolation bracket where he earned a 10-3 win over Princeton's Luis Ramos before turning back Army's Casey Thome for a second time in two weeks. He claimed a 4-1 win over the fifth-seeded Thome, eliminating him from contention for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Meanwhile, Pagan remains active in the tournament and will face No. 3 seed Trevor Melde on Saturday. Melde won by tech fall in their earlier matchup.
Steele squeezed past Columbia heavyweight Kevin Lester, 8-5, in the first round, but for a second time this season, dropped a decision to Rutgers' Dominick (DJ) Russo. Russo claimed a 7-6 decision over Steele earlier this season after racking up riding time in the match, however, this time Russo kept Steele off the scoreboard with a 4-0 decision. Steele will battle eighth-seeded Tyler Blakely of Penn on Saturday morning. He not only needs to defeat Blakely, he would also need to beat the winner of the Joshua Arnone (Cornell) vs. Kevin Lester (Columbia) match, as just the top three wrestlers from this class will receive automatic berths.
Though he will not receive an automatic bid to wrestle at the 2010 NCAA Championship, freshman Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.) will place in this year's EIWA Championship. Seeded fifth, he has battled his way into the 7th/8th-place match where he will face Brown's Bran Crudden. Buck opened the tournament by pinning Penn's Harrison Cook in just over a minute's time, but was dropped by No. 4 seed Steve Bosak of Cornell by way of major decision. Buck, like so many times this year, gave a gritty performance in the consolation bracket where he managed a 9-7 sudden victory win over Columbia's Cary Aldrich. Though he had hopes of advancing, Buck was sent to the 7th/8th-place match after Army's Collin Wittmeyer avenged his loss to Buck by pinning the young Mid.
Ending their seasons on Saturday were 133-pound junior Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) and seniors Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) at 174 pounds and Russ Kropp (Pittsburgh, Pa.) at 197 pounds. All three of those Midshipmen produced a 1-2 record before bowing out of the tournament.
The 106th EIWA Championships will continue on Sunday beginning at 10:00 am with the consolation semifinals. Consolation finals are slated to begin at 11:30 am, while the championship matches are on tap for 3:00 pm.
106th EIWA Championship
Pl Points Team CH CONS
1 124.0 Cornell 5 4
2 92.5 Lehigh 3 4
92.5 Penn 2 7
4 81.5 Bucknell 2 6
5 75.0 American 2 5
6 73.5 Navy 1 6
7 72.0 Rutgers 1 7
8 58.5 Columbia - 7
9 54.5 Army 1 5
10 43.5 Brown - 7
11 42.5 Harvard 2 1
12 23.0 Princeton 1 1
13 2.0 Franklin & Marshall - -
CH - Championship Bracket; CONS - Consolation bracket
Navy Wrestlers
125 - Aaron Kalil (No. 4 Seed)
* won by major (5) John McDonald (Lehigh), 14-2
* lost by major (1) Troy Nickerson (Cornell), 9-0
* will face (2) Joseph Langel (Rutgers)
133 - Allan Stein (No. 8 Seed)
* won by major Zachary Bintliff (Princeton), 15-4
* lost by fall (1) Mike Grey (Cornell), 2:06
* lost by dec. Cortlandt Choate (Brown), 11-6
* has been eliminated
141 - Matt Pagan (No. 8 Seed)
* won by fall Matt Murray (Franklin & Marshall), 5:25
* lost by dec. (1) Kyle Dake (Cornell), 5-4
* won by dec. Luis Ramos (Princeton), 10-3
* won by dec. (5) Casey Thome (Army), 4-1
* will face (3) Trevor Melde (Rutgers)
149 - Glenn Shober (No. 4 Seed)
* won by fall Eric Norgard (Franklin & Marshall), 6:48
* won by dec. (5) Joseph Napoli (Lehigh), 4-2
* lost by dec. (1) Kevin LeValley (Bucknell), 8-4
* will face (2) Kyle Borshoff (American)
157 - Bryce Saddoris (No. 2 Seed) - has qualified for NCAA Championship
* won by major Derek Schreiner (Cornell), 12-2
* won by dec. (6) Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh), 3-0
* won by dec. (2) Steve Fittery (American), 3-2
* will face (1) J.P. O'Connor (Harvard)
165 - Robby Neill (No. 6 Seed) - has qualified for NCAA Championship
* won by major Tanner Shaffer (American), 8-0
* lost by dec. (3) Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh), 3-2
* won by major Adam Hogue (Harvard), 9-1
* won by dec. (7) Greg Zannetti (Rutgers), 10-3
* will face (4) Eren Civan (Columbia)
174 - Mike Billings
* lost by dec. (7) Matt Fullowan (Franklin & Marshall), 4-2
* won by dec. David Lalo (Harvard), 8-7
* lost by dec. (8) Michael Erdman (Princeton), 12-11
* has been eliminated
184 - Andrew Buck (No. 5 Seed)
* won by fall Harrison Cook (Penn), 1:01
* lost by major (4) Steve Bosak (Cornell), 11-0
* won by dec. Cary Aldrich (Columbia), 9-7 SV
* lost by fall (8) Collin Wittmeyer (Army), 4:57
* will face (7) Bran Crudden (Brown) in 7th/8th place match
197 - Russ Kropp
* lost by major (2) Richard Starks (Army), 12-0
* won by major Colin Ely (Franklin & Marshall), 11-2
* lost by major (8) Louis Miller (Columbia), 11-1
* has been eliminated
HWT - Scott Steele (No. 3 Seed)
* won by dec. (6) Kevin Lester (Columbia), 8-5
* lost by dec. (2) Dominick Russo (Rutgers), 4-0
* will face (8) Tyler Blakely (Penn)
Shober Anchors Navy Wrestling Win Over Arch Rival Army
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - After dropping two of the first three bouts of the night, Navy went on to win the remaining seven and earn a 26-6 victory over arch rival Army in the annual Star Match held Saturday evening at Alumni Hall in Annapolis. While the Midshipmen now own a 44-5-5 series advantage, the rout marked Navy's 10th consecutive win over its service academy rival.
"I am so proud of our guys," said an elated Bruce Burnett. "When you look at this match on paper, this wasn't supposed to happen. They had beaten us at several of the weight classes either last year or in competitions earlier this season. I can go down the list of wrestlers who gutted it out, gave their heart, believed in themselves. This is the biggest win against Army since I've been here. They rose above and got the job done."
While there were countless performances that displayed courage and desire over the course of the evening, Navy freshman Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.) provided the Mids with an amazing come-from-behind win over Collin Wittmeyer at 184 pounds. After knotting the match up in the third period with a takedown, Buck lost a pair of points less than 30 seconds later after being called for an illegal move. Buck, however, scored the takedown with 21 seconds remaining to tie the score at 4-4. Despite the scored, Wittmeyer held the advantage after building up more than a minute's worth of riding time, forcing Buck to allow Wittmeyer out of the hold and giving him the opportunity for a last second takedown. Buck did just that, scoring a two-point nearfall at the buzzer to send it to sudden victory. Starting in the neutral position, Buck was able to bring Wittmeyer down and tried to lean him back onto his back. Despite multiple tries, Buck finally was able to roll and swing around Wittmeyer for the takedown with 18 seconds remaining in the one-minute sudden victory period.
"Can you believe Andrew Buck coming back," said Burnett. "He's had several injuries over the last few months and he just gutted it out."
The Mids received another emotional lift from junior Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) who has spent his entire collegiate wrestling career at 125 pounds but was asked to step into the role at 133 pounds. Stein, a scrappy, speedy wrestler who leaves everything he has on the mat, won perhaps the biggest match of his career. Stein built a 5-3 lead after the opening period that included a takedown followed by a two-point nearfall, but his foe, sophomore Travis Coffey, proved a valid foe as he put together a pair of escapes and a takedown with a minute to go in the second period to knot the match at 7-7. Stein scored the escape at the end of the period and opened the final period with an escape to push his lead to two. Coffey, though, was credited with a takedown with 47 seconds left to tie the match at 9-9. Stein broke free and was able to hold on for the 10-9 win.
"I'm naturally about 135 pounds, so for me to cut two pounds versus 10 pounds was a noticeable difference for me," said Stein. "I felt fresher and was able to press the pace a little."
