January 21, 2006 - Rider 43 Binghamton 10 / Rider 18 Old Dominion 18 / Rider 36 James Madison 9
January 21, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Wrestling
Rider University 43, Binghamton 10
Rider University 36, James Madison 9
Rider University 18, Old Dominion 18
FAIRFAX, VA—The Broncs defeated Binghamton and James Madison and tied Old Dominion on the second day of the two-day CAA Duals, hosted by George Mason. Rider was 4-0-1 in the CAA Duals. “Things went pretty well down here,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “We had a good day.”
For Rider (7-4-1, 5-0-1 CAA) several Broncs won all five of their matches, including freshman Mike Kessler (Randallstown, Md./Owings Mills), sophomore Mike Palma (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson), sophomore Ryan Smith (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls), and junior Joe Maroney (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem).
Smith collected two more pins on Saturday.
“This was a good confidence builder for those four,” said Taylor. “This is a good time of year to gain confidence. Kessler and Palma helped position themselves in the seedings for the CAA Championships. There are still some key matches coming up in the CAA with Hofstra, Boston U and Sacred Heart, but this was a good start.”
The lone disappointment was the tie to Old Dominion with Rider winning five of the nine bouts they competed in. “You do the math,” said Taylor. “We forfeited a weight due to injury and they didn’t.”
The name Kessler is familiar to Rider wrestling fans. Gregg Kessler, Mike’s oldest brother, was a conference champion for Rider in 1996 and again in 1998. “No question Gregg’s success here, both in the classroom and on the mats, influenced Mike’s coming here,” Taylor said. “Gregg had a good experience here. He works at and coaches wrestling at Calvert Hall Academy (Towson, MD), and was coaching at Johns Hopkins.”
“My brother Gregg was a big influence on me,” said Mike. “He coached me when I was about four years old, just getting into wrestling. We always got along great. We have wrestling, but we also share the same sense of humor. He’s 12 years older than I am. I used to come here when I was little to watch him. I remember one meet where he won and Rider won over Rutgers, and it was exciting.”
“Mike is getting better every week,” said Taylor. “He is very competitive, he’s a hard nosed kid, and he continues to make adjustments and improve every week. He’s very quick, very explosive, and has a lot of heart, the same features that Gregg had.”
Rider 43, Binghamton 10
125 – Ryan Smith-R forfeit 6-0
133 – Zach Cunliffe-R dec. Steve Gurien-B 13-0 10-0
141 – Mike Palma-R wbf Errick Cholewa-B 1:30 16-0
149 – Mike Kessler-R dec. Nate Patterson-B 7-4 19-0
157 – Chris Wade-B maj. dec. Dan Silberman-R 14-0 19-4
165 – Chris Marold-R wbf Sam Sirota-B 3:51 25-4
174 – Kevin Owen-B forfeit 25-10
184 – Joe Maroney-R forfeit 31-10
197 – T.J. Morrison-R forfeit 37-10|
HWT – Peter Reid-R inj. def. Josh Bestle-B :01 43-10
Rider 18, Old Dominion 18
125 – Ryan Smith-R wbf Bryan LaShomb-OD :54 6-0
133 – Ryan Williams-OD dec. Zach Cunliffe-R 4-2 6-3
141 – Mike Palma-R dec. B. J. Compton-OD 10-3 9-3
149 – Mike Kessler-R dec. Jeff Becker-OD 7-2 12-3
157 – Ryan Cunningham-R dec. Nick Pullano-OD 9-5 15-3
165 – Nelson Gosnell-OD dec. Chris Marold-R 9-7 15-6
174 – TJ Hansen-OD forfeit 15-12
184 – Joe Maroney-R dec. David Mendoza-OD 7-3 18-12
197 – Adam Wright-OD dec.T.J. Morrison-R 3-2 18-15
HWT- John Dolida-OD dec. Peter Reid-R 5-2 18-18
Rider 36, JMU 9
125 – Ryan Smith-R wbf Thang Ho-JM 4:08 6-0
133 – Zach Cunliffe-R tech. fall Stephen Biggin-JM 16-1 11-0
141 – Mike Palma-R major dec. Jacob Williams 9-0 15-0
149 – Mike Kessler-R maj. dec. Jeffrey Jacobs-JM 10-1 19-0
157 – Ryan Cunningham-R dec. Scott Yorko-JM 8-6 22-0
165 – Chris Marold-R wbf Mike Meagher-JM 5:43 28-0
174 – Brian Anderson-JM forfeit 28-6
184 – Joe Maroney-R dec. Jason Chalfant-JM 6-2 31-6
197 – T.J. Morrison-R tech fall John Bauman-JM 16-0 36-6
HWT- Brandon Scott-JM dec. Nick Ciufo-R 5-1 36-9
