The Binghamton University wrestling team capped off its most successful Division I season this past weekend at the 2010 NCAA wrestling championships in Omaha, Neb. by crowning an All-American for the second consecutive season.
Unseeded sophomore Justin Lister placed fourth at the 157-pound weight class, the best D-I finish in program history. Lister clinched All-American status by becoming the first Bearcat to advance to the D-I semifinals after pinning No. 3 seed Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech at the 1:33 mark in the quarterfinals.
“To be honest it didn’t really hit me after the match,” Lister said about becoming an All-American. “Pinning anybody at the national tournament is exciting; that’s what I celebrated the most. I was just happy that I got a pin at the national tournament, and I wanted more after that. I didn’t want to stop there.”
Lister defeated No. 11 seed Robert Erisman of Oklahoma State 3-0 in the opening round and beat Thomas Scotton of North Carolina 3-1 in the second round before his pin over Dong. Lister lost to California Polytechnic State’s Chase Pami 13-5 in the semifinals, ending Lister’s chance of winning a national title. Pami, the No. 7 seed, got the better of Lister from neutral position, compiling five takedowns.
“You’ve got to be multidimensional when you wrestle at that level because everybody’s different,” Lister said. “Everyone wrestles different styles and you’ve got to not only match [the opponent’s] style, but you’ve got to force them to wrestle the style that you want. I had a little trouble with Pami. He’s a lot shorter; I had a lot of trouble on my feet. By the third period I started scoring, but at that time I was down by eight points.”
In the consolation semifinals, Lister stunned the crowd with another fall over a top-five opponent. He pinned No. 4 seed Cyler Sanderson of Penn State at 4:04. Lister felt that people were under the impression that he got lucky with his pin in the quarterfinals, and pinning Sanderson, a former All-American, in that match showed that he belonged among the best.
“The second pin was, to me, way sweeter,” he said. “I kind of had the reputation of being the upset of the tournament. People were saying it was a fluke against Dong. [Pinning Sanderson] put me in position to go for third and fourth [place], and it told everybody there that I’m for real, and that I can pin anybody. That was a bigger accomplishment to me than pinning Dong.”
The Bearcats accrued 26 points over the three-day tournament, finishing tied for 21st place in the team standings, their best D-I finish ever. The University of Iowa won the tournament for the third straight year, tallying 134.5 points, 44.5 more than second-place Cornell University. The Hawkeyes crowned eight All-Americans, including three champions.
Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio is proud of his team’s performance.
“It’s something we’ve been shooting for all year,” he said. “[Finishing top-25] was a realistic goal for us, and to accomplish it is something special.”
Junior Anwar Goeres (141 pounds), freshman Donnie Vinson (149) and sophomore Matt Kaylor (165) all finished with a 1-2 record in the tournament. Vinson defeated No. 12 seed Mario Mason of Minnesota 5-2 in the consolation second round after losing his opening round match. He was eliminated in the next round, losing in overtime to Kyle Borshoff of American University. Freshman Nate Schiedel (184) went 0-2.
Senior No. 11 seed Josh Patterson (174) fell short of repeating as an All-American, after placing seventh in last year’s tournament. This year, he lost in the second round to No. 6 seed Mike Benefiel of Oklahoma State 3-1 after winning 9-0 in the opening round. After winning in the consolation third round, he lost his next match to Philip Moricone of Edinboro 9-3, falling two wins short of becoming an All-American. Patterson ends his outstanding collegiate career as Binghamton’s all-time wins leader — finishing with a record of 123-32 — a two-time Colonial Athletic Association champion and a four-time NCAA qualifier.
“Obviously he was disappointed,” Popolizio said regarding Patterson. “He’s won at a very high level throughout his whole college career. I know his goal was to place this year, and he fell short, but he can’t forget what he’s done for our program. He’ll always be remembered as our first All-American at the Division I level.”
Patterson has had an enormous impact on the Binghamton wrestling program, and he has left a lasting impression on his teammates, according to Lister.
“The biggest thing I got from [Patterson] is just the mindset of knowing you’re good,” he said. “It’s a mental aspect that we’re constantly trying to improve on. It’s tough to stay confident in yourself, especially if you do lose, but Josh has this attitude where he’s the biggest, baddest, meanest dude out there, and nobody’s going to stop him.”
When asked what stood out about this season’s accomplishments the most, Popolizio responded, “To me, the fashion that the guys did it in. I consider our team a blue-collar team. These guys worked extremely hard; it means a lot to them. It was kind of a perfect storm. It’s nice and rewarding to see these guys accomplish this, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”