For Stein, the win was significant for a number of reasons. "I had that loss against Army from my Plebe Year in the back of my head. I thought to myself, 'this is the last chance I have to wrestle against Army at Alumni Hall and win. This is truly the most excited I've ever been after a win. It's a much bigger win than any other match I've ever wrestled. It was a special win for me because it was against Army and it was at home. My dad was able to drive down to watch and my high school coach, Coach Kirk, drove all the way down here. It meant a lot to me to have all of them here."
"When you wrestle Allan, you know what you are going to get," said Burnett. "I knew that Allan would give everything he had in his tank and in his heart."
Familiar foes Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) of Navy and Casey Thome of Army met in the 141-pound match and based on record alone, Thome clearly had the advantage. Thome came into the match boasting a 23-5 record and had won 10 consecutive matches, while Pagan had produced a 20-14 record and was coming off a second-place finish at the All-Academy Championship.
Pagan was the aggressor early on, but as the match continued both wrestlers began to tactically stalk one another. Pagan built a 3-1 lead with 1:48 to go in the second period, but a Thome takedown with just over a minute to go tied things up. Pagan took a 4-3 lead at the end of the period, however Thome would again tie the match with an escape to start the final period. After the two wrestlers rode out the one-minute sudden victory period, the match headed to a pair of 30-second tie breakers. Pagan selected the down position in the first tie breaker and was able to break loose with 20 seconds to go to take a 5-4 lead. Fight as he may, Thome was unable to break free from Pagan's hold in the second 30-second tie breaker and Pagan scored a huge win for the Mids.
Team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) used the momentum built by his teammates to help him upset eighth-ranked Matt Kyler, who came into the match with an impressive 27-2 record. After a scoreless opening period, Kyler scored the first point with an escape to begin the second stanza. The final period began with a Shober escape and with 57 seconds remaining, the senior took Kyler to the match for a 3-1 advantage. Unable to ride him out, Kyler was able to narrow the gap with an escape, but Shober sealed the win with a takedown with just four seconds remaining to upset one of the nation's best at 149 pounds.
"I've got to thank Coach Burnett for preparing us," said Shober, who picked up his first win over Army in the annual dual. "Mentally, I knew I could do it. I think the momentum that we built after winning four matches in a row really got me up. This is definitely the biggest upset of my career."
"We really couldn't have scripted Glenn's match any more than how it turned out," said Burnett. "You wouldn't believe that we actually had talked prior to the match about him going for a last second takedown. He was well prepared and his weight management this week was probably the best it's been all year. Glenn did a great job of preparing and believing in himself."
Additionally, Navy received wins from sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.), 157-pound Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and junior 165-pound Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) and Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) who earned an 11-7 win in what was his 100th career match.
"The preparation and hard work is honestly like no other sport in that you see immediate results when you focus on those two aspects," added Burnett. "On the flip side, that can certainly work against you, but it proves how valuable preparation and execution are. They are just words, it's about hard work and seeing that hard work through.
The Midshipmen will be back in action in two weeks when they make the short journey to Bethlehem, Pa. to take part in the 2010 EIWA Championship, slated for March 6-7.
Navy 26, Army 6
Alumni Hall * Annapolis, Md.
174 - Ryan Mergen (Army) dec. Mike Billings (Navy), 5-3
184 - Andrew Buck (Navy) dec. Collin Wittmeyer (Army), 8-6 SV
197 - #16 Richard Starks (Army) dec. Russ Kropp (Navy), 8-4
285 - #9 Scott Steele (Navy) dec. Orion Ross (Army), 11-7
125 - Aaron Kalil (Navy) dec. Lance Penhale (Army), 11-9
133 - Allan Stein (Navy) dec. Travis Coffey (Army), 10-9
141 - Matt Pagan (Navy) dec. Casey Thome (Army), 5-4 TB
149 - Glenn Shober (Navy) dec. #8 Matt Kyler (Army), 5-2
157 - #7 Bryce Saddoris (Navy) tech fall Daniel Young (Army), 17-2
165 - Robby Neill (Navy) dec. Patrick Marchetti (Army), 6-3
Navy Wrestling Completes Weekend Sweep with Wins Over North Carolina, NC State
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team improved to 5-1 in dual action on the year after scoring back-to-back-to-back victories over No. 7 Maryland, North Carolina and NC State in the last 24 hours. After upsetting the Terps, 19-14, in Annapolis on Friday night, the Mids cashed in on the momentum by dealing North Carolina a 21-15 loss and dismantled NC State in a 38-3 victory Saturday at Halsey Field House in Annapolis.
"I knew heading into the weekend that this would be an important group of matches, but coming away with three wins has really given us great momentum as we continue our quest towards the EIWA Championship and the National Tournament," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who now owns a 95-46 record in his 10 seasons at Navy. "As a group, our guys competed hard. You don't have to have ability to have effort and if you don't give effort, you aren't going to win. We did a great job of pushing through some tough matches in order to win."
Six Navy wrestlers scored wins in both dual matches on Saturday, including eighth-ranked 157-pound Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) who not only picked up a monumental victory against the Tar Heels, he also etched his name in the record book for his evening bout win over the Wolfpack. Saddoris opened the day by facing facing sixth-ranked Thomas Scotton. A familiar foe, Scotton has not only faced Saddoris in two previous matches, he has gotten the best of the Navy All-American, securing a pair of victories by way of 5-3 decisions at the Reno Tournament of Champions, as well as the Southern Scuffle.
After a scoreless opening period, Saddoris would go on to score the only point of the second stanza with an escape. After an immediate escape to open the final period, the two wrestlers planned their attack. With Scotton hugging the edge, Saddoris was awarded the takedown with 1:03 remaining, sending the Carolina bench into a frenzy. After a warning was issued to the bench and back-to-back false start cautions on Scotton, Saddoris was able to ride out his rival and eventually earn riding time to score the 4-1 victory.
"I knew what I needed to do in the match, knew I needed to push the pace," said Saddoris. "After two close matches, we knew each other's styles well."
Just a few hours later, Saddoris put NC State's Juan Stimpson on the mat and took the match by a fall in just 1:18. The win pushed Saddoris' record to 100-29 over his three seasons, making him just the 10th wrestler in program history to reach 100 wins. It's an exclusive list that includes former teammates Matt Stolpinski and Ed Prendergast.
Asked if he realized how lofty of an accomplishment it was to win 100 matches, he said, "Yes, I definitely understand the magnitude of it. There are many wrestlers who have accomplished it and I feel honored to be among some of the greatest wrestlers in our program's history. It's been an incredible journey that has entailed a lot of hard work. It's not been easy, but having great teammates in the room pushing me has made the difference.
"What works best for me, however, is taking one match at a time," he added. I don't like to look past my next match. It keeps my head straight and my focus intact."
Senior Charles Carafano not only won his first collegiate dual match on Saturday, he did so in spectacular fashion. The senior hailing from Germantown, Md. was dominating 12th-ranked Dennis Drury of North Carolina when after a reversal he was able to get Drury's shoulders to the mat and pin him (4:12). In addition to it being Carafano's first dual match victory, it also marked his first win over a nationally-ranked competitor.
"This win was a little bit of sweet revenge because I wrestled him (Drury) in high school and lost pretty bad," said Carafano. "I haven't had a very good last couple of weeks, so it was great to put together a solid match. The plan going into this match was to attack. After getting a takedown in last night's match against Hudson Taylor (ranked #3), it really became a confidence booster. It definitely was the biggest win of my Navy career."
Senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.), meanwhile, has won six-straight matches to push his record to 10-1 since returning to the Academy in late December. Steele earned a 7-3 win over UNC's Ziad Haddad, whom he defeated earlier in the year in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle, before handling NC State's Eloheim Palma, 6-0.
Perhaps the most improved player on the Navy roster this year is sophomore 125-pound Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.), who has put together wins in each of his last five duals and now stands 16-8 overall and 5-1 in dual competitions. Kalil opened the day with a 10-3 win over the Tar Heels' Brian Bokoski before closing out the weekend with a 16-6 major decision over Mike Moreno. In both matches, Kalil manhandled his opponent. Kalil nearly pinned Bokoski in the opening minute of action, but instead built a 5-1 advantage by the end of the first period and pushed it to 8-1 through two. Bokoski spoiled his plans of a major decision after scoring the takedown with just 36 seconds left in the match. However, Kalil added a point for riding time at the end of the match, along with a bonus point after Bokoski was dinged for a point with some extra-curricular activity after the buzzer.
