Showing little to no signs of slowing down as the regular season draws to a close, the Binghamton University wrestling team, ranked No. 19 in the nation, topped No. 22 Hofstra University 24-12 Sunday afternoon.
The Bearcats (14-4) took six of 10 contests at the Mack Physical Education Center with some key individual performances, perhaps the most impressive of which coming from 133-pound junior Patrick Hunter.
Trailing 3-0 with 1:09 remaining in his match, Hunter (16-13) tied the score and then rallied again to make it 5-5 against Hofstra’s No. 26 Jamie Franco with two seconds remaining. In overtime, Hunter earned the Bearcats three big points with a takedown 37 seconds before the end of the extra period.
“[Pat’s] win was huge,” said Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio. “He lost to that kid in November and reversed the decision this time, which will give Patrick a lot of confidence heading into the conference tournament. He shifted the momentum in our way.”
No. 31 197-pound Cody Reed also had a standout performance, earning his first pin of the season against Tim Murphy of Hofstra. The sophomore improved his record to 20-11 and 10-6 in dual meets.
“I know [Cody] was favored in the match, but getting a pin sealed the deal for us,” Popolizio said. “Those two matches [Hunter and Reed] stood out the most, but the six wins altogether made the team win.”
Seniors Justin Lister and Matt Kaylor, ranked No. 9 and No. 25 respectively in the latest NCAA Coaches’ Ranking, dominated their counterparts. The 157-pound Lister defeated Tyler Banks by a score of 9-1, raising his dual record to 14-3 and 22-5 overall.
165-pound Kaylor, who recorded four of his seven takedowns in the first period, beat Hofstra’s Vince Valera 17-5, giving the Bearcats a comfortable 15-6 lead over the Pride.
Popolizio noted the importance of the seniors’ tenure at Binghamton and said that he hopes they will get due recognition when the Bearcats host No. 23 Old Dominion University at 7 p.m. this Friday.
“Five years ago when they came here, our program was [at] rock bottom,” Popolizio said. “At the time I didn’t have anything to show them that we were going to get to this level. They had to believe in me as a coach and believe that this program would grow. Along the way they’ve trusted everything we’ve asked of them, and now it’s showing. They’re huge leaders on-and-off the mat; both Justin and Matt are the kind of people you want to surround your program with. They’re very successful and will be even more successful in life.”
In some sports, coaches choose to rest starters to prevent them from fatiguing amidst a playoff run. The Bearcats, however, will take no such repose and will display maximum effort against their rival Old Dominion before hosting the CAA Championship on March 3.
“Our goal is to win out on the season,” Popolizio said. “My first couple [of] years here, Old Dominion shut us out pretty badly and embarrassed us … When you have the chance to beat a team, we’re going to go out there and try to dominate.”
Popolizio said he feels the period between Friday’s duals and the CAA Championship will provide the team extra time to improve and discipline themselves further.
“The main focus for the team will be on managing their weight, managing their sleep, managing their eating habits — those are the things that they can have a direct effect on the day-to-day task,” he said. “Right now we’re focusing in on peaking, and the results from Hofstra show me that we are just coming into our best wrestling.”
Friday’s match against Old Dominion is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the West Gym.