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Trine University Wrestling
2009-10 Outlook
Thunder wrestling made huge strides in 2008-09, and this season holds even more expectations for the five-year old program. The Thunder upset nationally-ranked Olivet early last season and jumped into national polls for the first time ever. The Thunder also finished second in the Midwest Regional and 11-5 in dual meets.
Four 25-match winners are back, and a solid set of freshmen will join the team. After finishing second in the regional, behind nationally ranked Delaware Valley and tied with Olivet, the team is poised for another successful season. The team has good upper class representation, promising young wrestlers and lots of potential with a solid recruiting class that should challenge for starting spots right away. [view]
Crawfordsville, Ind. - Twentieth-ranked Trine scored a 17 point win over Wabash to claim the Mid-States Tournament title Saturday at Wabash College. The Thunder took first place scoring 150 points, Wabash finished with 132.5. Olivet 129, Mount Saint Joseph 95.5 and Manchester 68.5 rounded out the competition.
“It’s what we wanted out of it. Our kids wrestled well. They are progressing at the rate we want them to, " Trine Head Coach Dan Callahan said. “We’ve got a week of hard training ahead and the week after that we’ll be putting the final touches in as we get ready for the regional.”
Eight freshmen and another sophomore placed, in addition to many of Trine stand-by's.
Next up for the Thunder is the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional February 20 at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. The event is a qualifier for the NCAA Division III National Championship.
Trace Hall (149, South Bend, Ind./Riley) George Markou (165, Peru, Ind./Peru), Nick Kraus (184, Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) and Alex Fleet (197, Lowell, Mich./Lowell) claimed individual championships.
Three Thunder wrestlers finished second: Ryan Pieper (174, Onsted, Mich./Onsted), Dylan Forbes (285, Wolcottville, Ind./Prairie Heights) and Thomas Pompei (141, Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) .
Nick Odom (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) finished third in 149. He also recorded three pins, in seven minutes, 52 seconds to win the most falls, least time award. Will Sheets (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) was fourth at 133. Henry Waring (Avilla, Ind./East Noble) finished fifth at 165.
‘"We’ve shown some depth. Our young wrestlers did well. Nick and Trace have been wrestling well. I knew Trace was good. He lived-up to my expectations. (Up till now) he hasn’t been able to break our lineup. Given the opportunity, they took advantage of it,” Callahan said.
Callahan was also named Mid-States Coach of the Year by a vote of conference coaches.
“It’s always a goal. You do your best and work will hard. We have a great coaching staff. But, we have great wrestlers and it’s always about them. It’s a team award. It has something to do with coaching, but its more about putting together a team and a program, and that’s what I am proud of.”
Oswego, N.Y. - Trine jumps 10 spots to No. 20 in the NWCA/Brute/Addias Top 30 Division III wrestling poll.
In their last five head-to-head duals, Trine wrestlers have gone 3-2, including wins over then No. 29 Olivet, No. 20 Wisconsin-Steven's Point and No. 8 Elmhurst.
Click here for the latest poll.
Whitewater, Wis. - Trine wrestling continues to gain momentum. Saturday the No. 30 Thunder went 2-1 against three Top-30 NCAA Division III wrestling programs at the 2010 Border Brawl hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
In Round one, Trine ousted No. 20 Wisconsin-Steven’s Point 20-15. The Thunder dropped a 23-19 decision to No. 17 Wisconsin-Whitewater 23-19 and rallied to upset eighth-ranked Elmhurst 25-16.
Head Coach Dan Callahan says the success is based in mental toughness. “We believe we can wrestle with anyone. That belief has made a big difference. The guys are winning close matches and tough matches. It’s a confidence thing and if someone loses during the day, someone else steps up and wins a tough match later. They’ve banded together.”
Sophomore Kyle Long (157 pounds, South Bend, Ind./Washington) and Ryan Pieper (174, Onsted, Mich./Onsted) went 3-0 for the day.
In the last five matches against ranked opponents, Trine is 3-2.
Head Coach Dan Callahan talks with
Scott Casber of Takedown Wrestling Radio about starting a college program, the school, the wrestlers and sport.
Click here to listen.
DES MOINES, Iowa - Trine wrestlers continue to gain national attention. Seven of the ten starting wrestlers are now ranked in their respective weight classes in the d3wrestle.com Top 25.
In the 141 pound class, senior, Thomas Pompei (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), is 19-8 and ranked 12th.
