While most Columbia students will be thinking about turkey, family, and final papers over the coming weekend, the wrestling team will be preoccupied with three important dual meets.
After two straight weekends of tournament play, the Lions are finally prepared to begin their dual season. On Saturday, head coach Brendan Buckley’s squad will face off against Bloomsburg, North Carolina, and Sacred Heart in a long day of competition at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y.
“It’ll be nice to have the team component this weekend,” Buckley said. “We’ve got a really tight team, a cohesive group, and when you have that you tend to see good results in dual meets.”
Columbia’s most formidable challenge will come from North Carolina. The Tar Heels stand at 2-1 this year after big wins over Gardner-Webb and American. They also lost a squeaker to Bucknell at the ACC Challenge earlier this month, 19-14.
Bloomsburg and Sacred Heart are less dangerous teams. The Huskies are having a strong season so far, although their competition has been weak. On Nov. 7, they swept Boston University and Millersville at the Millersville Duals. By contrast, the Pioneers had a long day at the Body Bar Invitational on Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. Columbia, which also participated in the 11-team tournament, finished eighth. Sacred Heart came in dead last.
The Lions have had strong individual performances this year from junior Eren Civan, freshman Steven Santos, freshman Stephen West, freshman Jacob O’Hara, and sophomore Jonathan Weibel. Most recently, at the Body Bar Invitational, Civan finished second in the 165-pound bracket and Santos came in fourth overall at 149 pounds.
Saturday will be the last time the Lions hit the mat until the following weekend, when they travel out west for the Las Vegas Invitational before a month-long break. The Northeast Duals should provide an important gauge for where the Light Blue stands in head-to-head competition.
Buckley points out that the Lions need to win the close bouts and overcome some of the inexperience manifested in the early tournaments. Still, the team is revved up and ready to go.
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