Meanwhile, Kalil put together seven takedowns in producing his major decision over NC State's Moreno.
Senior 141-pound Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) and junior 165-pound Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) each recorded a pair of victories on the day. Pagan scrambled to record a takedown with six ticks remaining in the first period against UNC's Mike Rappo and never looked back as he cruised to a 3-1 win. In the nightcap, he posted five takedowns to deliver a 12-4 major decision over the Wolfpack's Dale Shull.
After taking a 2-0 lead with three seconds remaining in the opening period, Neill turned in the escape in the final stanza to help secure a 3-1 win over North Carolina's Kyle Kiss. Meanwhile, five takedowns helped lead Neill to a 12-5 decision with riding time over NC State's Ray Ward.
Sophomore 133-pound Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.), senior 174-pound Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) and junior 184-pound Greg Prioleau (Poway, Calif.) also produced wins in the night match against NC State. For Prioleau, his 7-2 decision over NC State's Cedric Moore marked his first collegiate dual win. A pair of takedowns in the opening period helped set the tone for the wrestler who hails from the same hometown as 2009 graduate and two-time All-American Joe Baker.
After sitting out the early match against North Carolina, McCaffrey looked determine to get out of the slump he has recently fell into. He built a 9-3 advantage that included a three-point near fall before pinning NC State's Scott Norris with just nine seconds remaining in the opening period.
And in the final bout of the weekend, Burnett asked Billings to step up and fill a void left by junior Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.), who suffered a grisly leg injury in the match against North Carolina earlier in the day. An unfortunate injury, DeMichiel secured Navy's victory over Maryland less than 24 hours prior to the injury. Billings, meanwhile, forced his match against Quinton Godley of NC State into extra minutes as he was able to escape with just over a minute remaining in regulation. Despite a furious flurry at the end of the one-minute sudden victory period by Billings, the two wrestlers were forced into a pair of 30-second tie-breakers. Billings won the coin toss and elected to start the first 30-second period down. Godley, however, held Billings to the mat and the two would remain deadlocked at one heading into the second 30-second tie breaker. With Godley selecting the down position, Billings was able to turn Wolfpack sophomore and score the two-point near fall. Godley would go on to narrow the gap to one with an escape with one second left, but it was too little, too late and Billings earned the 3-2 TB win.
Both duals played into Navy's hands and were out of reach fairly quickly. The Mids held a 21-9 lead heading into the final bout, but the injury suffered by DeMichiel would in turn give the Tar Heels six points to narrow what otherwise was a convincing win by Navy. Meanwhile, Navy jumped out to a 26-0 lead before the Wolfpack were able to get on the board, as the Mids claimed wins in nine of the 10 bouts.
Navy will be back in action next Saturday when it travels to New Jersey to battle Rutgers. Action is set for 7:00 pm with the Mids holding a 20-3 series advantage over the Scarlet Knights.
Navy 21, North Carolina 15
184 - Nick Tenpenny (NC) dec. Greg Prioleau (N), 3-2
197 - Charles Carafano (N) fall #12 Dennis Drury (NC), 4:12
HWT - #5 Scott Steele (N) dec. Ziad Haddad (NC), 7-3
125 - Aaron Kalil (N) dec. Brian Bokoski (NC), 10-3
133 - Jeremy Shaw (NC) dec. Ben Levin (N), 4-0
141 - Matt Pagan (N) dec. Mike Rappo (NC), 3-1
149 - Jon Burns (NC) dec. Glenn Shober (N), 7-5
157 - #8 Bryce Saddoris (N) dec. #6 Thomas Scotton (NC), 4-1
165 - Robby Neill (N) dec. Kyle Kiss (NC), 3-1
174 - Thomas Ferguson (NC) injury def. Matt DeMichiel (N), 4:54 (match tied at 4-4)
Navy 38, NC State 3
184 - Greg Prioleau (N) dec. Cedrick Moore (NCST), 7-2
197 - Charles Carafano (N) forfeit, ---
HWT - #5 Scott Steele (N) dec. Eloheim Palma (NCST), 6-0
125 - Aaron Kalil (N) major dec. Mike Moreno (NCST), 16-6
133 - Pat McCaffrey (N) fall Scott Norris (NCST), 2:51
141 - Matt Pagan (N) major dec. Dale Shull (NCST), 12-4
149 - Bobby Ward (NCST) dec. Glenn Shober (NCST), 7-3
157 - #8 Bryce Saddoris (N) fall Juan Stimpson (NCST), 1:18
165 - Robby Neill (N) dec. Ray Ward (NCST), 12-5
174 - Mike Billings (N) dec. Quinton Godley (NCST), 3-2 TB
Navy Def. No. 7 Maryland, 19-14
Navy Wrestlers Score 19-14 Upset over No. 7 Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team won six bouts, including a major decision by team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.), en route to earning one of its most memorable wins in recent history, a 19-14 victory over seventh-ranked Maryland Friday night in front of packed house at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. Three straight victories in the middle of the lineup gave Navy a 16-7 lead in the match, a lead it would not relinquish as the Mids improved to 3-1 in dual action this season.
"This was a huge win for our program and against a terrific Maryland team," said 10th-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had a great crowd tonight and I really appreciate all the people who came out to support both teams. It was a great environment for wrestling."
The story of the night perhaps was the fact that Maryland wrestled without three of its ranked wrestlers - #11 Steven Bell (133), #9 Alex Krom (141), #5 Mike Letts (165) - who were suffering from various ailments. It's something Burnett is more than familiar with, as three of his starters were also sidelined for the match, two for the year.
"It's one of those things where you play the hand you are dealt," said Burnett. "We've experienced the same woes with injuries this year, but you can't let that hold you back. You have to push forward and wrestle harder. This was an important match for us to win and we were able to do that."
Perhaps it was best put by junior 174-pounder Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) who said that certainly he would have liked to have wrestled a healthy Maryland team, but "no team is carried by three wrestlers." Indeed, Maryland fielded a full squad, whose backups were well groomed for the dual.
The momentum pendulum in the opening half of the match saw the Terps take a narrow 7-6 lead after four bouts with each team winning a pair. Maryland claimed the early advantage as third-ranked Hudson Taylor pushed his record to 30-2 behind a 14-2 major decision over Navy senior Charles Carafano (Germantown, Md.) at 197 pounds.
Navy, though, took a 6-4 advantage in the match by winning back-to-back matches. After a scoreless opening period, Navy heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.), ranked fifth nationally, took a 5-1 lead heading into the final stanza en route to a 6-2 victory over Patrick Gilmore. Meanwhile, sophomore Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) won his three straight dual by handing Maryland senior James Knox a 7-1 loss. Kalil scored a takedown with 32 seconds left in the second period and tacked on three more points with a near fall by the end of the period.
Suffering from flu-like symptoms, 11th-ranked Steven Bell sat out the match for Maryland at 133 pounds. Despite being replaced in the lineup, the Terps' Mookie Golden produced an escape and a late takedown in the match to overcome a 4-2 deficit and earn the 6-4 win over a struggling Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.), who has now dropped three in a row.
The turning point in the match, however was at 141 pounds. After leading 2-1 heading into the final two minutes of action, Navy senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) put together three takedowns, an escape and built up over two minutes of riding time to beat the Terps' Matt Bogusz. That win would give the Mids a 9-7 lead in the match, a lead they would not relinquish.
Navy extended its lead to six thanks to a major decision by Shober who took Annapolis native Jon Kohler to task at 149 pounds. Though Shober held just a one-point advantage after the first period, he would come out and dominate Kohler in the second. Shober scored six points in the final minute of the second period to take a commanding 10-2 lead. Playing a game of cat-and-mouse to help gather enough points for the major decision, Shober did so by scoring two more takedowns in the final period, including his final shot at the buzzer, to score a 15-4 win over Kohler.
"It's always good to score the first point in the match because it certainly gives you a mental edge," said Shober, who stands at 15-9 overall and 1-1 in dual action this season. "I felt like his body was starting to give in a little bit in the second period and so I tried to go at him. I knew we needed the points, so getting the extra team point was what I was going for."
