There’s an old sports adage that says, “records are made to be broken.” On Friday night, the Binghamton University wrestling team took another step forward as it broke a record that had stood for 36 years.
The Bearcats defeated the visiting East Stroudsburg University Warriors 32-6 at the West Gym on Friday, winning their 16th dual meet of the season and breaking the all-time program record for dual wins in a single season. The 1974-75 Colonials went 15-3. Finishing their dual season 16-6, the Bearcats also recorded the team’s highest winning percentage since the 1979-80 season.
With his team leading 6-3, BU senior 141-pounder Anwar Goeres wrestled to a 9-4 victory, and Binghamton never looked back. Goeres started a six-bout winning streak for the Bearcats, who locked up the win with three bouts remaining.
“It’s a great achievement,” Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio said of the record. “Again, it goes back to the people that are associated with this program. The alumni support, the administration and, most importantly, right now, the kids that we have in here. It’s something they can look back [on]. Hopefully [the record] doesn’t stay too long, but right now they’ll enjoy it. It’s a lot of hard work that they’ve put in.”
“It’s awesome,” Goeres said about breaking the record. “It’s nice knowing everything is paying off, and it’s also nice knowing that the season’s not over; we still have about a month left and we can still do more.”
The team’s four seniors — Goeres, Ryan McGarity (174 pounds), Matt Berretta (197) and Dan Bittner (285) — were honored before the start of the dual. McGarity won his bout 10-6, giving him 80 career victories. Berretta lost 7-5 in what was most likely the final match of his career. Bittner did not compete because of an injury.
Goeres enjoyed being honored, but admitted that the atmosphere may have affected him early on in his match.
“It was nice. It kind of gets your nerves up a little bit though,” he said. “After the first period I kind of calmed down a little bit. That was the main thing, calming down.”
Popolizio is appreciative of the hard work and dedication his seniors have put forth throughout their collegiate careers.
“They’re guys that have put a lot of time into this program, and a lot of belief,” he said. “Anwar going out there and getting a win [Friday] was great for him to cap off his home career. Same with Ryan McGarity, who’s been an unbelievable asset to this program. He’s been here for five years; he’s been in and out of the lineup his whole career … He’s been a starter in the past and he’s wrestled at every weight class we’ve asked him. He’s the kind of kid you need in a program to build and win.”
McGarity wasn’t expected to be the starter at 174 entering the season. Freshman Tyler Beckwith, who was the top-ranked 174-pound recruit in the country according to InterMat, was in line to start. An excerpt from the team’s preseason media guide reads, “Senior Ryan McGarity … is a capable backup.” McGarity had other plans and now has a legitimate chance to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
“This year he’s had his chance to shine,” Popolizio said of McGarity. “I think he’s still going to make a statement. He’s got time left to accomplish what he sets out to do, but he’s already got [29] wins this year. I’m sure if you asked him five years ago, this is the kind of ending he’d want.”
Sophomore Donnie Vinson (No. 11 at 149 pounds) and juniors Matt Kaylor (157) and Justin Lister (165) all won in convincing fashion. Each wrestler scored a flurry of takedowns en route to victories. Vinson led 11-3 before recording a pin at the 1:52 mark. Kaylor recorded a 19-7 major decision, and Lister narrowly missed recording his second technical fall of the season, winning 16-2.
“We’re wrestling the way I want to be wrestling right now, and the way they want to be wrestling,” Popolizio said of his wrestlers. “Hard seven minutes, scoring nonstop. You saw Lister — three seconds left on the clock and he’s scoring. That’s what we need, that’s what it’s going to take at the national tournament.”
The team now has two weeks to prepare for the Colonial Athletic Association Championship, set for March 4-5 at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. The Bearcats are the defending CAA champions, winning last year’s tournament with 87.5 points, and will enter this year’s conference tournament as defending champions for the first time ever. Binghamton had a school Division I record six NCAA qualifiers last season, which included four conference champions. Five of those qualifiers returned this season.
Rather than ramping up training sessions, Popolizio said the team will focus on fine-tuning while training intensely for shorter periods of time, giving the wrestlers some extra rest.
“Rest is most important,” Popolizio said. “We’ve trained extremely hard. We’ve been working very hard and consistent the last couple of weeks, so now it’s time to back off, taper and peak at the right time and we’re on track to do that. We wrestled great against Old Dominion, we wrestled great [Friday night] and we’re going to carry that into the conference tournament.”