Wrestling To Face Another Tough Field At Body Bar System Invitational
11/17/2011 11:02:00 PM | Wrestling
NEW YORK - The Columbia wrestling team is back in action on Saturday when it heads to Ithaca, N.Y., to compete in Cornell's Body Bar System Invitational at Newman Arena.
The tournament's 12-team field also features Army, Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Drexel, Ithaca College, Kent State, Lock Haven, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 21 Virginia and tournament host No. 5 Cornell. Binghamton and Buffalo are receiving votes in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Columbia last competed in the Body Bar System Invitational in 2009, taking eighth place. Five Lions placed that year.
On Nov. 12, the Lions had a strong start to their 2011-12 season, placing nine wrestlers at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Mich. In the Open Division, Columbia had three placewinners in senior Kyle Gilchrist (133 pounds, fifth) and juniors Jake O'Hara (157 pounds, fourth) and Nick Mills (184 pounds, fourth). Six of the Lions' younger wrestlers shined in the Freshman/Sophomore Division. First-year Shane Hughes was the big winner, taking first at 197 pounds. Fellow first-years Elijah Sullivan (141 pounds, third), Ryan Ponte (141 pounds, fifth), Ben Villaret (165 pounds, third) and Wyatt Baker (285 pounds, fifth) also stood out. Sophomore Adam Fondale took fifth in the Freshman/Sophomore Division 165-pound bracket.
The Body Bar System Invitational will have a loaded field at nearly every weight class. Starting at 125 pounds, Columbia junior Robert Dyar finds himself in a bracket with four of the nation's top seven 125 wrestlers according to the latest Intermat rankings. Saturday's tournament should feature No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota), No. 4 Nic Bedelyon (Kent State), No. 6 Matt Snyder (Virginia) and No. 7 Frank Perrelli (Cornell).
At 133 pounds, Kyle Gilchrist will look to build off his good showing from last week in a bracket that also includes No. 7 David Thorn of Minnesota and No. 19 Jordan Thome of Army.
The 141 class looks to be one of Columbia's deepest this season. Last week at the Michigan State Open, sophomore Matt Bystol scored four points with a pair of decision victories in the first two rounds of the Open Division. First-years Sullivan and Ponte proved that they are ready to step up as well as both placed in the Freshman/Sophomore 141 division. The Lions' competition at this position should prepare their starter for a deep field this weekend. The Body Bar System Invitational will feature No. 10 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), No. 11 Matt Bonson (Lock Haven), No. 12 Nick Nelson (Virginia), No. 17 Mike Devinger (Cornell) and No. 18 Kevin Smith (Buffalo).
The Lions also shined at 149 pounds last week, displaying great depth at the weight. Sophomore Josh Houldsworth, who moved up to 149 this year, scored five points and took three decisions last week. Veteran Steve Santos had six points and first-year Chad Ryan had 11 points in the Freshman/Sophomore Division. This week's bracket features three top 20 wrestlers in No. 5 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), No. 7 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) and No. 17 Craig Eifert (Cornell).
At 157, O'Hara will have his work cut out for him with five top 20 wrestlers, including Cornell's two-time defending national champion No. 1 Kyle Dake. Also competing are No. 6 Justin Lister (Binghamton), No. 9 Jake Deitchler (Minnesota), No. 16 Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) and No. 17 Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg).
Fondale is the Lions' frontrunner to get the nod at 165 this weekend after his solid outing last week. His class will feature No. 8 Cody Yohn (Minnesota), No. 17 Joe Booth (Drexel) and No. 18 Marshall Peppelman (Cornell).
Columbia junior Stephen West had a pair of wins last week at 174. His class, individual-ranking-wise, has arguably the least strenuous path to the title with just two ranked wrestlers in No. 9 Logan Storley (Minnesota) and No. 17 Collin Wittmeyer (Army).
Mills will look to continue his strong start to the year at 184 pounds. This week, he may have to go through No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell), No. 6 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) and No. 15 Jon Fausey (Virginia).
Hughes will try for two-straight first-place showings in a row this week. But this week, his road will be considerable tougher as he will face first-team wrestlers and the road to a title will go through No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell), the defending Ivy League Wrestler of the Year, and No. 2 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota).
Lions senior heavyweight Kevin Lester will look to bounce back from a rough first weekend performance. The Body Bar System Invitational features two top 20 heavyweights in No. 3 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) and No. 16 Kyle Frey (Drexel).
Following this weekend's tournament, Columbia will next compete in the Nittany Lion Open on Dec. 4 in State College, Pa.
Players Mentioned
