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Wrestling Opens Season With Six Placewinners At Binghamton Open
November 14, 2011 | Wrestling
The sixth year for wrestling head coach Chris Ayres began with an impressive total of six placewinners at the 2011 Binghamton Open, which included some of the strongest wrestling programs in the East.
The six placewinners, all of whom are juniors or younger, was another sign of the growth of the Princeton wrestling program. Last year, only three Tigers placed in this same tournament; two years ago, only one placed.
"It was a good day," Ayres said afterwards. "I honestly thought we wrestled well. There were a couple bad matches, but I thought we wrestled hard. There are things that stood out, that we can now work on. In that way, mission accomplished."
Juniors Garrett Frey (125) and Zach Bintliff (149), sophomores Adam Krop (141), Brandon Rolnick (165) and Ryan Callahan (184), and freshman Chris Perez each earned a top-six finish Sunday to complete the first day of the Princeton wrestling season.
Frey, a former champion in this tournament and a two-time placewinner, took third at his weight class. The junior co-captain won five of six matches, and he avenged his loss in the championship quarterfinals by defeating Vince Rodriguez of George Mason 7-2 in the third-place match.
"He showed a lot of toughness today," Ayres said. "He had the one bad match, but he showed a lot of resilience in working his way through wrestlebacks. He did well."
Perez grabbed the attention of his coaching staff during the preseason, and he impressed a tough 133-pound field Sunday. He won three matches in the championship bracket before losing a decision to eventual champion Bryan Ortenzio of Penn. Perez lost his first wrestleback match in overtime, but he earned a 15-1 major decision over Hofstra's Jamie Franco to take fifth.
"I felt like Perez left it all out there," Ayres said. "He has that mental factor you need. He wants to be really good, and he'll continue to get better."
Krop knows what Perez feels like, since he placed in his first collegiate competition at the 2010 Binghamton Open. Krop won twice during the championship draw before falling in the semifinals. He scored three late back points to advance to the third-place match, where he scored a 2-0 win over Penn's Mark Pinero.
"He's been doing great this preseason," Ayres said. "I know he's good, and he showed what he can do today."
Bintliff, who placed at the 2011 EIWA Championships, won twice during the championship draw before falling to the eventual weight clas champion. He split a pair of consolation matches, including a pin of Brown's Zack Kulczycki to earn fifth.
The sophomore duo of Rolnick and Callahan was the most prominent pairing of the Class of 2014. While each saw some success last year, Ayres is optimistic that the year of experience will make them far more prepared this season. Rolnick, who moved up two weight classes to 165, won twice in the championship draw and twice in the consolation draw to place sixth.
Callahan had an impressive run through the championship draw at 184. He scored a technical fall, a pin and a 5-2 decision to reach the semifinal, where he lost to fourth-ranked Steve Bosak of Cornell. Callahan ended up placing sixth at the weight.
While those would be Princeton's placewinners, the Tigers grabbed several other victories throughout the draw, including wins by both seniors Daniel Kolodzik (157) and Kurt Brendel (197). You can see all of Princeton's results by clicking on the "Complete Brackets" link above.
Princeton will wrestle against both Wisconsin and Rider Friday in Lawrenceville, and then will compete at the 2011 Keystone Open Sunday in Philadelphia.