Since its inception, the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open has held special meaning for the Binghamton wrestling team. The event, named after a Bearcat wrestler killed during his time in the military, proved even more significant this weekend, as BU won a weight class in the open for the first time since 2011.
The Bearcats had an impressive performance in the all-day meet on Sunday, placing six wrestlers, five of whom advanced to the semifinal round in their weight classes.
“There was a lot of outstanding results from our guys,” said BU head coach Matt Dernlan. “It was a great way to start the season, a lot of positive takeaways.”
Junior Steve Schneider became the first Bearcat to win an individual title at this event since 2011. He went 5-0 on the day to take the 184-pound title.
Schneider is BU’s top returning wrestler. He went 24-10 last season, including a fifth-place finish at last year’s Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships. His win on Sunday gave him his first career collegiate tournament title.
“Any high-level DI wrestling tournament that you can win is a great accomplishment,” Dernlan said. “He definitely built on the momentum he established last year, and he was a better version of himself, which you want to see.”
Schneider is one of two BU wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Championships last year. The other, Jack McKeever, graduated last spring. Dernlan believes that Schneider’s best wrestling is still ahead of him.
“His ceiling is really, really, really high,” Dernlan said. “Even [at the Bearcat Open], he didn’t tap into his full potential, which is exciting.”
BU’s other top finisher was in the 165-pound class, as junior Vincent DePrez took second place. DePrez advanced to the final before falling to Brandon Womack, an unattached wrestler from Cornell.
This year’s tournament featured a plethora of premier wrestling programs from all over the East Coast. Army, Navy, Cornell and Penn State were among the teams in attendance at the meet. For the Bearcats, having six placewinners is no small feat. However, the meet’s results were not the only thing Dernlan took into account.
“The thing we were preaching to the guys [is] if we want to have big-time success at the end of the year … it’s built on the back of small successes throughout the year,” Dernlan said.
The Bearcats’ young wrestlers impressed on Sunday. Sophomore Steven Bulzomi took third in the 125-pound weight class, while redshirt sophomore Connor Calkins took third in the heavyweight class.
“During the first months of the [season] you’re always kind of evaluating,” Dernlan said. “As much as there’s wins and losses out there, we are more or less evaluating where the team is at [and] where we need to improve.”
Freshman Audey Ashkar placed fifth in the 125-pound weight class in his collegiate debut.
“That was a great performance,” Dernlan said. “For a true freshman to come out in his first college event — and place at a very high-level caliber tournament — bodes well for his future.”
The final BU placewinner was redshirt senior Dylan Caruana, who took fourth place at the 141-pound weight class. Caruana is one of just three seniors on BU’s squad.
The Bearcats were slated to head to Cornell to compete in the New York state Championships next week but Dernlan has tweaked the team’s plans. The squad will now travel to the U.S. Naval Academy to take part in the Navy Classic. Although their destination has changed, the goal remains the same for the Bearcats.
“We really want to build,” Dernlan said. “There are several areas technically and tactically that we need to address. So we need to continue to build on that and improve and come together as a team.”
The Navy Classic is set to get underway on Saturday at 10 a.m. from the Wesley Brown Field House in Annapolis, Maryland.