2010-11 PAC Men's Wrestling Preview 
 

THIEL TOMCATS (8-9 Overall, 1-1 PAC)

After two tough tournaments to open the season, the Thiel College wrestling team will begin the dual meet portion of its schedule Saturday at the Mount Union Duals.

The eight-team event will feature three nationally ranked teams and six nationally ranked wrestlers. The Tomcats will take on Ohio Northern, ranked 19th in the country, Mount St. Joseph, King’s College and the host Purple Raiders, currently ranked 29th in Division III.

Thiel junior Corey Brown is one of the six nationally ranked wrestlers, listed third at 133 pounds, while the other five are all on teams the Tomcats will compete against.

Junior Alec Miller could be wrestling one of the nation’s best for the second straight week. He came up just short against Delaware Valley’s Jesse Harrington (No. 2 at 157 pounds) last week in the opening round of the Washington & Jefferson Open. Despite the loss, he showed that All-American status is a realistic goal this season in a tough 5-3 decision, citing an early takedown by Harrington as the key to the match. Miller knows he will need to be warmed up and ready to go Saturday, as the potential matchup with top-ranked Luke Miller of Ohio Northern would be during the first competition of the day.

Thiel’s upper weights will have to deal with the other nationally recognized wrestlers, including Ohio Northern’s Kyle Kwiat (No. 2 at 174), Mount St. Joseph’s Sean Jameson (No. 9 at 285), King’s College’s Mike Reilly (No. 3 at 184) and Mount Union’s Bill Schindel (No. 4 at 197).

It will be the third straight weekend of grueling competition for the Tomcats, which should only help them prepare for one of their obvious goals this season, reclaiming their spot at the top of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Thiel dominated the conference for a 10-year span before finally being dethroned by Waynesburg last season in a match that went down to the wire. The Tomcats’ starting lineup will feature just one senior, but with four former PAC champions and a promising freshman class, there is no doubt they could bounce back strong.

“Last year was last year and I think we’ve filled the holes we may have had on that team. I think it’s a completely different group,” said head coach Craig Thurber, We’re looking forward to having a great dual meet season and bringing the PAC title back to Thiel. “

In addition to filling the gaps in the lineup, Thurber also says the team’s coaching staff is as strong as it’s been since he arrived in 2003-04. Jeff Linn returns for his ninth season as an assistant while Cortney Roberts, a former Division I wrestler at Gardner-Webb, has also joined the program this season.

“Jeff does a tremendous amount for our wrestling program, working in all aspects from recruiting to workouts on and off the mat,” Thurber said. “Cortney has a lot of knowledge and the guys really seem to like him.”

The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the Tomcat lineup…

125 — This weight is still up in the air as to who will emerge as the main starter. Four quality freshman are vying for the position in Anthony Bable, Tim Ellison, Tyler Pier and Cameron Weber. Ellison was a two-time state runner-up in Arizona.


133 — Brown is the obvious starter at 133. If he can duplicate his freshman and sophomore seasons, he will become the first three-time All-American in Thiel wrestling history. With two seasons left in his college career, becoming the program’s first national champion is his top goal. Jeff Hart and Adam Householder will provide depth.


141 — Jeff Marianetti, one of just two seniors on Thiel’s entire roster, could be the top guy but will be pushed by Michael Klosiewicz, a transfer from Rhode Island College and Chris Hylton.

149 — Thurber says 149 could be the team’s deepest weight class with a plethora of talent ready to go on any given night. The group includes Matt Lowry, a tough competitor who has won the PAC title in this weight in the past while also going all the way up to 174 pounds two years ago to win the title. Other at this weight include sophomores Matt Butler and Dan Gainey and freshmen Chris Fragapane, Ryan Carson, Shawn King, Wayne Murphy and Dan Papst.

“We will probably lean more towards our older guys at this weight once they get healthy, but the freshmen are talented too,” Thurber said.


157 — Miller has been one of the top wrestlers for the Tomcats the past two seasons as far as wins are concerned but hasn’t quite reached his full potential come national qualifier time. He expects that to change this season and is putting in all the extra effort to make it happen.

“Alec is one of the hardest working kids on the team,” Thurber said. “Him and Corey train together and they both worked extremely hard this offseason. Unfortunately, the way wrestling works you often graded by what you do at the end of the season. He didn’t perform well at the national qualifier but I know he is expecting bigger things this year.”

Miller is a two-time conference champion, who, like Lowry, showed his versatility by winning the title at 149 pounds two years ago and 174 pounds last season.

165 — Freshman Ryan Murphy appears to have emerged as the starter at this weight but will continue to be challenged by veteran Jeff Rockenstein and freshman Greg Baptiste, a state qualifier from nearby Reynolds high school.

