On Sunday, more than 500 wrestlers representing teams and clubs across the region descended upon the Events Center for Binghamton University’s third-annual Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open. The event was named in the memory of former BU wrestler and 2010 Binghamton graduate Jonathan Kaloust who lost his life while serving as a Navy SEAL in May 2013.
“It’s a powerful platform to be able to commemorate not only [Kaloust]’s time here, but his ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Binghamton head coach Matt Dernlan said. “It’s around Veteran’s Day, it’s not only a great chance to honor Jon, but also to take the opportunity to honor all of our men and women that are serving around the world for our country right now.”
Before wrestling commenced on Sunday morning, the tournament gave pause not only to remember Kaloust, but also to award the first-ever Jonathan Kaloust Award to American University assistant coach, Josh Glenn.
A product of Johnson City, New York, Glenn earned a New York State wrestling title in 2003 before taking his talents to American to win a National Championship in 2007. Following his graduation, Glenn served his country in the Navy — taking part in numerous overseas initiatives — before returning to his alma mater as a coach.
“It’s an honor to receive an award in the honor of Jon and his family,” Glenn said. “He’s a real American hero. Not only as a Navy SEAL, but as a Division I wrestler, he accomplished a lot in his life so it definitely means a lot to be able to honor him.”
On the mat, 165-pound redshirt freshman Anthony DePrez and 184-pound sophomore Steve Schneider each earned third-place finishes while sophomore 157-pounder Vincent DePrez racked up a fourth-place finish.
In the 165-pound bracket, DePrez collected decision victories over opponents from Lehigh and Maryland to start the day, 2-0. Following a 7-6 decision loss to Princeton senior Judd Ziegler, DePrez won out on the day, taking his final four matches in the tournament. Schneider — up a weight class from his freshman campaign — took care of his first three opponents by a combined score of 30-11. Following a 16-6 loss at the hands of Cornell junior — and reigning national champion — Gabe Dean, Schneider collected a pair of forfeits to earn a third-place spot.
While not placing, newcomers Jacob Nicholson and Jesse Dellavecchia impressed in the 133 and 141-pound classes, respectively. Nicholson, a junior transfer from Jamestown Community College, took care of three consecutive EIWA opponents, capped by a pair of pins against wrestlers from Drexel and Bucknell. 141-pound Dellavecchia, a true freshman, rebounded quickly after losing his opening match against Sacred Heart sophomore Kyle Brady, 5-3. Dellavecchia took his next four matches to finish the day, 4-2, culminating with a 16-5 victory over Lehigh freshman Camden Fischer.
Binghamton is set to travel to the Albany area to compete in the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals. In the tournament, BU is set to face off against teams from LIU-Post, Nassau Community College and North Carolina.
Binghamton is scheduled to kick off the Northeast Duals against LIU-Post on Sunday at 9:20 a.m. from Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York.