The Johns Hopkins Wrestling team completed a strong showing at the annual Red Dragon Tournament in upstate New York, finishing fifth out of 10 teams and sporting two weight class champions. Sophomore John Witzenbocker and senior Karol Gryczynski both defeated all challengers in their respective weight classes, helping Hopkins distinguish itself in a group of talented wrestling programs. Host Oneonta was the overall champion of the tournament with 116 points.
Witzenbocker's triumph in his 125-pound bracket was especially significant, as Witzenbocker was unseeded going into the tournament. He started off by pinning WPI's Anthony Pacletta early in the first round and didn't miss a beat, beating fifth-seeded Troy Takashi of Hunter, 8-6 in the quarterfinals. The true test came in the semifinals against the top-seeded wrestler, Jeremy Mayer, of Wilkes. Witzenbocker shocked Mayer from the get-go, earning a decisive 9-3 victory over the heavily-favored Mayer.
Witzenbocker then advanced to the finals, where he faced a familiar foe, freshman teammate Jim Van Daniker. Van Daniker has been pushing Witzenbocker all season, but in this match Witzenbocker soundly defeated Van Daniker 4-1 to claim the title. Witzenbocker, who has struggled earlier this season, finally found his groove and asserted his dominance that earned the whole-hearted approval of head coach Kirk Salvo.
"That's the best [Witzenbocker] has wrestled all season," Salvo said. "Getting to the finals is nice, and its great to see the fire back in his eyes."
Despite being defeated in the finals by his sophomore rival, Van Daniker had an impressive run to the finals through the 125-pound class as well. He defeated Plymouth State's Matt Friend 10-3 in the first round and sixth-seeded Josh Cuomo of Oneonta 12-0 in the quarterfinals. After two relatively easy victories, the going got much tougher in the semi-finals where he faced the second seed, Brian Benson from NYU. In the end, Van Daniker came out victorious with a 4-3 decision victory. Witzenbocker and Van Daniker established Hopkins dominance of the 125-pound weight class that will hopefully continue this season and into their upperclassmen years.
Hopkins' own behemoth, Karol Gryczynski, continued his dominating play in his 285-pound weight class, winning Hopkins' second class championship of the tournament. He quickly pinned Scranton's A.J. Caprio to move into the quarterfinals, where he battled with WPI's Tom Lashmit, eventually getting the 4-2 decision victory. Josh Stewart of home favorite Oneonta waited in the semifinals, but he was dispatched by superior play in a 5-2 decision. Another tough, yet victorious battle against third-seeded Ken McDonald in the finals gave Gryczynski the title with a 4-3 decision.
Salvo was happy with his team's performance, and relishes these tournaments as opportunities to prepare his team for conference play, which will begin in January.
"Its great to have two champions in the same tournament" said Salvo, "That's the first time in recent history that's happened. The guys did us [coaches] proud out there, and we are starting to be noticed. We got some ink in the Baltimore Sun, and I think its great that these guys are getting recognized for their efforts."
Other wrestlers for Hopkins had admirable performances at the Red Dragon Cup, especially two of Hopkins' veterans: senior Tim Wagner and junior Joe Selba. In his 165-pound weight class, Wagner entered unseeded, but came out with a strong third place finish.
Even more impressive was his award for the most falls in the tournament; four of the five wins he collected were by pin.
Wagner was defeated early by Alessandro Plutino of Wilkes, but rebounded to win his next four matches. He pinned Geoffrey Veitch of WPI in 26 seconds and Mike Kennedy of WPI in 1:19. He destroyed Peter Serian in just 57 seconds in the consolation semifinals, moving on to the finals where he won the rematch with by Alessandro Plutino of Wilkes, pinning him in 4:32.
Junior Joe Selba also entered the 165-pound weight class seeded sixth and finished fifth overall at the Red Dragon Cup. Wilkes' Kyle Lenio bested him in his first match, 11-2, but Selba went on to win three of four in the consolation bracket to take home fifth place. He recorded one pin during his impressive stretch.
Also worth mentioning is freshman Jonathon Freeman's astonishing upset of top-seeded Dave Capone of WPI in the first round. He fell in the quarterfinals, but his defeat of Capone was possibly the biggest upset of the entire tournament.
The Johns Hopkins Wrestling team will suit up next this upcoming weekend when the Blue Jays participate in the Petrofes Tournament.
"We expect stiff competition," said Salvo, "but we expect the guys to wrestle with the same intensity."
