While Oswego State students were enjoying the full winter break with family and friends, the wrestling team was putting in additional work. Although the Lakers’ 2017 portion of the season did not jump off the page, the reality is they were not healthy. In fact, the team still has not reached full strength.
“We haven’t been able to put out our best lineup yet [due to injury,]” head coach Mike Howard said. “So we are still looking to do that. We’ve got this weekend where we are getting closer, but we are still going to miss some guys. After that, in the final duals, we’ll be able to put the final pieces in place.”
One of the big injuries suffered for the wrestling team was All-American from last season, Jordan Bushey, who suffered a severe staph infection last semester and is no longer on the roster.
The team started 2018 competitions Jan. 6. Oswego State competed in the NY/PA Duals in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, against King’s College and Lycoming College. The Lakers put a damper on the host’s night, as they obliterated the Monarchs of King’s College, 47-9. Oswego State was led by their veterans as sophomore Alex Herringshaw and juniors Rocco Russo and Jeff Lombardi won their matchups by pins.
Later that day, the Lakers did not have the outcome they wanted. Lycoming College defeated the Lakers 24-17 in the second matchup. The Warriors battled back from an early deficit as Oswego State took a quick lead with sophomores Hunter Howland and Evan Corso defeating Cameron Terry and Eric Hunt, respectively. The Warriors won the next three matchups by seven points combined as DeLuccia, Rocco, and Bush could not get victories. Rocco had a good match, despite the loss, as it was to 10th-ranked grappler Jake Daniel.
The Lakers outscored the Wolves 47-9 and were led by Herringshaw, who won by technical foul with a score of 16-0. Bush, also scored big, winning 13-1, and Russo was able to outscore Carter Armendarez 9-2.
The next time out for the Lakers was rather special. Jan. 12 was the Budd Whitehill Duals, where Oswego State competed against three other colleges. The most notorious matchup was the Lakers’ 21-17 victory over No. 18 ranked Wesleyan College. The Lakers won 6 of 10 matches, including an incredible five straight. The Lakers started the day off strong with sophomore Jack Delduca defeating Zack Murillo by a 7-4 decision.
“Right out of the gate, Delduca had a big match for us,” Howard said. “He started off with a bang, controlling the match start to finish.”
Others on the Lakers confessed their self-motivation whenever they succeed as a team.
“[When a teammate wins], it gets everyone fired up,” junior Troy Semour said. “Especially if someone wins a match they aren’t supposed to, it’s also really tough on the opponents [and their moral.]”
Although the competition has been tough, the Lakers have loved the challenge.
“Competing against those top teams is a blessing,” Lombardi said. “We were also at a tournament in Binghamton where it was all Div. I schools. We were the only Div. III school. If we could wrestle at their level, it gives us a lot of confidence at regionals and nationals.”
After the upset, the Lakers lost their edge against The College of New Jersey. The Lions edged out the Lakers, 28-13. Oswego State bounced back against the Polar Bears of Northern Ohio University. They won 28-17, led by Delduca, Corso and Seymour. Russo and Herringshaw picked up their third wins on the day by scores of 6-2 and 14-3, respectively.
On the second day of the Whitehill Duals, the Lakers were defeated by Springfield College 22-20. Jan. 17, the Lakers were defeated by the then No. 22 Golden Eagles of the College at Brockport. Despite the 27-17 loss, the competition was much closer than the score shows. The Lakers pulled within one, but a pin by Triston Engle, the ninth best wrestler in the country, put it out of reach. Three days later, the Lakers placed fourth of six teams at the ECWC Championships.
At the ECWC Championships, the Lakers had several wrestlers place. Seymour won the 174 pound title, while Howland and Herringshaw placed second. In addition to those three, junior Kade Andrews finished third, Delduca and Lombardi finished fourth. Bush and freshman Isaac Matthews placed fifth.
With a handful of competitions left for the Lakers, expect more great matches on their way to Indianapolis, Indiana for the NCAA regionals.
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