The Columbia wrestling team kicked off its season Sunday at the Bearcat Invitational in Binghamton, N.Y. After a number of strong finishes down the lineup, the Lions now have a better idea of where they stand just two weeks before their first dual meet.
Freshman Steve Santos led the Light Blue with a second‑place finish at 149 pounds, losing 6-4 in the finals to Donnie Vinson after close 4-3 and 4-2 victories in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively.
Head coach Brendan Buckley liked what he saw from Santos in the freshman’s first tournament. “He lost a really close match to the No. 13 kid in the country,” Buckley said.
A number of other Lions also had big days, with three others finishing in the top five of their weight class. At 174 pounds, sophomore Jonathan Weibel took third overall, losing in the semifinals to Cornell’s Mack Lewnes, who is ranked No. 2 in the nation.
Additionally, junior Eren Civan placed fourth at 165 pounds and sophomore Kevin Lester took fifth in the heavyweight bracket.
“The guys were doing some really good things today,” Buckley said. An early tournament provides a useful gauge for a team’s status early in the season, and Buckley plans to use the Bearcat Open as a learning experience. “We obviously also saw some things we have to work on,” he said.
A number of other Lions picked up at least one win in the tournament, including Kyle Gilchrist, who went 3-2 at 125 pounds, Matt Dunn (4-2 at 157 pounds), and Shane Strumwasser (4-2 at 141 pounds). Jake O’Hara and Nick Standish each finished with one victory.
“We wrestled hard,” Buckley said. “We did much better today than we did one year ago at the same tournament.”
The Lions next hit the mat this coming weekend at the Body Bar Invitational, which will be hosted by Cornell.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy