|
Bucknell Head Coach Dan Wirnsberger on the home duals.
On Saturday, Bucknell All-American Zach Hartman twice took the mat with his team trailing in the team score. Both times, he turned deficits into advantages with big bonus point wins.
After the Bison dropped a tight 18-15 dual against Buffalo, Lock Haven led Bucknell 12-7 as the 165 pound match approached. Hartman, a three-time EIWA finalist, got to work, almost immediately taking down his opponent, Ashton Eyler. At the end of the first period, it was 10-2 in Hartman’s favor on the strength of three takedowns and a four-point near fall. In the second, the story was similar, with Hartman picking up two more four counts on the way to a punishing 20-4 technical fall.
“I always feel confident when Zach steps on the mat,” said Bucknell head coach Dan Wirnsberger. “He’s always extremely prepared. He’s experienced, and he’s very consistent in his preparation process - outside the athletic arena and inside. His focus stays the same. He’s consistent with his nutrition, his rest, who he’s hanging out with. It carries over to his performance in the practice room and into competition. You know what you’re going to get when he goes out there.”
What Bucknell got was Hartman’s ninth bonus victory of the season (in 11 matches), which knotted the team score at 12. From there, the Bison caught fire as Sam Barnes earned his first dual win at 174, by a 10-3 score (while the Bald Eagles lost a team point in the process).
“We just found out we lost our 174 pound starter for this year [Jaden Fisher] with an injury,” Wirnsberger said. “Our philosophy is: next guy up. Sam didn’t wrestle in the Buffalo match, but we decided to give him a shot to see how he would look in competition. He looked fantastic. He stepped up to the challenge, executing the game plan against a tough competitor [Tyler Stoltzfus] who had beaten him two weeks ago. In a critical match, he kept the momentum going for us.”
Logan Deacetis (5-3 decision over Colin Fegley) and Mason McCready (4-2 win against Parker McClellan) did the same at 184 and 197, respectively. McCready trailed 1-0 late, but notched a takedown in the third and again in sudden victory to get his hand raised and clinch the dual meet victory for the Bison.
“Logan and Mason were both coming off tough losses against Buffalo - by one point and two points - in winnable matches,” Wirnsberger said. “It says a lot about them and their character that they responded the right way. They put it behind them and focused on what’s next. We knew both 174 and 184 would be close against Lock Haven. We’re confident in Logan, even though he’s young. He was a little under the weather but gave maximum effort and showed a lot of grit. Mason also showed toughness and effort. He was determined to win that match - he executed and found a way to win."
Lock Haven stopped the streak with a win at heavyweight, but when all was said and done, the home team came away with a 21-15 triumph.
Earlier in the day, Hartman took the mat after Buffalo grabbed its first lead, 9-6, after 157 pounds. In the first period, Hartman recorded his fifth pin of the campaign to push his squad ahead, 12-9. The Bulls responded with three consecutive victories, however, until Luke Niemayer’s 9-5 win at heavyweight for Bucknell completed an 18-15 final in favor of the visitors.
In that opening meet against the Bulls, Bucknell got off to an explosive start. Brandon Seidman rode a pair of third period takedowns to a 5-4 win over Tristan Daugherty at 125.
Up next at 133, Kurtis Phipps recorded a takedown in the first against nationally-ranked Derek Spann and added four back points on a tilt for a quick 6-0 advantage. He sealed the deal with a late reversal in a 9-5 decision.
“Don’t call it an upset,” read Bucknell Wrestling twitter after Phipps defeated Spann. Phipps had a 2-0 day, also earning an impressive 10-1 major over Matt Maloney of Lock Haven, spurred by two takedowns, four nearfall points, an escape, and riding time. He improved his record to 8-3 on the season.
Wirnsberger said to keep an eye out for Phipps, the PA state champ and three-time finalist, who placed seventh at the EIWA tournament last year as a true freshman.
“Kurt’s a highly credentialed guy out of high school and the expectations for him, from our staff, our program, and from Kurt himself are very high,” Wirnsberger said. “He expects to be a national champion and a multiple-time All-American. To do that, you need to execute against ranked guys and he did that [versus Spann]. Sometimes, it takes that one breakthrough win. Kurt wanted to finish that match a little bit better - to build on his early lead. But he got the reversal when he needed to. We’re confident with him on the mat and we know his best wrestling is ahead of him.”
He’s not the only young Bison wrestler who has stood out this season. Freshman Kolby Depron has compiled a 16-4 mark after two solid showings on Saturday. Against Buffalo, he lost a hard-fought overtime bout to John Arceri at 149 pounds, but rebounded with a win versus Lock Haven, with a pair of takedowns after impressive scrambles.
“We feel great with the now and the future of Kolby," Wirnsberger said. "He’s a student of the sport with a passion for wrestling. What makes him so special is his consistency of preparation. He’s all in. There’s still a lot to learn since he’s so young, but he’ll continue to grow and we’re super pleased with his early performance. You always know you’ll get a full effort, seven-minute match out of him.”
Wirnberger felt that he received that type of showing from his team over the weekend in the “great atmosphere” of Davis Gym.
“Our guys learned a lot from the Buffalo dual,” he said. “Six of those matches were decided by two or fewer points. In battles like that, you grow, whether you win or lose. A lot of those battles didn’t go our way, but we talked about it and I was proud of the way our guys turned it around against Lock Haven. We have a lot of freshmen in the lineup and we’re missing a few starters, including NCAA qualifier Darren Miller, who was undefeated at 141 this year before getting injured. He brings a lot of leadership and we look forward to getting him back, hopefully by mid-January.”
After three consecutive home duals, next up for Bucknell is the Midlands Championships in Illinois.
“Once the matches were over on Saturday, we immediately shifted our attention to Midlands and getting as prepared as possible,” Wirnsberger said. “It’s a great opportunity for guys to get their names out there on the national scene and see guys they won’t see until the national tournament. We feel confident in our team and we’re excited about what lies ahead.”
| 
