For the third year running, RPI’s wrestling team won the National Collegiate Wrestling Association New York State Dual Meet Championships. The event, which was held at the Albany Academy on February 22, saw the team go 4-0, boosting the team’s record to 10-7 on the season.
In the first round, RPI faced SUNY Cobleskill, whom it defeated 45-9. The Red Hawks then beat Hofstra University by a score of 43-12. The third round had RPI pitted against Hudson Valley Community College, with a final score of 51-3. The Red Hawks make short work of rival SUNY Albany in the final bout of the day, winning by a margin of 58-6.
Head Coach Brad Nelson had the following to say about the State duals: “We’re happy we defended our title today and we wrestled well, but there’s definitely room for improvement. We’ve been working hard and that hard work is starting to pay off.”
The following weekend the team competed in the NCWA Northeast Conference Regional, where each wrestler needed to place in the top eight of his weight class to qualify for nationals. RPI headed over to the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany with 14 wrestlers: freshmen Tim Shields and Ethan Kirk at 133, sophomore Glenn Van Moffaert at 141, freshman Matt White and sophomore Don Gillespie at 149, junior Ryan Michaels and senior Matt Gineo at 157, sophomore Aaron Asch at 165, junior Brandon Smith at 174, sophomore Chris Stabler at 184, junior Pat Vamosy at 197, sophomore Brian Jennings at 235, and senior Alexander Kelsen at 285.
Qualifying for the national tournament were Streu; Shields; Kirk, who placed second; Michaels; Stabler; Vamosy; Jennings, who took third; and Kelsen. Overall, the team placed fourth out of 27 teams competing, just three points shy of third place. To top off a great tournament, Nelson received the conference’s Coach of the Year award.
On March 12–14, seven national qualifiers from RPI traveled to Hampton, Va., to compete in the NCWA National Championships held at the Hampton University Convocation Center. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kelsen was unable to make the trip. Eighty-four teams showcased qualified wrestlers for nationals, which saw RPI finish in 24th place over the grueling three-day event. Kirk and Michaels led the way, each finishing in seventh place and garnering All-American honors by placing in the top eight.
Going 5-2 over the three days, Kirk made the most of his first national tournament. He pinned his first opponent, then lost a close 6-3 match. In the consolation bracket, he ran off three straight wins, including one overtime victory. Kirk lost his next bout, but then finished the tournament by avenging his day-one loss. “It was definitely the hardest tournament I’ve ever wrestled in,” said Kirk of his three-day battle for seventh place this year. “It was a great experience.”
Michaels became RPI’s first three-time All-American, going 4-2 at the tournament. Michaels advanced to the quarterfinals with two wins the first day before narrowly losing his third bout. Knowing he needed to win his next bout in order to place, Michaels willed himself to a 2-1 double overtime triumph in the wrestlebacks. He then capped it off with a 4-1 win for seventh place. Michaels commented briefly on his performance, saying “I could’ve done better, but I know what I need to work on for next year. I wrestled defensively most of the tournament and had trouble finding my groove, but I made the best of it and battled back to place again.”
Streu and Stabler each scored a fall at nationals, and Jennings came within one match of the top eight places. Shields and Vamosy each competed well, but were unable to advance.
Nelson believes the team performed well. “Everyone wrestled really hard,” said Nelson. “Just about everyone met my minimum goals I set for them before the tournament, and some exceeded those goals.”
RPI will return all of its qualifiers for next year. “We’ve got a good strong core coming back,” said Nelson.
