Eight mats, a sold-out Wells Fargo Center and a chance to vault the team into uncharted success on a national stage after finishing a program-best 21st at last year’s NCAA tournament laid before them. Five of the team’s six wrestlers had already experienced the intense atmosphere last season, where they took in all of the ESPN cameras and the thunderous crowd. One senior finally got his first chance to battle for a national title. After a year’s worth of blood, sweat and tears, reaching an elite level seemed much more realistic, a level some couldn’t even dream of years ago.
Unfortunately for the Binghamton University wrestling team, a season of record-setting moments and continuous progress came to a surprisingly sudden end.
At the national tournament from March 17-19 in Philadelphia, Pa., the Bearcats did not have any of their six wrestlers advance past the second round of the championship brackets. Only one wrestler, junior 165-pounder Justin Lister, won his opening round match. Ninth-seeded sophomore Donnie Vinson (149 pounds), junior Matt Kaylor (157), senior Ryan McGarity (174) and sophomore Nate Schiedel (184) each went 0-2 and were eliminated on the first day of the tournament. Senior Anwar Goeres (141) won his first consolation match, before bowing out in the consolation second round. The team garnered just three team points and finished tied for 56th place.
“Obviously as a team it was very disappointing,” McGarity said. “I think everyone expected to do much better. The problem was that something was just off that weekend and to be successful at that tournament, where everyone is good, you can’t have a bad day. Unfortunately, for us this year most of our team did.”
Penn State University won the team crown with 107.5 points, its first title since 1953. Arizona State University senior Anthony Robles, who was born without a right leg, won the Outstanding Wrestler Award after winning the 125-pound title. Robles finished the season 36-0.
Lister lost to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Jordan Burroughs of University of Nebraska in the second round. Burroughs won by injury default as Lister injured his ankle during the match. Lister tried to fight through the injury on Day 2 in the consolation second round, but lost by technical fall to No. 11 Aaron Janssen of University of Iowa. Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio confirmed that Lister suffered a “really bad high ankle sprain.”
Despite a personal 0-2 showing and the team’s lackluster performance, McGarity said that wrestling at the national tournament was a great experience.
“I feel that being there is a pretty big accomplishment and the excitement and energy around that tournament is definitely something worth experiencing,” he said. “Luckily four of the guys who made it this year will be returning next year and will be able to make solid runs at All-American.”
Vinson was Binghamton’s only seeded wrestler, and had aspirations of a top-four finish. His tournament performance, though, was actually a regression from last year, where he went 1-2. Vinson finished the season 26-6 with a 21-1 record in dual meets, which included a victory over the eventual 149-pound national champion, Cornell’s Kyle Dake, during Binghamton’s dual against the Big Red in late January. It was Dake’s second consecutive national title.
“[Vinson was] very disappointed,” Popolizio said. “He put together a phenomenal season, he beat the guy who won his weight. You’ve got to be your best on that day. His results from the national tournament don’t take away form the season he put together. He went in knowing he was good enough to place. It should, if anything, motivate him.”
Goeres finishes his career with 97 wins, which is tied for third-most in program history. McGarity had a breakout senior season, notching 30 wins. Both wrestlers have been instrumental in the progress of the program, according to Popolizio.
“[McGarity’s] been very consistent,” Popolizio said. “He’s been in and out of the lineup over the last five years and he’s been a guy you can rely on to give 110 percent. He’s improved every year, every single month until the very end. You could see it through his results.”
“Anwar also kept getting better and better,” he continued. “He’s a two-time conference champ, two-time national qualifier and he’s been nationally ranked. He helped build this program up to where we’re at now.”
The Bearcats won 16 dual meets this season, which set a new program record. With just six dual losses, the team secured its best dual winning percentage (72.7 percent) in 31 years. The 1979-80 Colonials went 9-2. Vinson set a new program D-I record in dual meet winning percentage (95.5 percent). But at the biggest competition of the year, the Bearcats finished 35 places behind last year’s team.
“It’s huge motivation for us,” Popolizio said. “It’s not where we wanted to end. It leaves a bitter taste. It has motivated me, and the guys within this program as well. As coaches, we need to keep doing a better job at getting the guys to buy in 110 percent. The attitude is what’s going to take us to the next level. We have talent, ability, but now we need the attitude. If we start building that kind of structure, we can be scary and dangerous. From now until next year, that’s what we’ll be working toward.”