By Mark Walters
Chesapeake, VA-As the Pride wrestlers arrived at Oscar Smith High School in southern Virginia, many of them had to be a little ticked-off. From freshman to senior, what greeted them along the walls of the high school that would house the CAA Wrestling Championships did not sit well with anyone.
“Old Dominion was hanging flyers in the high school that said, ‘Come witness Old Dominion break Hofstra’s seven-year CAA streak,'” freshman Steve Bonanno said. “Nothing felt better. Not a better feeling in the world.”
The 125-pound runner up was talking about beating Old Dominion, and in stylish fashion, 106.5-86.5. It was Hofstra’s eighth consecutive CAA crown, and ninth straight conference title overall. The Pride had three title winners and qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships slated for March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.
“This is probably the first year in a long time that we, according to other people, came in as an underdog,” head coach Tom Shifflet said, holding his third CAA Championship trophy. “In our eyes, as coaches, our guys prepared well. We wrestled Old Dominion in the dual and they beat us in the dual, but I walked away and to be quite honest, it wasn’t like I thought they were the better team.”
While the trash-talking was referenced by several of the wrestlers, the victory was especially sweet for PJ Gillespie, who won his 149-pound weight class as the six seed.
“I’m a lot more excited about us beating them than me actually winning,” Gillespie said.
Despite his own upset victory over Old Dominion’s second-ranked Joey Metzler, his winning the title and two other title winners to go along with six NCAA qualifiers, Gillespie saw the team title as the best thing to happen for the Pride all weekend.
His semifinal match against Metzler was anything but easy as he held onto the Monarch for dear life, scoring a big takedown with 29 seconds remaining to win 5-3. While the two are familiar foes, having met earlier this season with Metzler winning in double-overtime, Gillespie was prepared with a new mindset that featured more offense to quickly score takedowns.
In the finals, Gillespie faced Boston’s Mike Roberts and after the first sudden victory overtime, the score was still 1-1. Roberts scored an escape five seconds into the first 30-second period, but Gillespie responded in the next period as he tied it two seconds before the whistle blew.
Another minute of sudden victory yielded nothing, and after scoring an escape from starting down, Gillespie held on in the final 30-second period to win Hofstra’s second title of the day.
The first was Lou Ruggirello, who easily defended his 133-pound CAA title by pinning Old Dominion’s Kyle Hutter in 4:35.
“I just wanted to go out there and wrestle,” Ruggirello said. The junior has won three conference championships, six including the team titles. “It means a lot, especially this year to keep the streak going.”
Prior to Ruggirello’s bout, Steve Bonanno lost to ODU’s James Nicholson at 125. Bonanno could only manage to score escapes in the 7-3 decision. It was the second time the two met this season.
“Last time was a close match and I kinda knew what the kid was gonna do,” Bonanno said. “I knew his shot was comin’ and the first forty seconds of the first period I really played into his game. I stayed outside, I really didn’t go into my style of wrestling, so I kinda fell into that and then afterwards I started to fall into my own style of wrestling and wrestle that way; more aggressive, more close the gap.”
“I just couldn’t finish my shots. That’s what it came down to.”
At 141, Justin Accordino got a taste of what Ruggirello’s opponent tasted. He was pinned in 1:50 after starting down and being cradled by Old Dominion’s Ryan Williams. The redshirt freshman stormed out of the gym after Williams’ hand was raised, but he came back to dominate Binghamton’s Anwar Goeres 16-2 for the true second.
Hofstra’s third title came at 157, where Jonny Bonilla-Bowman was all business as he decided Rider’s Mike Kessler 9-4. Kessler was constantly backing up, avoiding Bowman’s attacks.
“I just tried to score as many points as I could,” Bowman said. “I knew he was gonna try to stay away ’cause I already beat him and he was gonna try to be on the defensive.” Bowman went into his matches with bonus points on his mind, winning by fall in 2:06 over Sacred Heart’s Austin Alpaugh and scoring seven takedowns to decide Binghamton’s Nate Patterson 17-10.
Shortly after Bonilla-Bowman defended his title at 157, Ryan Patrovich defended his at 165, except his title to defend was second place. In a rematch of last year’s 165-pound bout, ODU’s Chris Brown again decided Patrovich. Brown scored four takedowns to win 8-2. Patrovich then had to wrestle Rider’s Jason Lapham for the true second and lost 3-1, sprinting out of the gymnasium the second Lapham’s hand was raised.
Hofstra’s final championship bout saw the defending 174-pound champ-Alton Lucas-against George Mason’s Bagna Tovuujav. Each scored an escape in the final two periods, making it 1-1 at the end of regulation. Tovuujav scored a takedown 42 seconds into the sudden victory overtime to win, leaving Lucas lying on the mat, gassed.
“I need to hit more sprints,” the senior said, obviously disappointed. “I gotta hit the road and do more sprints. That’s all I’m gonna be doin’, runnin’ this week. Runnin’ harder.
“I didn’t come out with the goal that I thought I would. That’s my only disappointment.”
Despite their second place finishes, Lucas and Bonanno each earned spots in the NCAA tournament in their respective weight classes. Hofstra’s final NCAA qualifier was sophomore Joe Fagiano, who at 197 had to wrestle a total of five bouts to earn his ticket to St. Louis via his true fourth place finish. For him, qualifying was a matter of survival.
“I was just exhausted through a lot of my matches,” Fagiano said. “I just pulled through at the end. I knew every match could be my last one, so I had to wrestle smart and stay alive.”
Jordan Enck and Ben Clymer rounded out the scoring for the Pride as Clymer finished third at 184 and Enck finished third at 285, but lost his bout for true second to Drexel’s Kyle Frey 4-2. The two freshmen were certainly put through their own gauntlets at their first CAA tournament. Each had to face their weight’s defending champion in the semifinals. Rider’s Ed Bordas decided Enck 3-1 in sudden victory while Bordas’ teammate, Doug Umbehauer, beat Clymer 3-2.
Despite his third-place finish, Clymer was excited about his first team title at Hofstra.
“It means a lot,” he began. “I’m a freshman comin’ in here and I don’t know a lot of the history of the Hofstra program, but after we lost to Old Dominion in the dual match, you could sense a lot of disappointment from the coaching staff. Even a lot of the fans and alumni that show up to support us and to come here now and get the team championship, it means a lot.
“Just how we rebounded as a team, kept our heads up and kept workin’ hard.”
Rider finished third in the team scoring with 57.5 points, while Binghamton (44) and George Mason (40) rounded out the top five. Tovuujav was awarded the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler award. In all, the CAA will send a total of 20 automatic qualifiers to nationals.
The NCAA Championships begin Thursday, March 19 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Wrestling Notes
In addition to Hofstra’s six automatic NCAA Tournament qualifiers, Justin Accordino (141) and Ryan Patrovich (165) both earned at-large bids to nationals, making the Pride’s eight NCAA qualifiers the most Hofstra has sent to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 when it also had eight qualifiers. Hofstra sent nine in 2005 and has qualified at least six since 2000. The Pride qualified five in 1999.
PJ Gillespie received CAA Rookie of the Week Honors for his performance in the CAA Championships last weekend. He defeated the third, second, and top seeded wrestlers to capture his first CAA crown and earn his first bid to the NCAA Championships. Prior to beating Roberts and Metzler, Gillespie beat third-seeded Anthony Priore from Sacred Heart, 4-3.