The Mids won their third-straight match by way of a 9-7 win by junior All-American Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) at 157 pounds. A winded Saddoris was challenged throughout the match by Maryland sophomore Kyle John. John stalked Saddoris and kept him within reach and as time was running down, John struck. With 12 seconds left in the match, John scored his second takedown of the match and tied things up at 7-7. John was forced to let Saddoris out of his grasp as he trailed by over a minute in riding time. Unable to get a final takedown in the last five seconds, Saddoris managed to pull out the 9-7 win and move to within two wins of reaching 100 for his career.
Maryland was finally able to stop the Navy run thanks to 15th-ranked Josh Asper's major decision over junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.). Asper put Neill on the mat five times and gained a pair of points on stall warnings to cut into the Mids' lead with a 14-4 win.
With the Mids leading 16-11 with two matches remaining, Navy looked to DeMichiel to help secure the win. DeMichiel jumped out on top early with back-to-back takedowns, but a reversal with 12 seconds to go in the opening period narrowed his lead to 4-3. That lead, however, would expand to four as DeMichiel squirmed out of Smith's hold, followed by a takedown. The last 45 seconds of the third period featured a flurry of points for both wrestlers as DeMichiel tried to score enough for a major decision. He produced a pair of takedowns and gained a point for his more than three minutes of riding time, however he would fall just short of the major behind a 12-6 decision.
A decision or a major decision, however, would matter not, as the DeMichiel win sealed the Navy upset with the Mids taking a 19-11 lead heading into the final bout.
"Heading into the match, I knew I had to win," said DeMichiel. "The pressure was definitely on and I wanted to go out there and get a win for the team. It's something that really drives you."
Though Maryland sophomore Corey Peltier scored the final win of the night, an 8-2 decision over Navy junior Greg Prioleau (Poway, Calif.), it would be too little for the Terps as the Mids earned a 19-14 win. It was just the fourth blemish on paper for the Terps this season.
"It was an interesting match to watch in terms of who was controlling the pace and tempo of the match," added Burnett. "I think both teams did a phenomenal job of keeping in check the match and how it needed to flow for them to be successful. We had a lot of nice performances tonight and I have to tip my hat at some of the experienced guys we had out on the mat. Matt (Pagan) looked like he was fading and then he came on. Glenn (Shober) did an excellent job of controlling his match. Aaron (Kalil) stepped up and provided a great effort at 125 pounds.
"We have a nucleus of guys that have to step up and perform from match to match and tonight we did a good job of that. We cannot be content, however, if we want to continue to succeed. Each match we need to be focused and have discipline."
The Midshipmen will look to use the momentum gained from the win over the Terps to help leverage their way on Saturday against North Carolina and NC State. Navy plays host to the Tar Heels at Halsey Field House beginning at 3:00 pm, followed by a 7:00 pm battle against NC State. Fans should be sure to stick around after the NC State for the annual Meet the Mids autograph session.
Navy 19, #7 Maryland 14
Jan. 22, 2010 * Annapolis, Md.
Wt Win Type Loss Score N M
197 #3 Hudson Taylor (M) major Charles Carafano 14-2 0 4
285 #5 Scott Steele (N) dec Patrick Gilmore 6-2 3 4
125 Aaron Kalil (N) dec James Knox 7-1 6 4
133 Mookie Golden (M) dec Pat McCaffrey 6-4 6 7
141 Matt Pagan (N) dec Matt Bogusz 10-3 9 7
149 Glenn Shober (N) major Jon Kohler 15-4 13 7
157 #8 Bryce Saddoris (N) dec Kyle John 9-7 16 7
165 #15 Josh Asper (M) major Robby Neill 14-4 16 11
174 Matt DeMichiel (N) dec Owen Smith 12-6 19 11
184 Corey Peltier (M) dec Greg Prioleau 8-2 19 14
Navy Wrestlers Return Home, Prepare for Challenging Weekend
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Making its first appearance at home since the Nov. 21 Navy Classic, the Navy wrestling team returns to Halsey Field House this weekend where it will play host to a trio of duals, including a Friday battle against seventh-ranked Maryland at 7:00 pm. On Saturday, the Mids are on tap to face North Carolina (3:00 pm) and NC State (7:00 pm) in a doubleheader. Navy will cap the weekend off with its annual Meet the Mids autograph session following the conclusion of the NC State match.
No. 9 Lehigh Too Much for Navy Wrestlers
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Ninth-ranked Lehigh claimed wins in seven of the 10 bouts to hand the previously undefeated Navy wrestling team a 28-9 loss Saturday afternoon at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks, who improved to 11-3 this season, have now won 13 of the last 14 matches against the Mids, including seven in a row in Bethlehem.
"We wrestled a very good Lehigh team who, top to bottom, is solid and has really no weaknesses," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had some injuries and certainly I would have like to have seen how we would have competed with those guys in the lineup. That said, we can't use that as an excuse. You have to wrestle the best you can with the hand you are dealt."
Navy sophomore 125-pounder Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) provided an early boost for the Mids, as he earned a 4-0 win over John McDonald. Kalil took a quick lead in the match with a takedown and rode out McDonald for over two minutes. However, McDonald would erase the riding time deficit keeping Kalil tight to the mat in the second period. Kalil sealed the win late in the final period with his second takedown to improve to 13-8 overall and 2-1 in dual action this season.
"Aaron did a good job of getting us started off on a good note," added Burnett. "He's really worked hard in the wrestling room and we are beginning to see it pay dividends."
Navy's 3-0 lead, however, would be its last, as a Matt Fisk pin at 133 pounds was the first of three straight Lehigh wins. In addition to Fisk's fall over Navy sophomore Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.), 17th-ranked Seth Ciasulli scored a major decision over Navy senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), 14-5, and Joey Napoli just edged second-year 149-pounder John Majka (Chicago, Ill.), 4-3.
Junior All-American Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) ended the skid for the Mids, as the nation's eighth-ranked 157-pounder delivered a 10-3 loss to the Mountain Hawks' Sean Bilodeau to narrow the gap to 13-6 at intermission.
"Bryce continues to get bigger and stronger at 157 pounds," said Burnett. "He's settled into that weight class and is now flourishing. He really had an outstanding match this afternoon."
But the momentum swing would be short-lived, as Lehigh once again used a pin, this time by 165-pounder Brandon Hatchett, as a springboard for wins in the next four matches (165, 174, 184, 197) and put the match out of reach for the Mids.
The final match of the evening, however, was perhaps the most anticipated bout of the evening as fifth-ranked Zach Rey of Lehigh was set to lock horns with Navy's Scott Steele (Towson, Md.), who is ranked ninth. Steele put together an escape and a takedown to hold a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period of action. Though Rey was able to pull within one with an escape, Steele held off the higher-seeded Rey for the 3-2 win.
"Having wrestled just a handful of matches since coming back to the Academy, this was probably Scott's toughest opponent he has faced," said Burnett. "He did a great job out there upsetting a higher ranked wrestler. He's looked great since coming back from his shoulder injury and certainly he looked solid today.
"We had some good performances today, some fight in us. Warriors want to be in the fight, but I'm not sure we had a full team of warriors today. All we can ask for is for every one of our wrestlers to compete and for the most part we did. We've got time to fix some of those things that went awry, but certainly our schedule doesn't get any easier."
In fact, Navy will play host to No. 8 Maryland next Friday night (7:00 pm) at Halsey Field House in what has turned in to a fierce rivalry in recent years. The Terps have won two in a row against the Mids, including a narrow 21-18 decision when Maryland last visited Halsey Field House in 2008. Navy will also battle North Carolina (3:00 pm) and NC State (7:00 pm) next Saturday at Halsey Field House.
No. 9 Lehigh 28, Navy 9
Jan. 16, 2010 * Bethlehem, Pa.
