Senior and reigning All-American Josh Patterson has pinned many opponents throughout his career. He led the nation last season with 22 of them. This past Thursday night when the Binghamton University wrestling team squared off against American University at the West Gym, Patterson recorded another pin-fall, but this one marked a milestone.
Patterson, ranked 13th in the nation, pinned redshirt freshman Phillip Barreiro in 20 seconds at the 174-pound weight class, giving him his 113th career victory, making Patterson Binghamton’s all-time wins leader. The record was previously held by Mark Gumble, who was a three-time All-American and a NCAA Division III national champion in 1988.
“It’s a great steppingstone,” head coach Pat Popolizio said of Patterson’s feat. “It’s a record that’s been around for a long time. There’s been a lot of great wrestlers that have come through this program, so for him to reach that milestone is pretty exciting. It’s a reflection of all the time, hard work and dedication he’s put into the program.”
The Bearcats lost the dual 21-16. The Eagles opened with five straight wins from 125 through 157, giving themselves a 17-0 lead. Sophomore Matt Kaylor put Binghamton on the board with a major decision at the 165-pound weight class. Patterson’s pin made the score 17-10. American’s Mike Cannon, ranked fourth in the nation, recorded a major decision at the 184-pound weight class, making the score 21-10. Redshirt freshman Nate Schiedel and senior Corey Waite won the last two bouts at 197 and 285 respectively, but the regular decision victories weren’t enough to catch the Eagles.
“We made a couple of little mistakes individually,” Popolizio said. “[American] has one of the better programs, they have a lot of nationally ranked guys. Ultimately, we wrestle a very tough schedule, and we need to see that high level of competition to know what we need to work on. There were a lot of positives that came out of that dual meet.”
Binghamton rebounded very well this past Sunday when it went to Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park to face Ithaca College and Boston University. They defeated Ithaca 35-3, losing just one bout in the process. Freshman James Inghram started off the dual with a 9-7 win at the 125-pound weight class. After Ithaca tied the match with a win at 133, the Bearcats reeled off eight wins in the remaining eight bouts. Junior Anwar Goeres (141), redshirt freshman Donnie Vinson (149), Schiedel (197) and Waite (285) won by decision. Sophomore Justin Lister (157) and Kaylor (165) won by major decision. Junior Ryan McGarity won by forfeit at 174, and Patterson recorded a fall at 1:40 at the 184.
In their conference match against Boston, the Bearcats were down 6-3 after the first three bouts, but went on to take the remaining seven bouts and defeat the Terriers 38-6. Vinson won by technical fall 19-4 at 6:00 to start the seven-bout streak. Freshman Dan Riggi (125), redshirt freshman Pat Walsh (197) and Waite (285) won by decision. Lister (157) and Kaylor (165) each won by pin-fall. Patterson (174) and Schiedel (184) each won by forfeit.
Popolizio was pleased with the way his team responded following Thursday’s loss.
“That’s something we’ve been doing all year,” he said. “We wrestle some of the best teams in the country, and we see all levels of competition. The guys respond well; it’s nothing new to them because they understand the level of competition we’re wrestling. It was good to win a conference match, and Ithaca in years past has been a rival, so it was good to dominate the way we did.”
The Bearcats’ next competition is scheduled for Saturday when they will host Hofstra University in a CAA dual meet at noon, and also face Columbia University at 6 p.m. Popolizio feels his team is ready for the big conference match against the Pride.
“Hofstra is a huge dual meet for us,” he said. “In my time here, we’ve only won three matches out of 30 [in three dual meets]. We’re gearing up, we’re ready for it. [Hofstra] has a great program, a great history. The guys are going to have to earn their wins against a team like Hofstra; they’ve always been the top team in our conference. It’s a big dual meet, but it’s something we’re ready for and prepared to compete in.”