American and Sacred Heart

In planning the schedule last year, I was pleased when I was able to lock down 4 dual meets in 12 days to end our regular season. I felt having this team make weight and compete 4 times in such a short time span would be a great test for them mentally and physically to end the regular season. As a coach, I fear giving the guys more than they can handle late in the season. I fear late season injuries. In hindsight, I was pleased how things worked out. The team handled the added stress well. They are better as a result of the late season duals. I was pleased to see the plan work out as I had hoped.

On Friday night, we went to American University where we lost the dual 7 matches to 3. I was frustrated by the lack of offense by our team. We were only able to score 3 takedowns on the night. I felt we left too many points on the board. I was frustrated, for the team, as I know they are capable of more than they showed. Sahid Kargbo, Ryan Forrest and Matt Voss were all victorious. Matt Voss avenged a loss from the previous season and showed his improvement. Tejon Anthony lost an 11 minute multiple overtime match as he was unable to finish his attacks. I was disappointed with the result but pleased with his effort. Matt Raines lost a close bout in regulation, but I was pleased to see his effort level. I know if he wrestles at the pace he did on Friday, he will find success down the road.

On Sunday afternoon, we hosted Sacred Heart University. We were able to send our seniors out with a team win. I was pleased we were able to honor 6 seniors – Patrick Davis, Ryan Forrest, Sahid Kargbo, Matt Meadows, Ryan Renkey, and Andrew Thomas. It is rewarding to see guys make it through 4 or 5 seasons of D1 wrestling and graduate from the institution. It is a difficult path to navigate and I tip my hat to these seniors.

We won the dual 6 matches to 4. Ibrahim Bunduka won by a forfeit. Lio Quezada fell behind early and fought hard to come back. Although he fell short, I was pleased to see his resilience. Tejon Anthony scored a quick takedown and made a mistake which resulted in him losing his bout by a fall. I know he learned as a result, but I wish he could have learned the defense without it being so costly. It was painful to see his disappointment. Sahid Kargbo won by a major decision. It was great to see him let lose, have fun and score points. Matt Raines did a good job of hustling and was rewarded with an important win for his team. Daniel Mika scored 2 offensive takedowns and was able to get off bottom in the second period. Unfortunately, he was unable to close out the match with a win. He needed to keep scoring points and moving on bottom. I was disappointed for him. Ryan Forrest scored lots of points in route to a major decision. He made an adjustment to his single leg shot which proved beneficial. Austin Harrison stepped aside so Andrew Thomas could wrestle in front of the home crowd one more time. I appreciated Austin’s willingness to let Andrew compete. Although Andrew lost, I hope he enjoyed the opportunity to compete one last time at the RAC. Matt Meadows finished his home career with a win. I was pleased so many of his family were able to watch his last home competition. Once again a dual meet came down to Matt Voss. Once again he stepped up in a big way. He pinned his opponent in the first period to seal the deal for his team.

On March 4, the team will compete at the EWL tournament with the plan of securing a spot at the NCAA Tournament. The anticipation is exciting and fun. We will spend the next few weeks preparing mentally and physically for the post season. I am excited for these guys to have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams which have turned into goals. Let’s do our utmost to reach the goals we set at the start of the season.

USNA and F&M Duals

On Wednesday night, we had a home competition against the United States Naval Academy. We ended up starting the dual meet over an hour late as our scheduled official did not make it and a replacement had to be found. It was a unique situation and is one I would rather not repeat. I want to say thank you to all those who attended and stuck it out while we waited. I also want to say thank you to the USNA for assisting us with putting on an impromptu clinic for the youth wrestlers who were in attendance. I heard from more than one person that the kids loved the clinic and it made the event even better.

We ended up losing the dual 6 matches to 4. Lio Quezada won his bout by a major decision. Ibrahim Bunduka, Sahid Kargbo and Matt Voss all won by decision. Tejon Anthony and Matt Raines lost very close decisions. We gave up bonus points in the other bouts we lost.

Tejon Anthony lost a controversial match to the #13th wrestler in the nation. Tejon was leading 3-2 with 23 seconds left in the bout. At that time, the official signaled a takedown for the Navy wrestler. I immediately challenged the call. The official saw my challenge but let the action continue until there were 3 seconds left in the bout. Initially the official ruled there was no takedown at the 23 second mark. He then said there was a takedown at the 6 second mark and the wrestlers went out of bounds at the 3 second mark. It was a tough call for all involved and I was certainly disappointed. Tejon is getting better and it is being noticed as he was recognized in the coaches’ ranking and RPI later in the week.

Matt Raines lost 3-2. With less than 10 seconds to go Matt was able to secure a single leg with his opponent’s leg in the air. He was not able to finish the shot before time expired. It was a tough way to lose and it did result in a teachable moment for the team. We worked on quick finishes to single legs in practice the following day.

On Saturday, we traveled to Franklin & Marshall College. Our new Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Banville traveled with the team. It was a first for me to have a FAR travel with us. I appreciate her taking the time and interest to attend the dual.

We won the dual 7 matches to 3. It was a good team performance. I believe we finished matches by scoring the last offensive points in 9 of the 10 matches. This was good to see. I liked the effort. We also had 3 guys win by pin (sorry to those in the pin club as it was an expensive night for you). It has been awhile since we had that many pins in a dual meet. It was Austin Harrison’s first pin of his college career. Sahid Kargbo pinned his first opponent of his senior season. Matt Voss pinned his opponent in the first period. Ibrahim Bunduka won by a major decision. Tejon Anthony, Matt Raines, and Ryan Forrest all won by decision. I was also pleased by the effort of the guys who lost. They competed with toughness in the later stages of their bouts.

Thanks to Daniel Mika’s uncle we found a new go to place to eat in Lancaster. It is always fun listening to the chatter of the team after weigh ins and competition. Even though Ray Yamrus beat me badly in driving the other team van back to campus, our drive home went well due in part to full stomachs and a team victory.

This will be a busy, yet exciting, week for us as we complete our regular season. On Friday we will compete at American University at 7pm. On Sunday, our club will host a youth tournament at the RAC – the Patriot Pummel (www.patriotpummel.com) followed by our final home dual of the year against Sacred Heart University.

Our dual with Sacred Heart is scheduled to start at 2pm. We will honor our seniors at half-time. Please come support the team and our seniors – Patrick Davis, Ryan Forrest, Sahid Kargbo, Matt Meadows, Ryan Renkey, and Andrew Thomas.