Saturday, February 4
Princeton, N.J.
1:00 PM
Princeton University
vs
Brown
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
On Eve Of Senior Day, NCAA-Qualifying Trio Reflect On Their Journey With Princeton Wrestling
February 03, 2017 | Wrestling
Prior to Saturday's Ivy League doubleheader against Brown and Harvard — both of which will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network — seniors Brett Harner, Jordan Laster, and Ray O'Donnell shared some reflections on their four years with Princeton wrestling. The trio, each of whom has qualified for at least one NCAA Championships, also looks ahead to an emotional Saturday at Dillon Gym, where the Tigers will try to remain perfect in the Ivy League.
You can watch the full video above. The preview for Saturday's matches are below.
Prior to the arrival of the Class of 2017, Princeton wrestling had not experienced a .500 season or better since 2000-01.
Since that class arrived in the fall of 2013, Princeton wrestling hasn't experienced anything but a .500 season or better.
Obviously, there are multiple classes both before and after this particular senior class that earns credit for the last three years, but there has only been one constant — and that constant will be deservedly honored Saturday during a critically important day in Dillon Gym.
The six members of the Princeton Wrestling Class of 2017 — Brett Harner, Jordan Laster, Jake Moore, Troy Murtha, Ray O'Donnell, and Max Rogers — will compete in their final collegiate home matches this Saturday, and both will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Princeton (5-6, 1-0 Ivy) will open competition at 1 pm against Brown (4-6, 0-2 Ivy), and then will take on Harvard (2-5, 1-1 Ivy) at 5 pm. The Tigers will honor their senior class prior to the Brown match, and they will celebrate the 1967 Ivy League championship team prior to the Harvard match.
The current Princeton team would love nothing more than to get another shot at the Ivy League championship — the Tigers wrestled Cornell in a winner-take-all match last season — but the Tigers will need to take care of business this weekend first. While Princeton swept the Harvard-Brown weekend last season, neither win came easily. The Tigers needed on overtime win from Jonathan Schleifer to rally for a 19-16 win at Harvard, and they needed another Schleifer win the following day to close out a 21-16 win over Brown.
Schleifer is one of five projected Princeton starters who will enter this weekend ranked in the latest InterMat poll. Four of the ranked wrestlers — Harner (10), Laster (16), O'Donnell (18), and Schleifer (19) — are veterans of the Ivy League battles, and each advanced to the NCAA Championships last winter.
The fifth is freshman Matthew Kolodzik, who enters the weekend ranked fourth at 141 pounds. While Kolodzik has 18 wins already this season, his last outing was a 4-0 loss to third-ranked Joey McKenna of Stanford. The Cardinal rallied to win that team match, making it the fifth nationally ranked team to defeat Princeton this season.
Tiger head coach Chris Ayres specifically set his schedule to have the Tigers battle-tested for February and March. That first test comes this Saturday, a day that promises to be an emotional one for a class who helped turn the program around — and one that is still chasing the loftiest of goals.
PRINCETON PROBABLES
125 – Ty Agaisse (8-5)
133 – Pat D'Arcy (6-11)
141 – #4 Matthew Kolodzik (18-2)
149 – #16 Jordan Laster (12-7)
157 – Mike D'Angelo (5-6) or Leonard Merkin (8-7)
165 – Riley DeMoss (1-8) or Joe Tavoso (2-9)
174 – #19 Jonathan Schleifer (11-4)
184 – Ian Baker (4-8) or Kevin Parker (11-10)
197 – #10 Brett Harner (10-5)
285 – #18 Ray O'Donnell (8-5)
BROWN PROBABLES
125 – Trey Keeley (12-14)
133 – Jimmy Pawelski (16-10) or Nick Lattanze (8-6)
141 – Zeke Salvo (14-16) or Charlie Banaszak (11-10)
149 – Travis Vasquez (9-6)
157 – William McDonald (5-13) or Steven Galiardo (5-3)
165 – Jon Viruet (21-12)
174 – Andrew LaBrie (6-8) or Galloway Thurston (7-10)
184 – CJ LaFragola (18-11)
197 – Tucker Ziegler (16-16) or Josh Durso-Finley (5-9)
285 – Ian Butterbrodt (14-10)
HARVARD PROBABLES
125 – Connor Sakmar (0-8)
133 – Jeff Ott (11-13) or Sam Goldman (4-6)
141 – AJ Jaffe (16-9) or Ryan Friedman (4-6)
149 – Hunter Ladnier (13-10)
157 – Zeth Dean (2-11) or Colby Knight (2-8)
165 – Kyle Bierdumpfel (11-9) or Peter Bearse (2-7)
174 – Josef Johnson (23-7) or Rico Stomer (4-8)
184 – Kanon Dean (6-12)
197 – Logan Kirby (6-9)
Hwt – Nick Gajdzik (15-13)
You can watch the full video above. The preview for Saturday's matches are below.