“Ryan will get most of the action, but Jeff and Greg will do very well for us here too,” Thurber said.


174 — Patrick Morris won the conference title at 184 pounds two years ago and was the runner-up last season. He will start at 174 this season and is a lead-by-example type for his fellow teammates.

“He has a lot of potential,” Thurber said of Morris. “He is a hard worker and a real strong kid.”

Matt Morian will backup Morris.

184 — This weight is a concern for the Tomcats at the moment while freshman Matt Mullett works on getting his weight down to compete. For now, it may be filled by wrestlers bumping up from other weight classes. Traditionally, this is a weight the Tomcats have done very well at with six of the last seven PAC titles.

197 — After two successful seasons wrestling as an undersized heavyweight, Kraig Smith has made the drop to this weight class in a year where the Tomcats really needed it. Without much depth, Smith will be relied on to carry the load on most matches at 197 this season. Thurber hopes he can end a championship drought at this weight since 2003.

HWT — Freshman Travis Miller leads a solid group of wrestlers competing for time at heavyweight. Thurber says Miller was one of the team’s top recruits this season. He will be backed by Will Ringer, a former seventh-place in the state finisher for Reynolds High School who played football at Geneva last year, and veteran Mike Nulph.

“We think either one of Miller or Ringer could make the national tournament for us this year,” Thurber said. “Mike will be very competitive too.”

The top three at heavyweight were very close in wrestle offs. Nulph fell to Ringer in overtime, who then dropped his match to Ringer in overtime.

 

WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON PRESIDENTS (7-3 Overall, 1-1 PAC)

The Washington & Jefferson College wrestling team has improved each season under sixth-year Head Coach Jay Robison and the 2010-2011 squad hopes to make the next step, returning to the top of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference standings.

The Presidents have increased their dual-meet win total in each of Robison’s five seasons dating back to 2005. Last year the Presidents recorded a 7-3 overall record, their highest win total since 2001, but finished third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship for the second-straight season.

Several Presidents have enter the year with high expectations after earning national preseason recognition.

W&J had four student-athletes in the honorable mention category in D3wrestle.com’s preliminary 2010-2011 national rankings. The four wrestlers to earn the honors in their respective weight classes were senior Stefen Firmstone (Greensburg, Pa./Mt Pleasant), juniors Zach Cecchetti (Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area) and Dominick Demor (Georgetown, Pa./South Side Beaver) and sophomore Robbie Mies (Boonsboro, Md./Williamsport).

Firmstone posted a 9-5 record last season with six falls wrestling in the 184-pound weight class. He led the Presidents with a third-place finish in his bracket at the 2010 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional. Cecchetti earned a 23-13 record last year in the 125-pound weight class. He also placed third at the 2010 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional.

Demor posted a team-best 29-8 record in the 157-pound weight class which included an 18-match winning streak. His 29 victories tied for the sixth-best total in school history. The junior also won his first career Presidents’ Athletic Conference crown last season. Both Cecchetti (51-23 career record) and Demor (50-15 career record) are two of 22 wrestlers in W&J history to win at least 50 matches in a career. Kevin DeJuliis ’03 owns the all-time record with 117 victories.

Mies finished his rookie campaign with the Presidents at 18-7 in the 197-pound weight class and his 12 falls tied for the seventh-best, single-season total in school history. He dominated on his way to capturing his first PAC title last year, pinning Patrick Morris of Thiel in 1:13 and then blanking Matt Zimmerman of Waynesburg 9-0.

These athletes, as well as seven incoming freshmen and the team’s lone senior, Alex Cressley (Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney) will be leaned on when the Presidents begin their season at the Clarion Open on Nov. 6 (9:00 am). The 5th Annual Washington & Jefferson open will be held a week later (Nov. 13) at the Henry Memorial Center


WAYNESBURG YELLOW JACKETS (6-9 Overall, 1-1 PAC)

After winning its first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) team wrestling championship last year, the Yellow Jackets will look to accomplish another program first- successfully defend a PAC title. With seven starters back and a big, talented recruiting class brought in to restock the team's upper weights, the Jackets, who are led by third-year head coach Ron Headlee and his primary assistant, John Yates, look primed to achieve the goal of a repeat and much more.

125 POUNDS
As a freshman last year, Alex Crown broke out to become one of the Yellow Jackets' top performers. He put together a 27-9 overall record, led the team in technical fall victories (8-0), won the PAC 125-pound title, was named PAC Most Outstanding Wrestler, and was an alternate for the national championship tournament after placing second at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Tournament.

