|
Trine University Wrestling
2008-09 Outlook
In only its fourth year, the Thunder wrestling team looks to have a break-out season. The team is returning four NCAA regional runner-up wrestlers including Junior Thomas Pompei 133lbs, Junior Nick Kraus 174lbs, Senior Louis Posa 184lbs, and Sophomore Alex Fleet 197lbs.[view]
Click here for the latest individual D3Wrestle.com rankings
ADA, Ohio. - It was the best battling the best Saturday in the 28th annual Ohio Northern University wrestling invitational at Ada, Ohio. Twenty NCAA Division II, III and NAIA programs - including seven ranked teams - faced-off in a preview of what the post-season could look like.
When the dust settled, Trine Team 1 finished 5th with 97 points. Trine Team 2 was 28th with 14 points.
Five Trine wrestlers posted top-four finishes. Louis Posa (184, Tecumseh, Mich./Clinton) finished second. Thomas Pompei (133, Fishers/Hamilton South Eastern) and Nick Kraus (174, Rolling Prairie/New Prairie) finished third. Bryan Wight (141, Fort Wayne/Homestead) and Kyle Long (157, South Bend/Washington) finished fourth.
No. 23 Olivet (D-III) was first with 128 points, Ohio Northern (D-III) at 111, West Liberty (W.Va, D-II No. 14) was third with 108, and Limestone (S.C, D-II No. 14) rounded out the top four with 104.5 points. [more]
Trine climbed six spots to No. 22 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III poll. [more]
CRAWFORDSVILLE - Nick Kraus won in the 174-pound class pinning JT Jenkins in 4:27. Kraus, a junior Health/PE major, is from Rolling Prairie and a graduate of New Prairie High School.
Tye Bowman (133, Michigantown/Clinton Central), Louis Posa (184, Tecumseh, Mich./Clinton) and Alex Fleet (197, Lowell, Mich./Lowell ) each finished third.
Brandon Harvey (Osceola/Elkhart Memorial) was fourth in 125. Thomas Pompei (Fishers/Hamilton Southeastern) was sixth in 133. David Hernandez (North Lake, Ill./West Leyden) was eighth in 141. Kyle Pittman (Greensburg/Greensburg) was sixth in 149. Kyle Long (South Bend/Washington) took sixth place in 157. Max Begovich (New Palestine/New Palestine) was seventh in 184. Alan McClure (Keystone/Southern Wells) was eighth in 197. Kyle Brown (Livonia, Mich./Franklin) finished 8th in 285.
Click the weight classes for final results and brackets.
No. 28 Trine improved to 8-1 with a 54-0 sweep over Manchester College Tuesday night at Hershey Hall. Six Thunder wrestlers scored pins in the 149-pound class, George Markou scored a :37 pin over Torryn Heffelfinger. Kyle Long (157), Nick Kraus (174), Louis Posa (184), Alex Fleet (197) and Kyle Brown (285) all recorded pins. Trine will compete Friday and Saturday at the Little State Tournament at Wabash College in Crawfordsville.
Olivet, Mich. - Trine went 4-0 to finish first in the Olivet Duels Saturday. The Thunder defeated Ohio Northern (26-16), Thiel (39-4), Baldwin-Wallace (34-10) andSaint Joesph (31-12). Nick Kraus (Rolling Prairie/New Prairie) and Alex Fleet (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) won all four of their matches.
Kraus led all Trine wrestlers with two pins while Alex Fleet(Lowell, Mich./Lowell), George Markou (Peru/Peru), Kyle Brown, (Livonia, Mich./Franklin), Bryan Leig (Braidwood, Ill./Reed-Custer) and Jason Alber (Manchester, Mich./Manchester) each recorded pins.
Trine (7-1) host Manchester Tuesday, Decemeber 2 at 7 p.m. for their first home duall of the season
Jumping to a 3-1 start in the season, Trine wrestlers have grabbed a No. 28 ranking in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll. It's the tearns first-ever national ranking.[poll]
MUSKEGON, Mich. - Trine University defeated Grand Valley State University, 40-6 and Niagra College, 42-6 at the Muskegon Community College Duals on Saturday. Leading the way for the Thunder was Thomas Pompei (Fishers/Hamilton South Eastern) who recorded falls in both of his 133 weight class matches. Their next duel will be at Olivet on Saturday
OLIVET, Mich. - Typically success is measured in small steps. Trine University’s wrestling program took a giant step Tuesday night scoring a 21-18 win over No. 16 ranked Olivet. (National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll)
Five years ago the program was born; four seasons ago the program actually sported its first official NCAA team. Last season the Thunder was competitive against nationally-ranked programs posting an 11-8 overall record.
Against the Comets, Trine finally caught the one that got away.
“This is a huge win for our program, “Head Coach Dan Callahan explained. “(For us) to come in and to compete with one of the best programs in the country, year in, year out and beat them at home is a big deal. It’s a barometer of where we are as a team.” [view]
NAPERVILLE, IL - Trine opened the 2008-09 wrestling season with a 27-9 loss to North Central in Suburban Chicago. For Trine Kyle Long outlasted North Central's Cowan Brown 3-2 in the 157 pound weight class. Nick Kraus (174) scored a 5-4 decison over George Schroeder and Alex Fleet (197) defeated Vinnie Sapienza 8-2.
The Thunder return to action Tuesday at Olivet.
|