At 149 sophomore Elias Larson (Orland Park, Ill. /Marion Catholic) is 29-7 and ranked 15th.
Sophomore Kyle Long (South Bend, Ind. /Washington) has a 23-6 win-loss record and ranked 14th in 157.
At 165, Sophomore George Markou (Peru, Ind. /Peru) is ranked 19th with a 20-8 record.
Freshman Ryan Pieper (Onsted, Mich. /Onsted) at 174 is ranked 25th and is 18-13 overall.
At 184, senior Nick Kraus (Rolling Prairie, Ind. /New Prairie) is 23-8 and ranked 13th.
At 197, senior Alex Fleet (Lowell, Mich. /Lowell) is ranked 20th with a 19-10 record.
As a team, the Thunder are 10-6 and ranked 30th in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
Click here for individual rankings
After falling behind 9-0, the Thunder wrestlers stormed back to post a 20-15 win over 29th-ranked Olivet Tuesday at Hershey Hall.
It was senior night, and the seniors did deliver. Nick Kraus (197, Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) scored a technical fall victory and Jason Alber (Manchester, Mich./Manchester) recorded a 9-7 win in 184. But, a sophomore ultimately sealed the deal for Trine.
With Trine clinging to a 17-15 lead in the final match at 285-pounds, Dylan Forbes (Wolcottville, Ind./Prairie Heights) scored a gutty 2-0 win to secure the triumph for the Thunder. Trine is now 10-6 in dual matches.
“It was a great team win for us,” Head Coach Dan Callahan said. “We had a patch-work lineup and they came through.“
After dropping the first two matches, the Thunder won six of the final eight bouts.
Trine hosts its last home wrestling event Tuesday when it welcomes Olivet to Hershey Hall. It’s quickly becoming a heated rivalry and this match should be no different. Olivet is ranked 29th in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Trine is 30th. Matches get started at 7 p.m.
Williamsport, Pa. - Nick Kraus (184 pounds/Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) went 4-0 and the Thunder wrestling team went 2-2 overall at the Budd Whitehill National Duals Friday and Saturday at Lycoming College.
Trine defeated Messiah 23-18, but lost to fourth-ranked Ithaca 34-4 and to King's College 24-16. The Thunder defeated SUNY-Oswego 31-12 in the challenge round. Thomas Pompei (141, Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and Elias Larson (149, Orland Park, Il./Marion Catholic) both finished 3-1.
Eight of the top 30 NCAA Division III wrestling teams were represented at the event.
Trine is back in action Tuesday hosting No. 29 Olivet at Hershey Hall.
Oswego, N.Y. - Trine University is back in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Brute-Adidas Top 30 poll.
Just a week after dropping out of the poll, the Thunder went 4-0 at the Knox College Chuck Porter Duals to climb back into the poll. The Thunder are 7-4 overall in dual meets.
The Thunder is in action Saturday at the Budd Whitehills Invitational at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa. Click here for the latest poll.
Galesburg, Ill. - Trine went 4-0 to claim the title at the Chuck Porter Duals Saturday at Knox College.
The Thunder defeated Truman State 37-9, UW-Platteville 27-18 and Augustana 29-17 in pool play. In the final round, the Thunder beat Loras 28-15 to win the eight-team event.
Head Coach Dan Callahan said the team is starting to scratch its potential, especially in the middle weight classes.
“Those seven weight classes went 27-1 for the day,” he said. “We are getting closer to where we want to be. We aren’t there yet, but we are making strides.”
Six wrestlers finished undefeated Saturday to lead the Thunder. Kyle Long (157, South Bend, Ind./Washington); Thomas Pompei (141, Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern); Nick Kraus (184 , Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) Alex Fleet (197, Lowell, Mich./Lowell), Elias Larson (149, Orland Park, Ill./Marion Catholic) and Ryan Pieper (174, Onsted, Mich./Onsted) all were 4-0 on the day.
Kraus recorded two pins for the event.
‘It’s not just that they are winning. It’s about how they are winning. They are getting points late, and crucial points. That’s the thing that stands out,” Callahan said.
Trine returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Budd Whitehills Duals at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Click here for results.
INDIANAPOLIS - Trine finished tenth at Midwest Classic Sunday at the University of Indianapolis. The Thunder tied Mount Saint Joseph with 52 points. Limestone was ninth with 55 points. Northern State was 12th with 49.5 points.