Crown returns to handle the starting job at the team's lightest weight, which will also feature a nice mix of freshmen and veterans to fill out its depth. Junior Josh Klimko leads the group, which also features a trio of newcomers.

133 POUNDS
Last year, then-junior Nick Garber dropped from 141 to 133 pounds to wrestle in the postseason. The Waynesburg native not only won his second-straight NCAA Division III Midwest Regional title, he also became the school's first All-American wrestler since 2001 by placing seventh at that weight at the NCAA National Championships.

With Garber moving up to 141 once again for his senior season, 133 is perhaps the most wide-open weight class on the team. Head coach Ron Headlee predicts a heated competition for the starting job. Borz, Klimko, freshman Colton Blumer (who is a former WPIAL champion and 100-plus high school match winner), freshman Levi Hosselrode and freshman Dan Bruni will all be vying for the spot.

141 POUNDS
The starting 141-pound job belongs to Garber. He'll have an experienced training partner in Stefan Chaussard. Blumer, Hosselrode and freshman Luke Lohr, the all-time leader in wins and pins at Somerset High School, help to fill out the depth chart at the weight.

149 POUNDS
Lohr and fellow freshman Sam Lombardo (a state qualifier and Dapper Dan winner) make this weight one of the most competitive on the team.

157 POUNDS
As a sophomore last year, Garrett Johnston took the step from solid contributor to full-time starter and flourished at 149 and 157 pounds. His signature win came at nationally ranked Division II school Gannon University, where he dominated nationally ranked Kevin McElhaney to the tune of an 8-1 decision victory. Johnston ended the year at 16-11 overall and appears to have the best shot at holding down the 157 job.

This summer, Johnston dedicated himself to the weight room and comes into this year as a much stronger grappler, physically. He'll be pushed by Lombardo, whom the coaches are very high on coming out of Canon McMillan High School. Further competition for the job is expected to come from freshman New York native Anthony Bonaventura and junior Jon Sanko, who was a part-time starter last year.

165 POUNDS
Junior Alex Evanoff heads into his second season as the starter at 165. Last year, while compiling a 17-13 overall record, Evanoff found himself on the D3Wrestle.com individual rankings before dropping to 157 to compete in the postseason. Over his two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Evanoff has compiled a 26-22 mark.

Sanko, Bonaventura and fellow junior Jared Roberts will look to push Evanoff for mat time.

174 POUNDS
The battle for the 174-pound starting job will likely come down to Roberts and Bonaventura. The elder of the two grapplers is a two-year starter in the middle weights, but will need to hold off a talented competitor in Bonaventura.

184 POUNDS
With the graduation of two-time PAC champion, Midwest Regional champion and national qualifier, Corbin Semple, whoever wins the starting job at 184 will have some gigantic shoes to fill.

The early leader for the spot appears to be sophomore Cody Catalina, who went 8-11 after joining the team in the spring semester. However, after getting his feet wet in collegiate competition and spending a summer working hard on his strength and conditioning, Catalina looks like a solid specimen at the weight.

However, once football season ends, Catalina could face stiff competition from freshman Tyler Lewis, a highly accomplished first-year grappler from Lakeview High School. Lewis is also a defensive lineman for the Jacket football team.

197 POUNDS
The starting job at 197 is completely up in the air going into the season. Much like the 184 job, the Yellow Jackets will look to the football field for a strong candidate for the job.

Freshman Jake Linn, a defensive lineman for the Jackets and a state qualifier while at Charleroi High School, would give the team a big, strong, athletic grappler once he gets into the wrestling room and into competition shape.

Sophomore David Wills, who has packed on quality pounds since last year when he was a middle weight, or Lewis could also hold down the job.

285 POUNDS
Despite losing 2010 PAC champion Melvin Warrick, Waynesburg feels pretty good about its depth at 285, where a trio of first-year competitors is expected to duke it out for the top spot.

The starting job could ultimately come down to sophomore transfer Marty Kisla, who played football at Robert Morris University as a freshman, and freshman Josh Mihalik. Kisla was a state qualifier while at Chartiers-Houston High School and Mihalik put together a 32-1 regular season record last year at Wellsboro High School and came one win shy of qualifying for the state championships.

The Jackets could get a third challenger for the starting job once freshman Brandon Fedorka, yet another state qualifier and a Dapper Dan participant, takes off the shoulder pads and puts on the head gear at the end of football season.

The Yellow Jackets open the season on Oct. 30, when they will host their annual Orange/Black Intra-squad Duals. Following that, Waynesburg returns to the mats on Nov. 6, when they travel to the Messiah Invitational.