The Etownian >> Sports
Jays finish third, advance three to nationals
Thursday February 25 2010
Sophomore Tyler Erdman grapples with a University of Scranton wrestler earlier in the season. At the Metropolitan Conference Championships on Sunday, Erdman won the 125-pound weight class for the second year in a row.
The team had a tough regular season, and head coach Eric Walker didn’t know what to expect of the men.
“Going into the conference tournament, we were kind of limping in with several injuries to some key starters,” he said. “They did a nice job of mentally pushing through the pain and accomplishing what they set out to do five months ago.”
One crucial wrestler, sophomore Tyler Erdman, worked hard in and out of practice to get ready for this conference match.
“The past 6 weeks I have been rehabbing an LCL sprain with a partial tear,” he said. “I couldn’t train and do things the team did, so I would do sprints on the bike, hit a tire with a sledge hammer, climb a rope 20 times, and lift weights. I would give 100 percent into these workouts, and it helped because I was ready to go at the conference championships.”
Top performances at the match came from Erdman and first-year Tye Boyer. Boyer finished the championship match with an 18-6 season record. During the quarterfinals, he pinned University of Scranton junior Tom Manning. In semifinals, he pinned Centenary College junior John Stillo, and in the finals he knocked off sophomore Anthony Dattolo, who was the top-seeded wrestler from Wilkes University, winning the 149 weight class by a 4-2 decision.
Erdman, a 2009 All-American, finished the match with a 22-1 season record and 55-7 career record. He won with two technical falls and one major decision. The first technical fall came in a 22-6 match against New York University(NYU) first-year Adlee Fayyaz. In the semifinals, a major decision took place between Erdman and TCNJ senior Dan Franke, which resulted in an 11-3 decision. During finals, Erdman only needed 2:14 to earn his second technical fall (17-0) over Wilkes University first-year Scott Mantua to win the 125 weight class.
Three Blue Jay wrestlers will travel to the NCAA Division III Championships March 5 and 6, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Erdman, Boyer and junior Bill Meaney. Meaney received one of three wild-card slots awarded in the conference, since he was runner up in the 197-pound weight class match. Boyer was honored as a Metropolitan Conference Co-Rookie of the Year along with Brian Broderick of TCNJ. Boyer “wasn’t expecting the [rookie of the year] title” but feels honored to have been awarded it. “It feels great,” he said. “I never thought I would have won a conference title as a first-year.”
Head coach Eric Walker was also honored at the championships as Coach of the Year. The award came as quite a surprise to Walker. “Normally it is given to [the coach of] the team who won the championship,” he said.
In addition to Erdman, Boyer and Meaney, Blue Jay place-winners included first-year Jimmy Gentile and seniors Paul Connor and Mike Daub.
Gentile received third in the 174-pound weight class after some tough matches. He advanced to the semifinals where he fell (2-0) to senior Frank Heffernan of Wilkes University. He then moved to third place after a medical forfeit and picked up a 16-5 decision over King’s College first-year David Foley.
Connor took home third in the 184-pound weight class after he lost the semifinals to junior Mike Denver of TCNJ, then recovered and earned a 6-4 decision in a consolation semifinal match against NYU first-year Sabino Galassi. He then won a 4-1 decision over junior RJ Klotz of Hunter in the finals.
Daub took fourth in the 285-pound weight class after he advanced to the semifinals, dropped to the consolation bracket, and defeated senior Tom Fitzpatrick of York (12-5). He then edged King’s College senior Christopher Rash to a 4-3 decision.
As for the three wrestlers traveling to Iowa, “my hopes are to walk away with 3 All-Americans (top 8 in the country),” Walker said.
“My goal is to be a national champion,” Erdman said. “I will train and give everything I have to become that.”
The Etownian >> Sports