“It was a very tough tournament, we completed against some of the best teams in the country including some of the top Division II teams. I felt like we did compete,” Coach Dan Callahan said.
Three wrestlers finished in the top ten. Elias Larson (Orland Park, Ill. /Marion Catholic/149) and Alex Fleet (Lowell, Mich./Lowell/197) were fifth. Nick Kraus (Rolling Prairie, Ind. /New Prairie/184) was sixth.
Twenty-two teams attended the two-day tournament. Click here for brackets and team scores
Trine has cracked the Division III Top 30 poll for the first time this season. The Thunder (3-4) are at No.30. The next poll will be released January 4. Click here for the poll
INDIANAPOLIS - NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis won five matches to edge Trine 18-16 in a clash of Indiana wrestling rivals Thursday. The Thunder now drop to 3-4 in head-to-head matches.
Thomas Pompei (141, Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), Elias Larson (157, Orland Park, Ill./Marion Catholic) Ryan Pieper (174, Onsted, Mich./Onsted), Nick Kraus (184, Rolling Prairie/New Prairie) and Alex Fleet (197, Lowell, Ind./Lowell) grabbed victories. Brandon Harvey (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial) was narrowly defeated 2-0 by Alex Johns at 125.
Trine returns to action January 2 and 3, also at the University of Indianapolis, for the Midwest Classic. Click here for results
George Markou (Peru, Ind./Peru) and Nick Kraus (Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) both went 4-0 to claim first place Saturday at the Indiana Little State Tournament at Trine University.
Markou took top honors in 165, while Kraus won 184.
In total, nine Trine wrestlers placed in the top four or better, seventeen finished in the top eight spots.
'We wrestled well," Trine Coach Dan Callahan said, "We were aggressive and we are taking little steps toward becoming the best team we can be at the end of the season."
Elias Larson (Orland, Park, Ill./Marion Catholic) finished second in 141, recording three falls in a total of 7 minutes, 34 seconds.
Larson also was honored for the most pins in the least amount of time.
Kyle Long (South Bend, Ind./Washington) and Alex Fleet (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) finished second in 157 and 197 respectively. Ryan Pieper (Onsted, Mich./Onsted) finished second in 174.
Brandon Harvey (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial) was third in 125. Thomas Pompei (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) was third in 141 while Jason Alber (North Manchester, Ind./Manchester) was fourth in 174. Click here for final results.
Trine wrestlers continue to face top competition, hosting the 2009 Little State Tournament Friday and Saturday at Hershey Hall in Angola. The Thunder (3-3) welcome 19th ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater and ten other programs from Indiana and the region.
Action begins Friday at 2 p.m., with Saturday action getting underway at 9 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and Trine students with ID are admitted free. Click here for more tournament information.
OLIVET, Mich. - Trine wrestlers went 2-1 overall at the Olivet College Comet Duals Saturday to improve to 3-3 on the season. The Thunder captured victories over Heidelberg 16-15 and NCAA Division II Grand Valley State University 33-18 while narrowly losing to Olivet 20-18.
Brandon Harvey (125, Elkhart, Ind./Memorial), Elias Larson (149, Orland Park, Ill./Marion Catholic), Nick Kraus (184, Rolling Prairie, Ind./New Prairie) and Kyle Long (157, South Bend, Ind./Washington) won all three off their matches to lead the Thunder. [Results]
SHEYBOYGAN, Wisc., - Trine went 1-2 overall to kickoff the 2009-10 NCAA Division III wrestling season Saturday, but several individuals posted successful showings at the event.
Trine faced two of the top ranked programs in the Midwest.
As a team, Trine fell 28-10 to eighth-ranked Concordia-Morehead in the first round; bounced back to dominate UW-Eau Clare 44-6 in the third round and dropped a 23-11 decision to No. 10 North Central in round four.
Kyle Long (157, South Bend, Ind./Washington) and George Markou (165, Peru, Ind./Peru) finished 3-0; Markou edged Lane Lunde of Concordia-Morehead who was ranked 10th in the pre-season individual poll. Alex Fleet (197, Lowell, Ind./Lowell) and Elias Larson (149, Orland Park, Ill. /Marion Catholic) finished 2-1.
Fleet upset ninth-ranked Vinnie Sapienza of North Central. [Results]
Catch a sneak peak of the 2009-10 Trine wrestling season with a preview from
d3wrestle.com [view].
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