Winter break might be approaching, but the Binghamton University wrestling team is just getting into gear. The Bearcats are set to head to Nevada this weekend for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, marking the first of six events BU is scheduled to compete in over the break.
When the most recent NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday, it revealed that the undefeated Binghamton wrestling team (7-0) had climbed to No. 22.
WIN Magazine has also ranked two BU wrestlers among the top five for the first time in program history. Ranked No. 4 is junior Donnie Vinson (149 pound), while senior Justin Lister (157 pound) sits at No. 5.
Vinson was named Binghamton University’s Athlete of the Week for the second consecutive week following a second-place finish at last Sunday’s Penn State Nittany Lion Open.
“[He’s] capable of beating anyone in the country,” Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio said. “He works extremely hard and along the way he has beaten some ranked guys which was big for him, and in his finals match I think it was a letdown for him and our coaching staff but that is something we are going to work on over the next couple of weeks … The Reno Tournament will be a great chance for him to show some strides mentally that we are working on.”
Lister, who was named one of the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestlers of the Month on Nov. 29, currently leads the team with seven pins. He ranked No. 6 in last week’s Intermat rankings, while Vinson notched the No. 7 ranking.
According to Popolizio, the more experienced members of the team have been making a huge impact and he is calling on the rest of the team to follow suit.
“I think our more experienced guys are leading the way now,” he said. “From [Vinson] all the way up to heavyweight [freshman Nick Gwiazdowski], those guys have been coming through. [But other guys have] got to get to that level where they feel confident and experienced to be beating anyone in the country and they are good enough; it’s just that things have to click for them.”
Popolizio said that his squad lacks depth, so he will be forced to rest important players from time to time so that he does not risk losing them to long-term injuries.
“We don’t have a lot of depth,” Popolizio said. “We’ve got a lot of quality but we don’t have a lot of depth so that’s why we have got to be very selective when we wrestle certain guys. At the right time our whole team will be there, for dual meets too; we will put the right guys in. But that is one thing we have been working on over the last couple of years, [building] a little bit of depth and that is going to be a process for us to do that.”
The Reno Tournament will be a real test for the Bearcats as they are set to face teams from across the nation.
“Individually it will give some guys a chance to move up in the rankings and see what the best competition in the country is,” Popolizio said.
The Bearcats are likely to face other challenges over the break, especially against opponents such as Cornell University and The University of Oklahoma, ranked No. 4 and No. 11 respectively.
Popolizio characterized those matches as “huge.”
“Team-wise, we have never been able to beat a team yet to this date that has been ranked that high,” he said. “So we are looking to make some pretty big gains right there and beat those kinds of teams.”
Action is set to begin at noon on Dec. 18 at the Reno Tournament. The Bearcats’ match against Oklahoma is set to begin at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10, followed by Cornell at 5 p.m. five days later.