125 - Aaron Kalil (N) dec. John McDonald (L), 4-0 3-0
133 - #14 Matt Fisk (L) pinned Pat McCaffrey N), 2:46 3-6
141 - #17 Seth Ciasulli (L) major dec. Matt Pagan (N), 14-5 3-10
149 - Joey Napoli (L) dec. John Majka (N), 4-3 3-13
157 - #8 Bryce Saddoris (N) dec. Sean Bilodeau (L), 10-3 6-13
165 - Brandon Hatchett (L) pinned Robby Neill (N), 3:55 6-19
174 - #18 Robert Hamlin (L) dec. Matt DeMichiel (N), 10-4 6-22
184 - #15 David Craig (L) dec. Greg Prioleau (N), 6-1 6-25
197 - Joe Kennedy (L) dec. Charles Carafano (N), 7-0 6-28
285 - #9 Scott Steele (N) dec. #5 Zach Rey (L), 3-2 9-28
Navy Grapplers Improve to 2-0 With Win Over East Stroudsburg
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Earning its 14th-consecutive victory over East Stroudsburg (5-4), the Navy wrestling team captured a 28-12 win over the Warriors Friday evening at Koehler Fieldhouse to improve to 2-0 in dual action on the year. Navy won eight of the 10 bouts, including three bonus point matches.
With one of the biggest matches of the year set for Saturday afternoon in Bethlehem, Pa. against No. 9 Lehigh, Navy head coach Bruce Burnett rested four of his starters while giving the opportunity for some of his young talent to experience dual action. Senior Charles Carafano (Germantown, Md.), sophomore Dustin Haislip (Inwood, W.Va.) and rookie Bobby Barnhisel (River Forest, Ill.) wrestled in their first career dual match, while John Majka (Chicago, Ill.), who was a starter for most of last season, replaced team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) in the lineup against the Warriors.
"I thought I'd change a few things up tonight and give some of the younger guys an opportunity to prepare and wrestle in a dual match," said Burnett. "Regardless of what the final result was, it was a good opportunity for them to know how to prepare physically and mentally for one match in an evening as opposed to a tournament setting."
Navy, in fact, saw some of those young wrestlers provide solid performances and plentiful points to help push the Mids past East Stroudsburg.
Sophomore 125-pounder Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.), who has faced a tremendously tough slate this fall, gave the Mids an early lead behind a 10-3 decision over redshirt junior David Luthy. It was just Kalil's second collegiate dual win in 10 bouts. That lead, however, would be short-lived, as ESU sophomore Andrew Arnold pinned fellow second-year standout Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.) with just five seconds remining to give the Warriors a 6-3 advantage.
Despite trailing in the match, Burnett gave a few words of advice and sent Haislip onto the mat for his first collegiate dual. Haislip took control of the match, putting ESU's Adam Hluschak on his back and with two seconds remaining in the second period, Haislip scored his sixth-career win by way of fall. The win also gave the Mids a 9-6 lead, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Majka, a sophomore 149-pounder, came into the match having wrestled in several duals a year ago. But as a back-up to Shober, he was seeing his first dual action of the season. Majka dominated his match against Eddie Stephenson, walking away with a 9-5 win and snapping a six-match losing skid in dual action.
The Warriors pulled within three, 12-9, after Thad Frick held off a rallying Barnhisel from Navy. Though Barnhisel came up just short, Burnett was happy with what he saw from the young wrestler.
"Bobby made some mistakes in his match. Mistakes that you expect out of a freshman," said Burnett. "But even in a loss, I saw some great potential out of Bobby and he has a great future ahead of him."
With wins at the next three weight classes - 165, 174, 184 - Navy put the match out of reach for East Stroudsburg. Junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) earned a 5-2 victory over Jeff Jacobs to improve to 14-9 overall and 2-0 in dual action, while classmate Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) fell a point short of a major decision as he turned back Ken Monarque, 12-5, at 174 pounds.
While the 184-pound match provided the Mids with a big boost in the point column, it was at the expense of one of Navy's up-and-coming freshmen. After leading 6-3 in the opening period, Carson, Wash. native Andrew Buck was slammed to mat by ESU redshirt senior Shane Mallory, who was then issued a one-point penalty for an illegal move. After taking his second injury timeout of the match, Buck was unable to continue and Navy received six points because the match could not be finished by Buck.
ESU's Ed Ebewo went on to narrowly beat Carafano at 184 pounds, 3-2, while eighth-ranked heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) of Navy provided the final margin of the evening behind a 14-4 major decision over Will Weaver.
The Mids will get little rest before returning to the mat on Saturday to face ninth-ranked Lehigh (10-3) in Bethlehem. Saturday's match marks the 90th meeting between the two programs, a series in which Navy holds a narrow 46-43 series advantage. Lehigh, however, has won 12 of the last 13 matches in the series, with Navy last winning on Jan 13, 2007. Meanwhile, the Mountain Hawks own a 23-10 lead in matches played on their home mat. The last time the Mids beat Lehigh in Bethlehem was on Jan. 28, 1995, when Navy cruised to a 22-9 victory.
"Tomorrow's match is big, it's huge," said Burnett. "We are facing a really tough team in Lehigh, but we will be prepared."
Saturday's matchup is slated for a 3:00 pm start held at Lehigh's Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall.
Navy 28, East Stroudsburg 12
Jan. 15, 2010 * East Stroudsburg, Pa.
125 - Aaron Kalil (N) dec. David Luthy, 10-3 3-0
133 - Andrew Arnold (ESU) pinned Pat McCaffrey, 6:55 3-6
141 - Dustin Haislip (N) pinned Adam Hluschak, 4:58 9-6
149 - John Majka (N) dec. Eddie Stephenson, 9-5 12-6
157 - Thad Frick (ESU) dec. Bobby Barnhisel, 6-4 12-9
165 - Robby Neill (N) dec. Jeff Jacobs, 5-2 15-9
174 - Matt DeMichiel (N) dec. Ken Monarque, 12-5 18-9
184 - Andrew Buck (N) injury default Shane Mallory 24-9
(Buck led 6-3 in 1st period, injured on Mallory illegal move)
197 - Ed Ebewo (ESU) dec. Charles Carafano, 3-2 24-12
285 - No. 9 Scott Steele (N) maj. dec. Will Weaver, 14-4 28-12
Navy Wrestlers Outlast American in Season's First Dual
WASHINGTON, DC - Friday night's Navy-American wrestling dual lived up to its billing as fans were treated to an old-fashioned duel. Navy twice erased deficits in the match to avenge last year's two-point loss in Annapolis by claiming an 18-17 victory over the Eagles in the nation's capital.
"I wouldn't go as far as saying we looked strong in getting the win tonight, but we did get some good performances," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who improved to 91-45 over his 10-year collegiate coaching career. "Andrew Buck put on a great performance tonight and gave us bonus points after we lost the previous match by a tech fall. It was an important match for us to win, but the manner in which he won was impressive. Scott (Steele) got us a bonus point win, as well.
"I think the match really came down to the bonus points that Buck and Steele were able to provide us with tonight. Truth be told, we had our chances in some of the other matches, but just couldn't complete the task. That's something we need to work on as we push forward and get closer to the conference meet and nationals."
The match kicked off in American's favor, as the opening two bouts put a pair of nationally-ranked American wrestlers on the mat. Twelfth-ranked Kyle Borshoff secured a 4-1 victory over Navy team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) at 149 pounds by way of a takedown late in the match. The Eagles then took a 6-0 advantage when fifth-ranked Steve Fittery got the best of Navy All-American Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) at 157 pounds. Saddoris, ranked eighth nationally, was caught in a compromising position early in the match and was put on his back, leaving him to try and battle back against a talented wrestler in Fittery, who would close out the match behind a 9-3 decision. While Saddoris slid to 18-9 on the year, Fittery now owns an impressive 19-1 record.
Junior 165-pounder Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) put Navy's first points on the scoreboard, as he dominated American's Tanner Shaffer in a 7-0 decision, while junior Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) breezed to a 13-6 victory over American redshirt frosh Phillip Barreiro to even the match at 6-6. Both Neill and DeMichiel were just a point shy in each of their respective matches from giving Navy a two-point advantage in the overall team score.
American pulled ahead once again when 2009 All-American Mike Cannon, ranked fourth at 184 pounds, dealt Navy senior Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) a 16-0 loss. The Eagles' celebration, however, would be short-lived as Navy rookie Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.) made his debut at 197 pounds look easy by earning a 15-0 tech fall over fellow freshman Kenneth Clessas to knot the match at 11-all. After sitting out the Southern Scuffle, Buck made his return by making the move from 184 pounds to 197. Ironically, he had battle DeMichiel throughout much of the early part of the season for the starting spot at 184 pounds and neither is currently wrestling at that weight class.
