After placing ninth out of 12 teams at the Cornell Body Bar Invitational on Nov. 19, the Binghamton University wrestling team bounced back this weekend with four straight wins at the annual Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College, tying the school record for most wins to open a season.
The Bearcats opened the weekend sweep with a win over Big Ten Conference member Purdue University by a score of 24-15, winning six of 10 bouts.
“As far as the history for our program goes, [Purdue] was probably the best team we have competed and won against,” Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio said.
The Boilermakers, like Binghamton, have received votes for top rankings in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today poll. Purdue upset No. 14 American University on the same day.
Binghamton junior 125-pound Derek Steeley catalyzed the victory with an impressive win over a returning national qualifier, Camden Eppert, in a 13-11 overtime decision.
One of the bigger faceoffs of the day was between two top-10 nationally ranked opponents: Binghamton’s 149-pound junior Donnie Vinson (No. 10) and Purdue’s Ivan Lopouchanski (No. 6). Vinson dominated his opponent, winning 18-2 by technical fall in the second period.
Senior captain and No. 6 157-pound Justin Lister added a pin, along with victories from sophomore 197-pound Cody Reed and freshman heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski.
Gwiazdowski went 2-1 on the day, with his lone loss to No. 11 Levi Cooper of Arizona State University.
The Bearcats won their remaining three matches against Army (20-13), Arizona State (28-15) and Eastern Michigan University (22-12).
“It was a very productive day for our program,” Popolizio said. “Getting four wins in one day against the level of competition we were up against was pretty impressive. We’ve got a group of guys who have came here, bought in and believed in what we are doing and it’s very rewarding for them.”
Vinson, Lister and Reed each went 4-0 on the day, supplying exactly half of the team’s total points.
But the story wasn’t of success on Nov. 17 when Binghamton visited Cornell University for the Cornell Body Bar Invitational, which included three top-25 squads. The Bearcats finished ninth out of 12 teams because, according to Popolizio, Binghamton “used the tournament as an individual tournament for certain guys.”
Gwiazdowski had the most successful day for the Bearcats, making it to the finals for the second straight weekend. Prior to losing his first match of the season to No. 16 Kyle Frey of Drexel University in the championship match by a score of 5-2, he recorded four straight wins, including a first-period pin on Cornell’s Jace Bennett.
“He’s a sponge,” Popolizio said of Gwiazdowski. “He absorbs everything we teach him and he learns something new every day. A loss isn’t going to hurt him now in the month of November.”
Gwiazdowski has experienced tremendous success in his young collegiate career as he is now 10-2.
The Bearcats are set for a big weekend ahead, with a match at Princeton University on Saturday, followed by the Penn State Open tournament on Sunday. The feature matches at Princeton will be in the 125-pound (Derek Steeley vs. Garrett Frey) and the 157-pound (Justin Lister vs. Daniel Kolodzik) weight classes.
Popolizio has already said he “will rest half of his starters” for the Penn State Open.
Action is set to begin at Princeton at 1 p.m. and continue at Penn State at 9 a.m.