The Oswego State wrestling season is underway with an eighth-place finish at the Ithaca College Invitational and the McGinley Tournament in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Lakers will look to build off of this for the rest of the season.
At the Ithaca College Invitational, the Lakers finished eighth out of 14 teams with a total of 66 points. Aiden Mathews and Isaac Mathews both made it to the semifinals of their respective weight classes. Aiden Mathews also made it to the semifinals one week later in the McGinley Tournament. The Lakers took eighth out of 12 teams that week, with a total of 68.5 points. The real bright spot so far this season is junior Christian Gramuglia, who won the 165-pound weight class in each of the tournaments. Gramuglia said his success starts before he hits the mat.
“Stay focused,” Gramuglia said. “I get a good warmup in. You have to make sure you have energy after you weigh in and eat some good food.”
The Lakers are coming off a 7-7 season in which they placed ninth out of 18 teams in the NCAA Mideast Regionals. Oswego State took five members of the team to regionals, with four seniors. The lone sophomore was none other than Gramuglia. At regionals, the Lakers had a total of 54.5 points with the highest finishers being Gramuglia and Troy Seymour, who both finished fifth in their respective weight classes. The Lakers are looking to improve from last year and have done that. Last year at the Ithaca College Invitational, they did not perform as well as this year, as last season they finished in 10th place. Head coach Mike Howard has been impressed so far with his athletes.
“They have done well,” Howard said. “Initially at Ithaca, it was a pleasant surprise to see how well we did. We have a lot of new faces in the lineup. I wasn’t sure [who] was going to show up, but overall the team battled hard and put on a good show. We are just trying to build each week off of past successes and shore up the things we did not do well and keep moving forward.”
Oswego State has two more invitationals before facing off against individual opponents. This includes the Nov. 24 contest at the Max Ziel Gymnasium. This will give them a chance to get used to more opponents and wrestle frequently against some tougher opponents. In the first two invitationals, the Lakers have had some wrestlers succeed and if they keep up that pace, it could be a very strong season from them. If Gramuglia continues the success from last season and early this season, he could build off an impressive sophomore campaign. As only a sophomore, he made it to regionals, where he was able to finish fifth. Having two invitationals wins already is a strong start.
“A lot of people get caught up in the process of who they’re wrestling and how good they are,” Gramuglia said. “My main focus is just having fun. If I go out there and have fun, I feel like there is always a chance to be in the match and win.”
He and his teammates will be having a lot of fun if he keeps wrestling like this. These early wins are certainly a confidence booster for him.
Aiden Mathews who lost in the semifinals at the McGinley Tournament, due to his contact falling out, has also impressed in the first two tournaments. With that, he is excited with where the team is going.
“I think we are doing very well, we are moving in the right direction,” Mathews said. “The guys, compared to other colleges, are self-motivated to wrestle which I like.”
Howard said it is a long season and looking forward to getting better every day.
“If we keep doing the right things and making good decisions outside the wrestling room, we will be okay,” Howard said. “It is going to be a fun year and we are looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
The Oswegonian file photo from 2018
