For the third time in eight days, the Binghamton University wrestling team squared off with a nationally ranked opponent, and for the second-consecutive dual, the Bearcats gave their opponent a run for their money, but came up short.
No. 18 American University topped Binghamton 25-16 at Bender Arena Friday afternoon, handing the Bearcats their third-straight loss. Later that day, though, the team had a conference matchup against winless George Mason University, which the Bearcats won 34-7. Binghamton (12-6) is now 4-0 in Colonial Athletic Association duals.
Sophomore Donnie Vinson, ranked No. 7 at 149 pounds by InterMat, suffered his first dual meet loss of the season against the Eagles. Previously 16-0 in duals, Vinson held a 3-2 advantage over No. 12 Ganbayar Sanjaa entering the third period, but Sanjaa earned an escape, takedown and three back points to beat Vinson 8-3. Senior Anwar Goeres also lost a tight bout to a top-15 opponent, falling 10-6 to No. 13 Matt Mariacher at 141 pounds.
“A couple of the matches that we thought we had to win to win the dual meet were 141 and 149,” said Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio. “Both [of our] guys didn’t wrestle bad, they wrestled aggressive, but we just got beat. Donnie, if he wrestles that match over and over, it could go either way. He made a couple of mistakes, but I thought he wrestled aggressive.”
Vinson was a week removed from beating then-No. 2 Kyle Dake of Cornell University, the 2010 NCAA champion at 141 pounds. Vinson won his match against George Mason later in the day, beating Brandon Bucher 8-6. According to Popolizio, Vinson didn’t take the loss lightly, but is taking everything in perspective.
“He was disappointed and upset with himself, but I think he sees the big picture,” Popolizio said. “You’ve got to put those losses behind you and keep moving forward. All of these dual meets are to help prepare for the end of the season and the national tournament. He knows he’s got to put four to five good matches together come March. He rebounded well; he came back against [Bucher], a national qualifier last year, was in a tough match and found a way to win again. He’s going to grow from it. The losses, as long as you don’t let them affect you mentally, they’re not going to hurt you, and you’ve got to learn from your mistakes and put them behind you.”
Against American, sophomore Nate Schiedel, ranked No. 15 at 184 pounds, recorded a major decision to tie the dual at 16-16 with two bouts remaining. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, sophomore Cody Reed (197) and freshman Lance Moore (285) both lost to nationally ranked opponents. Schiedel rebounded after going 0-2 the previous weekend. Popolizio worked on getting Schiedel in the right frame of mind in the week of practice leading up to the duals.
“Mentally, just preparing. You look at Nate, he’s been in every competition we’ve wrestled this year; he hasn’t missed a match,” Popolizio said. “He’s got a ton of matches under his belt this year. The big thing with him is we need to get him rested, get him to 100 percent, and that’s what we’re shooting toward right now.”
Schiedel did not wrestle against George Mason.
“That stretch we had, wrestling three ranked teams in a row, was tough on us,” Popolizio said. “You put any team in the country through that, somebody’s going to be off a little bit, and if you’re off it’s going to show. It made us a better team going through that.”
Sophomore 125-pounder Derek Steeley recorded a first-period pin over No. 20 Nick Arujau to start the dual against the Eagles. Steeley, who transferred to BU during the winter recess from Noesho Community College in Kansas, is 9-5 this season and has provided a major lift to the lineup.
“Derek Steeley is doing great things for the program right now,” Popolizio said. “He’s got to learn to be consistent, that’s the big thing with him. It’s highs and lows, we need to get him leveled off. [He needs to] continue to get better technically because he’s got a lot of tools, he’s just got to work on some of his weaknesses. But he’s got the ability to beat anybody at any given time.”
Junior 165-pounder Justin Lister won both of his matches on Friday. Fellow junior Matt Kaylor was pinned by No. 1 Steve Fittery at 157 pounds, but won by major decision against the Patriots, moving his overall record to 23-8.
The Bearcats have four dual meets left before the CAA tournament. Their next dual is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Bloomsburg University. Their final stretch of dual meets will be vital as the wrestlers prepare to attempt to qualify for the NCAA tournament, and for some, attempt to win a national title. The wrestlers will need to show consistency going forward in order to be adequately prepared in March.
“Putting seven minutes together hard, and showing dominance in matches that we know we should win,” Popolizio said in regard to what he wants to see from his wrestlers. “We’ve just got to wrestle sharp now. It’s time for the guys to step up and show the work that they’ve been putting in, and we need to be very consistent, sharp and confident when we step on the mat because at this time of year, it’s the guys who believe who are going to achieve what they set out to do.”