By Mark Walters
Coming into its first dual meet at home, the Hofstra wrestling team had to have been licking its chops with Wagner College on the menu. Despite finishing last season 15th at the NCAA championships, the Pride finds itself out of the top 25; an understandable ranking after losing All-American Charles Griffin at 141, three-time CAA champion and four-time NCAA championship qualifier Joe Rovelli at 184/197, and former CAA champion and multiple NCAA qualifier Dave Tomasette at 125. But still, the freshmen have been working hard, and the Pride wanted to prove itself heading into a big tussle with No. 7 Penn State this weekend in State College, PA.
Mission accomplished.
Hofstra shut out Wagner at the Mack 53-0, with a win that was just as decisive at it was dominant.
“As a team I told the guys, they’re not one of the stronger teams we’re gonna be wrestling all year, but you still have to go out there with the same type of intensity and always score points,” head coach Tom Shifflet said after his team steamrolled the Seahawks.
Simply put, Wagner did not stand a chance against a young Pride squad that features 19 freshmen and sophomores out of 25 total wrestlers, seven of which saw action against the Seahawks.
At 133, junior Lou Ruggirello pinned Nick Keshecki in 2:07, the quickest bout of the night. This week Ruggirello is ranked as high as seventh by Intermat. Senior Alton Lucas, who like Ruggirello won his weight class at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic last Saturday, is also nationally ranked. He is sixth in the Intermat poll and fifth by WIN Magazine. He pinned Wagner’s Ryan Malloy 2:15 into the match, nearly matching Ruggirello’s quickest bout.
“It wasn’t a real match I shoulda been worried about, just trying to work on a few things,” Lucas said. “I actually got a pin and that’s what I was looking for, trying to work on my pins.”
As a sophomore, Ryan Patrovich can hardly be considered young in wrestling years. He’s the younger brother of former Hofstra legend Mike Patrovich, and last year he qualified for the NCAA championships after finishing second in the CAA championships at 165. Like the other nine Pride wrestlers Wednesday night, he dominated his opponent, earning a 16-4 major decision over Wagner’s Sean Quinn.
Before Patrovich’s match, the Pride already held a 27-0 advantage behind three pins and two major decisions. Only one bout went the entire three periods, but even in that one there wasn’t so mush as a shadow of a doubt that Jonny Bonilla-Bowman was going to beat Wagner’s Larry Peotter at 157.
“He came out and head-butted me at first,” Bonilla-Bowman said. “That kinda pissed me off a little bit. He was real good at staying away, but he was just out there to not get pinned. Those are the hardest guys to wrestle.”
Prior to Bowman’s 20-8 major decision that lasted all seven minutes, the longest bout was at 149, when redshirt freshman PJ Gillespie tallied a 10-2 lead over Ryan Cornell before pinning him with 24 seconds remaining in the second period.
“I went out there and threw him on his back in the very beginning,” Gillespie said. “Took him down a bunch of times in the second period till eventually got the whoop and pinned him.”
Gillespie admitted to some nerves early on, but said that after the first period he calmed down and “got after it.”
He made his freshman debut at the Mack alongside four other freshmen, all four of which are true freshmen. The five of them wrestled solidly and appeared strong against inferior opponents.
At 125, freshman Steve Bonanno earned a tech fall 1:12 into the second period as he went up 15-0. Rotella followed Lou Rugirello in the wrestling order and like Lou, Rotella pinned his guy in the first period, much like freshman Rob Piscitello did at 197.
“They’ve been lookin’ real tough in practices,” junior Lou Ruggirello said of the newcomers to the program. “[They’re] takin’ it out on the mat, and everyone’s been lookin’ real good so far and we’re definitely going to continue to improve throughout the year.”
Two freshmen that may have stood head-and-shoulders above the rest were Pennsylvania natives Ben Clymer at 184 and Jordan Enck at 285. Clymer went up 17-0 late in the second period of his bout to win by tech fall against Wagner’s Peter Morano. Enck also won by tech fall as he went up 15-0 on Angelo D’Amico 22 seconds into the second period. While both are among several high school state champions on Hofstra’s roster, Clymer is by no means resting his hat on his past accomplishments.
“A state championship once you get to college means nothing,” Clymer said. “Everyone is already at that level of being a state champion once you get to college and the guys have been in the business wrestling two, three years in.
“It’s a whole new level, a whole new type of training. It’s exciting getting in the mix and getting better.”
Originally slated to wrestle at 197, Enck has been putting a lot of work in the weight room to gain muscle rather than running to lose weight.
Shifflet has been real happy with the effort of the freshmen, saying how they have big shoes to fill when they step into the wrestling room everyday.
“These guys know the strong tradition of wrestling that we have, they know the guys who have been here in the past. The Charles Griffins, Chris Weidman, and James Strouse, those guys who were All-Americans and guys who were ranked; some of the best guys in the country.”
The coach is beginning to see the hard work his guys have been putting in translate into the matches. Of course, on the horizon sits Penn State on the road. The Nittany Lions finished third at the NCAA championships last March, and return several All-Americans, including Dan Vallimont, who is currently ranked third at 157. He will face Bonilla-Bowman – ranked ninth in the WIN poll and 15th by Intermat.
The two are familiar foes, and there certainly does not seem to be any love lost between the two.
“I got beat by him last year at Penn State. He beat me 5-3,” Bowman said. “I just wanna take his head off. Simple as that.” His became stone-faced as he stated his intentions, and his mood was palpable as he undid his shoes.
The Nittany Lions beat Hofstra last year in State College 28-11. The Pride was ranked 11th then, and had beaten Penn State the previous year at the Mack. Regardless of the history though, Alton Lucas is optimistic heading into a hostile environment at Penn State’s Rec Hall.
“With the guys we got this year, I think we stand a good chance,” Lucas said, adding that he feels confident. “I think we may get the upset and beat ’em. We’ve been lookin’ good and everybody’s been feelin’ good.”
Lucas will tussle with Nittany Lion junior David Erwin, who is ranked 18th and coming off a second place finish at the Michigan State Open on November 9.
One of the Pride’s weapons was inactive against Wagner, sophomore transfer from Indiana Joe Fagiano at 197. Fagiano was sixth in the Big Ten last year and competed in the NCAA Championships as a freshman. He sat out due to transfer restrictions, according to coach Shifflet. He had to sit out for the first two duals this season, so he will be ready to go Sunday at Penn State.