The Binghamton University wrestling team is set to kick off its 2015 tournament circuit on Sunday in the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open. After notching its first conference win along with a 50-4 thrashing of Centenary last Sunday, Binghamton [2-1, 1-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA)], which usually kicks off the season with the tournament, is set to walk into the Open with an advantage over previous seasons.
“We had a lot of good moments from this past Sunday, but also obviously early on in the season, there’s a lot of takeaways in areas we can improve,” said Binghamton head coach Matt Dernlan. “So it’s good that we had some working knowledge on what can get better throughout this week and hopefully we’ll address that in competition.”
Last weekend, 12 Bearcats walked away from their matches victorious, an impressive feat for a team featuring only four upperclassmen. With BU not set to face off in another dual meet until Princeton comes to town in January, the Bearcat Open will kick off a stretch of four tournaments against some of the nation’s top competition in hopes of sharpening the young Bearcats before EIWA competition.
“Our guys — especially our young guys — are going off the deep end really quick,” Dernlan said. “And that was by design, you don’t want a bunch of opponents who won’t give you any tangible feedback about how you’re performing.”
Among the teams set to send wrestlers to the Open on Sunday are Hofstra, Penn and Princeton — all teams that Binghamton is scheduled to see again in its EIWA campaign. Despite only joining the competitive EIWA in the 2013-14 season, Binghamton boasted a seventh place finish in last March’s 16-team championship and an individual champion in then-senior heavyweight Tyler Deuel. While championship season may seem far off in November, Dernlan knows that the best way to come out victorious when the stakes are high is to collect victories early and often.
“Going towards the end of the year, if we’re looking to the NCAA tournament, we have to get a really clear understanding of what that battle is about,” he said. “We’re trying to give these young guys plenty of opportunities against the best guys in the country coming up.”
The event will also help in an effort to memorialize the late Jonathan Kaloust — a former Binghamton wrestler who lost his life while serving as a Navy SEAL. This season, however, the team will add a new component to Kaloust’s memorial by giving out the first Jonathan Kaloust Award. The award is set to be given to an exceptional present or former collegiate wrestler who has served in one of the U.S. military branches. Josh Glenn, a Navy serviceman, 2003 state champion at Johnson City High School and current assistant coach at his alma mater, American University, is set to be the award’s inaugural recipient.
The first match at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open is set to begin at 9 a.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.