A week ago, Navy got a boost from senior heavyweight Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) when he returned to school, as well as the Mids' lineup after suffering a severe shoulder injury. Steele, already ranked ninth in the country, gave Navy the lead for good by earning a 15-4 major decision over newcomer Blake Herrin.
Despite an outstanding performance by Navy sophomore Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.), 20th-ranked Jasen Borshoff held off his Navy foe for 4-3 decision at 125 pounds, cutting into the Mids' lead. But Navy pushed its lead back to four when sophomore Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.) controlled his match against Thomas Williams to post a 9-4 win.
Similar to last year's match, American needed a win to give it a chance at winning the match. However, not only did 141-pounder Jordan Lipp need a win, he needed a bonus-point victory to at least tie the match. But Navy senior Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) would not have it. Though Pagan would come up short in the battle, it was a hard-fought bout that would see Lipp escaping with a 2-1 decision, but coming up shy in the team total.
"Our wrestlers are going through a pretty tough conditioning stage and I do think it showed in their legs tonight, but that's what you have to do in order to prepare yourself for the end of the year. You have to be mentally tough to finish strong. We're certainly not in peak form and we have quite a lot to improve upon, but we have the time. We have a challenging schedule ahead of us and we will need to get that much better if we are going to beat the likes of Maryland, North Carolina, NC State and Lehigh in the coming weeks."
The Midshipmen will be back in action next weekend when they head to Pennsylvania to face East Stroudsburg and Lehigh in dual matches on back-to-back days. Navy and ESU will battle next Friday at 7:00 pm, followed by a 3:00 pm matchup between the Mids and Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem.
Navy 18, American 17
Jan. 8, 2010 * Bender Arena * Washington, D.C.
Exhibition 141- Dustin Haislip (N) won by major dec. Nick Pitas (A), 14-3
149 - #12 Kyle Borshoff (A) won by dec. Glenn Shober (N), 4-1 0-3
157 - #5 Steve Fittery (A) won by dec. #8 Bryce Saddoris (N), 9-3 0-6
165 - Robby Neill (N) won by dec. Tanner Shaffer (A), 7-0 3-6
174 - Matt DeMichiel (N) won by dec. Phillip Barreiro (A), 13-6 6-6
184 - #4 Mike Cannon (A) won by tech fall Mike Billings (N), 16-0 6-11
197 - Andrew Buck (N) won by tech fall Kenneth Clessas (A), 15-0 11-11
HWT - #9 Scott Steele (N) won by major dec. Blake Herrin (A), 15-4 15-11
125 - #20 Jasen Borshoff (A) won by dec. Aaron Kalil (N), 4-3 15-14
133 - Pat McCaffrey (N) won by dec. Thomas Williams (A), 9-4 18-14
141 - Jordan Lipp (A) won by dec. Matt Pagan (N), 2-1 18-17
Exhibition HWT - Mingo Grant (A) won by dec. Mike Landis (N), 5-3
Navy Wrestling Opens Dual Slate Friday at American
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team will look to open the new year on a winning note when it makes the short drive to Washington D.C. on Friday evening to battle EIWA foe American (2-4) in what will be the Mids' opening dual of the 2009-10 campaign.
Tickets to Friday's dual are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth under 17 and can be purchased at the door.
Action is slated for 7:00 pm at the Eagles' Bender Arena and for those unable to attend, the match will be available online at AUeagles.tv for $5.95. Calling the action will be American play-by-play announcer Allen Brown, along with long-time referee Jim Johnson and EIWA Hall of Famer and Naval Academy graduate Wayne Hicks.
Navy Take Team Crown, Pair of Individual Titles at Navy Classic
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Sophomore Aaron Kalil (Salem, N.H.) and freshman Oscar Huntley (Emerald Isle, N.C.) claimed individual titles and 22 Navy wrestlers placed, as the Midshipmen won the 2009 Navy Wrestling Classic held Saturday at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. Navy and Virginia Tech exchanged the lead throughout the day, but the Mids held a narrow advantage heading into the medal round and were able to hold on for their 17th Navy Classic title in 32 years.
"We won some close bouts, but we lost some too, but overall I was really proud of the effort our team put forth today," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who has led the Mids to the Navy Classic title in five of the last six years. "I want our wrestlers to be tough out on the mat and today I really felt as though we had some tough performances. It was a very competitive tournament and I'm happy with the outcome."
In fact, Navy's win is impressive given the fact that it was without the services of its starting 133 and 174-pound starters Pat McCaffrey and Luke Rebertus, respectively. Additionally, Virginia Tech stands No. 23 in this week's Intermat rankings, while Bucknell is receiving votes. Navy took the crown with 137 points, followed by Virginia Tech with 126.5 points, Bucknell with 120 points, Bloomsburg with 107 points and Franklin & Marshall edge out George Mason by a half a point (33-32.5) to take fifth.
Seven Navy wrestlers appeared in the championship bout of their respective weight classes, including three freshmen. Third-seeded Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) upset second-seeded Jason Guffey from Bloomsburg in the semifinals by a 7-5 count to meet Kalil in the championship bout. Kalil, seeded No. 1, took control of the match early, putting Stein on his back and nearly pinning him to take a 5-0 lead after one. The second period featured back-to-back takedowns by Kalil, who built up a load of riding time and eventually took the match win 11-2. It was Kalil's first collegiate individual tournament crown.
Navy junior Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) sailed through the preliminary rounds, leaving nothing behind as he captured a tech fall in his opener and back-to-back major decisions en route to earning a spot in the 157-pound finals. Ranked 11th, Saddoris had no answer for 19th-ranked Jess Dong of Virginia Tech, however, as Dong was awarded a pair of back points in the second period and rode out Saddoris for the remainder of the period. Dong went on to defeat Saddoris, 4-0, in what was just the second loss by Saddoris this season and the second consecutive tournament he has finished as runner-up.
"Bryce certainly had the opportunity to win the two matches that he's lost this year," said Burnett, who sees Saddoris bump in weight a challenge, but one that is certainly within reach. "It's certainly an adjustment for Bryce in the weight change. In the past he was able to utilize his strength, but he has to be technically better to achieve what his goals are this season. It will be a process, but Bryce has the drive to meet the challenge."
The 165-pound finals put two Navy wrestlers out on the mat. Huntley, who won earned his first individual title as a collegian, upset second-seeded and 20th-ranked Rick Schmelyun of Bloomsburg to punch his ticket into the finals. His foe, however, was a wrestler he knew all too well, Navy junior Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.). Neill scored three wins to earn a spot in the finals, including upsetting top-seeded Matt Epperly of Virginia Tech by a 7-4 decision.
"It's difficult to wrestle against someone you face every single day in your own room," said Huntley, who made mention that he was happy to see his hard work pay off. "We are both similar wrestlers in our style and when the match went into overtime, I was really working hard on my defense."
After a 1-1 tie after regulation, the two entered into sudden victory. Neither wrestler scored and in the two tie-breaker sessions, each was able to break free for the one-point escape. It was in the second sudden victory session that Neill's mistake cost him the championship, as Huntley was able to take Neill to the mat for the 4-2 sv2 win. It's the second straight year that a Navy rookie has won a Navy Classic title, after not having a frosh win a weight class since 1998. Last year, Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) was crowned the 174-pound champion.
After pinning Campbell's Derek Tomasone in under one minute, Navy freshman Andrew Buck (Carson, Wash.) would face a much more threatening foe in his quarterfinals match. In fact, David Thompson not only came in as the runner-up in last year's Navy Classic, he was ranked 19th by Amateur Wrestling News at 184 pounds. The two traded points until the match was eventually sent into overtime. Buck came out the victor by taking down Thompson in sudden victory.
Buck went on to face teammate Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.), Navy's starter at 165 pounds a year ago, and dealt him a loss for a second straight tournament as Buck advanced to the finals. That jubilation, however, was short lived as 18th-ranked Thomas Spellman of Virginia Tech carded the 10-0 win to claim the title.
It went down to the wire in the finals bout of the heavyweight division between Navy rookie Dan Miller (Berlin, Md.) and Virginia Tech junior D.J. Bruce. After finishing as last year's runner-up at 197 pounds, Bruce held off Miller, 5-3, to win the title.
