Wrestling Opens Season at Clarion Open

Sunday, November 5

Clarion, Penn.

Columbia

Clarion Open

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics / Stockton Photo, Inc.

11/4/2023 11:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Clarion Open Event Page Watch on FloSports

Columbia is looking to build off its success last season

By: Garret Sulak

CLARION, Pa. – The Columbia wrestling team will make its season debut Sunday at the Clarion Open hosted by Clarion University. The event will get started at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Columbia's squad will be joined by wrestlers from Brown, Buffalo, Clarion, Edinboro, Gardner-Webb, Kent State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Purdue.

"We're going to scrap and put the Columbia name on the map and make ourselves proud to wear the singlet and make our community proud," senior Lennox Wolak said."

Coming off a season where Columbia sent a program record six individuals to the NCAA Championships, the Lions are ranked No. 30 in Intermat's preseason dual rankings. The team also checked in at No. 35 in FloWrestling's most recent team tournament rankings.

Seniors Nick Babin (125), Angelo Rini (133), Joshua Ogunsanya (165) and Lennox Wolak (174) return looking for more success this season after participating in the NCAA Championships last spring. As a team, the Lions finished with 7.5 points at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Babin contributed three points. Rini, Ogunsanya and Wolak all scored 0.5 points for the team.

"That's what most people saw last year is kind of the grit and kind of the saltiness," Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli said. "We are an embodiment of New York City. What we are really trying to preach all the time just kind of that grit."

Columbia ended the 2023 season with one of the best postseason performances in program history. The Lions sent a program record six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships after scoring the most points in program history at the EIWA Championships. Eight Lions placed at the EIWA Championships and five earned auto bids to the NCAA Championships. Columbia finished tied for fourth as a team at the EIWA Championships, notching its best finish since the 2014-15 season and its seventh top five finish in school history.

Over the summer, a talented group of nine newcomers joined the squad for the 2023-24 campaign. The class of 2027 features student-athletes from New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Ohio. Sulayman Bah, Tyler Barrett, Joseph Curtis, Lorenzo Frezza, Adam Haselius, Rawson Iwanicki, Vincent Mueller, KJ Monaco and Nolan Neves join the team as first-years.

"We've got a tremendous group of first-years joining us this fall that will add significant value to the fabric of our team, both athletically and culturally," Tanelli said. "Each of them bring their own unique set of skills to Morningside Heights that we will expand on to reach our potential, together."

Columbia will open the dual portion of its schedule at home on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m. against Michigan. The Lions will close out the weekend with an 11 a.m. match Sunday, November 19 against Ohio State.

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