Wednesday, Oct 18, 2017
by Rider Sports Information
Led by a pair of wrestlers with All-American honors and four past National Qualifiers, the Rider University wrestling team has been picked by the league's coaches to win the Eastern Wrestling League, the conference has announced. Two-time All-American Chad Walsh and 2015 All-American BJ Clagon were also selected to repeat as EWL Champions at 165 and 157, respectively.
"We certainly appreciate the respect the EWL coaches have for our kids and program," said Rider Head Coach John Hangey, who's been elevated to head coach this season, taking over for the legendary Gary Taylor. "The EWL is a strong, balanced conference with good teams and individuals, which always makes the conference tournament interesting and exciting. We will need to make sure we are healthy, prepared properly and ready to compete hard to put ourselves in position to win the team title."
Each of the Rider wrestlers projected to be in the line-up is picked to finish in the top four in their weight classes. Behind the first-place projections for Walsh and Clagon are second-place nods for senior 2017 National Qualifier Michale Fagg-Daves at 184, junior Dean Sherry at 174 and transfers Tyson Dippery at 141 and Gary Dinmore at 149.
Senior heavyweight Mauro Correnti and freshman 197 Ethan Laird were picked to finish third, while senior 125 J.R. Wert and junior 133 Anthony Cefolo were each selected fourth.
The Broncs were picked to finish ahead of 2017 Champion Edinboro in both the dual team and tournament-strength polls. Rider received 78 points to Edinboro's 63 in the tournament-strength poll, followed by Lock Haven (60.5), Clarion (48), Cleveland State (26), George Mason (21.5) and Bloomsburg (8). The dual team poll mirrored the order of the tournament-strength poll.
The Broncs open the 2017 season at the Princeton Open on Nov. 4. Walsh and Clagon will also compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic, hosted by Princeton at Jadwin Gym on Nov. 5.