The Mids had multiple several other strong efforts throughout the day. Annapolis product Austin Clouse scored a pair of takedowns and was awarded three back points en route to a 9-4 victory over Bucknell's Derrik Russell to take fifth at 125 pounds. Meanwhile, Jared Anongos (Richmond, Va.) put together a solid effort in placing fifth at 133 pounds.
Senior 141-pounder Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) was awarded third place after his opponent, Virginia Tech sophomore Nick Murray, was disqualified. Just over three minutes into the match, Murray chomped down on Pagan's hand and was eliminated from the tournament for flagrant misconduct, a move that cost the Hokies a team point at the end of the match. Also placing in the weight class was freshman Eric Filipowicz (Elkridge, Md.) who was narrowly defeated in the fifth-place match by Bucknell's Adam Healey.
Team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) picked up fourth at 149 pounds, while second-year standout John Majka (Chicago, Ill.) placed sixth. Shober scrambled in the latter part of the match, but Josh Roosa of Bloomsburg held on for a 3-2 win despite being hit for stalling in the final period.
Sophomore Cory Vernon (Great Meadows, N.J.) jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first and never looked back, as he claimed fifth place at 157 pounds over teammate Zach Basich (Wheeling, W.Va.).
With nearly three minutes of riding time, freshman Mason Bailey (Fairmont, W.Va.) used a series of takedowns and a reversal to score a 10-6 victory over Bucknell's Nick Czapla to finish fifth at 165 pounds, while senior Mike Billings (Waterford, Mich.) finished fourth at 174 pounds in what was his final Navy Classic.
DiMichiel gave up an escape in the final period to give way to Bloomsburg's Derek Coffey in the third-place match of the 184-pounders, while senior Charles Carafano (Germantown, Md.) blanked Bloomsburg's Jacob Daishinsky, 3-0, to take third at 197 pounds. Newcomer Chance Rauscher (Glasgow, Mont.) took a 4-0 advantage in the opening period against Franklin & Marshall's Colin Ely and never surrendered the lead as he placed fifth at 197 pounds behind an 8-4 win.
The Mids ended up taking second, third and fourth at heavyweight, as junior Mike Landis (Hershey, Pa.) scored a reversal in the second and a takedown in the third to just edge out teammate Joe Breaux (Bossier City, La.).
Navy will be back in action the weekend of Dec. 4-6 when a split squad will head to the Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 4-5) and the Nittany Lion Open (Dec. 6).
Final Team Standings
1 - 137.0 Navy
2 - 126.5 Virginia Tech
3 - 120.0 Bucknell
4 - 107.0 Bloomsburg
5 - 33.0 Franklin & marshall
6 - 32.5 George Mason
7 - 19.5 Duquesne
8 - 17.5 Campbell
9 - 10.5 West Virginia
Championship Finals:
125 - Aaron Kalil, Navy 11-2 Allan Stein, Navy
133 - David Marble, Bucknell 2-0 Eric Spjut, Virginia Tech
141 - Christopher Diaz, Virginia Tech 8-2 Zachary Hancock, Bucknell
149 - Kevin LeValley, Bucknell 13-2 Peter Yates, Virginia Tech
157 - Jesse Dong, Virginia Tech 4-0 Bryce Saddoris, Navy
165 - Oscar Huntley, Navy 4-2;sv2 Robby Neill, Navy
174 - Shane Riccio, Bucknell 2-0 Nathan Graham, Bloomsburg
184 - Tommy Spellman, Virginia Tech 10-0 Andrew Buck, Navy
197 - Jay Hahn, Bucknell 8-6 Joseph McMullan, Bucknell
285 - D.J. Bruce, Virginia Tech 5-3 Dan Miller, Navy
Consolation Finals (for third and fifth)
125 - Brian Wright, George Mason 7-1 Jason Guffey, Bloomsburg; Austin Clouse, Navy 9-4 Derrick Russell, Bucknell
133 - Denny Herndon, George Mason 3-2 Jake Bucha, Franklin & Marshall; Jared Anongos, Navy 12-2 Richie Apolinar, Campbell
141 - Matt Pagan, Navy, DQ Nicholas Murray, Virginia Tech; Adam Healey, Bucknell 3-2 Eric Filipowicz, Navy
149 - Josh Roosa, Bloomsburg 3-2 Glenn Shober, Navy; John Regan, Bucknell 8-1 John Majka, Navy
157 - Brantley Hooks, Bucknell 10-5 Bryce Buscler, Bloomsburg; Cory Vernon, Navy 9-7 Zach Basich, Navy
165 - Rick Schmelyun, Bloomsburg 13-5 Matt Epperly, Virginia Tech; Mason Bailey, Navy 10-6 Nicholas Czapla, Bucknell
174 - Anthony Trongone, Virginia Tech 9-5 Mike Billings, Navy Seth Csaszar, Duquesne 5-4 Matt Fullowan, Franklin & Marshall
184 - Derek Coffey, Bloomsburg 3-2 Matt DeMichiel, Navy; Rob Waltko, Bucknell Mac Mancuso, West Virginia
197 - Charles Carafano, Navy 3-0 Jacob Dabishinsky, Bloomsburg; Chance Rauscher, Navy 8-4 Colin Ely, Franklin & Marshall
285 - Mike Landis, Navy 4-3 Joe Breaux, Navy; Zachary Walsh, Bloomsburg 2-1 Dan Canfield, Franklin & Marshall
Navy Wrestling Opens Practice to Public on Saturday, Oct. 3
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Tenth-year Navy head wrestling coach Bruce Burnett is opening the doors to this Saturday's team practice, extending an open invitation to alumni, fans and friends of the Navy wrestling program to get an early look at this year's Midshipmen. Navy will practice from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Dahlgren Hall. Following the practice session, the coaches and wrestlers will be signing and handing out the 2009-10 Navy wrestling poster and mingling throughout the crowd.
Navy, who has finished among the top 25 at the NCAA Championship in each of the last three years while also crowning at least one All-American during that span, welcomes back a pair of NCAA qualifiers, including junior 149-pound Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.).
Saddoris is a two-time NCAA qualifier, who took the 2009 EIWA individual title en route to being named the tournament's most valuable wrestler. He went on to garner All-America kudos with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
Also returning to the mat is 2009 NCAA qualifier sophomore Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) whose 36 wins a year ago were the second most by a Navy rookie all-time.
In all, the Mids return half their starting lineup, including 2009-10 team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.). Combined with a solid recruiting class that has accounted for more than 20 individual state titles, this season will be an exciting one.
Not only is this a great opportunity to meet up with the Navy wrestling team and see what the 2009-10 season has in store, it's also a terrific way of getting the day started before heading over to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to cheer on the Navy football team in what is sure to be a great contest against Service Academy-rival Air Force. Game time is set for 3:30 pm and tickets may be purchased online at www.NavySports.com or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY.
### Go Navy ###
Stacie Michaud
Associate Sports Information Director
United States Naval Academy
www.NavySports.com
w: 410-293-8773
f: 410-293-8954
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Navy Introduces Highly-Touted Rookie Class of Wrestlers
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Tenth-year Navy wrestling coach Bruce Burnett and his staff have assembled one of the top recruiting classes not only on the East Coast, but on a national level as well. Navy's Class of 2013, which features 18 young men who have captured a combined 20 state titles, is ranked 21st by D1CollegeWrestling.net. Additionally, Navy is one of four EIWA members who are listed among the rankings, joining defending EIWA champion Cornell (No. 10), Lehigh (No. 19) and Bucknell (No. 23).
"There is no doubt in my mind that we have brought in one of the best classes we've had since I've been at the Academy," said Burnett. "We strive to bring in the best all-around student-athlete year in and year out to continue to make the competition in our wrestling room stronger. That in turn helps each of our young wrestlers to develop, compete and succeed on a national level."