Prior to the arrival of the Class of 2017, Princeton wrestling had not experienced a .500 season or better since 2000-01.
Since that class arrived in the fall of 2013, Princeton wrestling hasn't experienced anything but a .500 season or better.
Obviously, there are multiple classes both before and after this particular senior class that earns credit for the last three years, but there has only been one constant — and that constant will be deservedly honored Saturday during a critically important day in Dillon Gym.
The six members of the Princeton Wrestling Class of 2017 — Brett Harner, Jordan Laster, Jake Moore, Troy Murtha, Ray O'Donnell, and Max Rogers — will compete in their final collegiate home matches this Saturday, and both will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Princeton (5-6, 1-0 Ivy) will open competition at 1 pm against Brown (4-6, 0-2 Ivy), and then will take on Harvard (2-5, 1-1 Ivy) at 5 pm. The Tigers will honor their senior class prior to the Brown match, and they will celebrate the 1967 Ivy League championship team prior to the Harvard match.
The current Princeton team would love nothing more than to get another shot at the Ivy League championship — the Tigers wrestled Cornell in a winner-take-all match last season — but the Tigers will need to take care of business this weekend first. While Princeton swept the Harvard-Brown weekend last season, neither win came easily. The Tigers needed on overtime win from Jonathan Schleifer to rally for a 19-16 win at Harvard, and they needed another Schleifer win the following day to close out a 21-16 win over Brown.
Schleifer is one of five projected Princeton starters who will enter this weekend ranked in the latest InterMat poll. Four of the ranked wrestlers — Harner (10), Laster (16), O'Donnell (18), and Schleifer (19) — are veterans of the Ivy League battles, and each advanced to the NCAA Championships last winter.
The fifth is freshman Matthew Kolodzik, who enters the weekend ranked fourth at 141 pounds. While Kolodzik has 18 wins already this season, his last outing was a 4-0 loss to third-ranked Joey McKenna of Stanford. The Cardinal rallied to win that team match, making it the fifth nationally ranked team to defeat Princeton this season.
Tiger head coach Chris Ayres specifically set his schedule to have the Tigers battle-tested for February and March. That first test comes this Saturday, a day that promises to be an emotional one for a class who helped turn the program around — and one that is still chasing the loftiest of goals.
PRINCETON PROBABLES
125 – Ty Agaisse (8-5)
133 – Pat D'Arcy (6-11)
141 – #4 Matthew Kolodzik (18-2)
149 – #16 Jordan Laster (12-7)
157 – Mike D'Angelo (5-6) or Leonard Merkin (8-7)
165 – Riley DeMoss (1-8) or Joe Tavoso (2-9)
174 – #19 Jonathan Schleifer (11-4)
184 – Ian Baker (4-8) or Kevin Parker (11-10)
197 – #10 Brett Harner (10-5)
285 – #18 Ray O'Donnell (8-5)
BROWN PROBABLES
125 – Trey Keeley (12-14)
133 – Jimmy Pawelski (16-10) or Nick Lattanze (8-6)
141 – Zeke Salvo (14-16) or Charlie Banaszak (11-10)
149 – Travis Vasquez (9-6)
157 – William McDonald (5-13) or Steven Galiardo (5-3)
165 – Jon Viruet (21-12)
174 – Andrew LaBrie (6-8) or Galloway Thurston (7-10)
184 – CJ LaFragola (18-11)
197 – Tucker Ziegler (16-16) or Josh Durso-Finley (5-9)
285 – Ian Butterbrodt (14-10)
HARVARD PROBABLES
125 – Connor Sakmar (0-8)
133 – Jeff Ott (11-13) or Sam Goldman (4-6)
141 – AJ Jaffe (16-9) or Ryan Friedman (4-6)
149 – Hunter Ladnier (13-10)
157 – Zeth Dean (2-11) or Colby Knight (2-8)
165 – Kyle Bierdumpfel (11-9) or Peter Bearse (2-7)
174 – Josef Johnson (23-7) or Rico Stomer (4-8)
184 – Kanon Dean (6-12)
197 – Logan Kirby (6-9)
Hwt – Nick Gajdzik (15-13)
Players Mentioned
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