Navy Wrestling Class of 2013
Name Wt. Hometown / High School Highlights
Jared Anongos 125 Richmond, Va. State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner (6th, 4th, 3rd, 1st)
Eric Flipowicz 133 Elkridge, Md. State Champion, 2-Time National Prep Placewinner
Ben Levin 133 Reisterstown, Md. State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner (4th, 4th, 2nd, 1st)
Ray Seese 141 Alto, Mich. 2-Time Placewinner (7th, 6th)
Bobby Barnhisel 149 River Forest, Ill. 2-Time State Champion, 3-Time Placewinner (5th, 1st, 1st)
2-Time Cadet Freestyle All-American
Tyler White 157 Thurmont, Md. State Finalist, 2-Time Placewinner (5th, 2nd)
Zach Basich 157 Wheeling, W.Va. 2-Time State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner (4th, 2nd, 1st, 1st)
Rich Jackson 157 Rising Sun, Md. 3-Time State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner (3rd, 1st, 1st, 1st)
Zach White 165 Thurmont, Md. State Finalist, 2-Time Placewinner (3rd, 2nd)
Jacob Schalles 165 Oviedo, Fla. State Finalist, NWCA Champion
Mason Bailey 174 Fairmont, W.Va. 2-Time State Champion, 3-Time Finalist, 4-Time Placewinner
Dutton Award recipient (top senior in W.Va.)
Andrew Buck 174 Carson, Wash. National Champion, 2-Time State Finalist, 3-Time High School All-American
Oscar Huntley 174 Stafford, Va. State Champion, 4-Time Prep Placewinner (5th, 3rd, 4th, 1st)
Ben Hatef 184 Bowie, Md. 4th / 3rd at Prep Nationals, 2nd at Maryland State Championship
Nick Hylton 184 Eccles, W.Va. 2-Time State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner, NWCA Champion
Chance Rauscher 197 Glasgow, Mont. 2-Time State Champion, 4-Time Placewinner (5th, 3rd, 1st, 1st)
Daniel Miller 285 Berlin, Md. 2-Time State Champion
Sam Cervantes 285 Poway, Calif. State Champion, 2-Time Finalist, 2-Time Freestyle Finalist
After putting together back-to-back-to-back top-25 finishes at the NCAA Championship for the first time in better than 20 years, wrestling and its support at the Naval Academy is on the rise. Last spring 133-pound Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) and 149-pound Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) not only claimed EIWA titles, both found themselves on the podium at the NCAA Championship. After becomming just the fifth wrestler in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championship all four years, Baker became the 15th different Naval Academy wrestler to achieve All-America status multiple times in his career.
Saddoris, meanwhile, enters his junior campaign ranked 25th on the Mids' career win list with a two-year mark of 78-20. The 78 wins shattered the school record for matches won over a wrestler's first two seasons, breaking the previous record of 59 wins by Greg Gingeleskie during the 1996 and '97 seasons. Having finished the 2009 campaign with a 43-8 record, he became just the fourth different wrestler in program history to reach 40 wins in a season. He was only one shy of tying the all-time record set by Mark Conley in 2002 and later tied by Matt Stolpinski in 2007.
In addition to becoming an All-American and winning his first EIWA individual title, one of Saddoris' biggest accomplishments of the 2009 campaign was being named the recipient of the The Coaches Trophy, awarded at the conclusion of the EIWA Tournament to the championship's most valuable wrestler. It's just the ninth time a Navy wrestler has received the award and the first time since Scott Kelly earned the award in 1987.
With Saddoris and 2009 NCAA qualifier Luke Rebertus (Elkton, Md.) headlining the list of returning letterwinners for the Midshipmen, combined with fresh new talent that has already gotten the prognosticators' attention, the future of Navy wrestling looks bright. The 2009-10 Navy Wrestling Plebe Smoker will be held Aug. 12 at Halsey Field House beginning at 7:00 pm for those fans interested in getting their first glimpse of the Navy newcomers. Meanwhile, pencil in Oct. 30 as Navy's annual Blue-Gold Challenge Matches.
### Go Navy ###
Navy Wrestling - Casey Caldwell receives academic honor
NCAA Qualifier Casey Caldwell Recognized for Classroom Success
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Recent Naval Academy graduate Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.), a 2009 NCAA Championship qualifier, was among the 73 Div. I wrestlers nationwide to be named to the 2008-09 National Wrestling Coaches Association’s (NWCA) All-Academic Team. The team featured a total of 51 NCAA qualifiers, 17 NCAA All-Americans, eight NCAA Finalists and five National Champions.
Caldwell’s contributions to the Navy wrestling program over the last two seasons were extraordinary. While the Union County High School product concluded his career with a 56-36 record, he owned a combined 53-29 mark in his final two years of competition including a 19-4 dual match mark. He saved his best season for last, however, winning 32 matches this winter and becoming just the 26th different wrestler in program history to reach the 30-win milestone. Among those 32 victories was an 11-match winning streak that eventually helped lead him to his first individual tournament title (All-Academy Championship), as well as a sixth-place finish at the EIWA Championship.
After just missing the mark as an automatic NCAA qualifier through the EIWA Championship, Caldwell, who wrestled at the 184-pound weight class, was one of 52 at-large selections chosen by the NCAA to participate in the 2008-09 NCAA Championship. Not only was Caldwell able to close out his collegiate career as an NCAA qualifier, he was also successful in capturing a 7-6 decision over Buffalo’s Mickey Moran in the wrestleback round.
Boasting a 3.25 grade-point average over the span of four years, Caldwell graduated in May with a degree in hand in the field of quantitative economics. He was ranked 259th in overall order of merit among his class of 1,065 students and No. 23 in military order of merit. He was named to the Commandant’s List in all eight semesters and twice earned mention on the Superintendent’s List. During the graduation ceremony, Caldwell was commissioned into the United States Navy as an Ensign and has service selected special warfare.
Individually, wrestlers must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule – and must have competed in at least 60 percent of said schedule. The other way to qualify for the All-Academic Team is have a 3.0 cumulative and been an NCAA All-American.
### Go Navy ###
Navy Wrestling - The late Peter Blair to be enshrined in National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Peter Blair to be Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame, June 5-6
STILLWATER, Okla. — The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum will host its 33rd annual Honors Weekend culminating in the Induction Ceremony on June 5-6 in Stillwater, Okla. Honored will be the Class of 2009 inductees in the categories of Distinguished Member, Outstanding American, Order of Merit, Medal of Courage and Lifetime Achievement for Officials.
The late Peter Blair will be inducted as a Distinguished Member. A Distinguished Member is a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition, a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and has compiled an outstanding record, a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport, or any combination of the above qualifications.
Those seeking information can contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at 719-659-9637 cell.
Peter Blair – Distinguished Member
He never made his high school team, but by the time he graduated from college, Peter Steele Blair, known as “Destroyer,” had achieved the heights in the sport of wrestling.
A 5-foot-6 inch lightweight, Blair couldn’t make the lineup for Billy Martin’s Granby High School in Norfolk, Va. Upon graduating at age 16, he joined the U.S. Navy and was chosen to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Bainbridge, Md. By the end of the next two years, he had grown over seven inches and made a name for himself, going undefeated at 177 pounds.
Success followed him to the U.S. Naval Academy, where in four years on the varsity team, he lost only five matches. A 177-pounder as a freshman and sophomore, Blair moved up to 191 pounds and won back-to-back NCAA championships in 1954 and 1955. His final record as a Midshipman was 57-5 with 31 falls. Known to his teammates as a “master of leverage and balance” with a “grip of steel,” he captained the team as a senior and earned the Naval Academy’s prestigious Thompson Award as the midshipman who contributed most to the promotion of athletics.
But he wasn’t finished yet.
After commissioning, Ensign Blair remained at the Academy to train for the 1956 Olympic Trials. In the AAU National Freestyle Championships, he pinned five consecutive opponents to capture the title. Two weeks later, he earned a berth on the team bound for Melbourne. As captain of the Olympic team, Blair won a bronze medal losing on points to eventual champion Gholam Takhti of Iran and to silver medalist Boris Koulaev of Russia.
Blair served his country on submarines, ships and in Academy classrooms, retiring with the rank of Commander in 1974. He joined Pacific Ordinance and Electronics and managed company activities in Tsoying, Taiwan and Rio de Janeiro. In 1981, he joined Marinette Marine Shipyard and worked his way to vice president of marketing. He passed away on June 29, 1994, after a brief battle with cancer.
As a man who served both his sport and his country with distinction, Peter Steele Blair is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
### Go Navy ###