2008 Woodie Awards
RSSSeason begins with annual wrestle-offs
By Robbie Aaron
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Sports
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The wrestle-offs took a new spin this year, as Head Coach Greg Strobel allowed two "special guests" to draft the Lehigh Brown and Lehigh White teams.
Leading the Brown team was former varsity wrestler Richard Moll, '61, and drafting the White team was Richard Kish, professor of finance and law. Moll is currently involved in Hawks wrestling, representing the Lehigh Wrestling Club.
"It was really nice to get people other than the current wrestlers involved as well," Strobel said. "The two coaches did a great job of getting everyone into the matches and really making it a truly special competition."
Sophomore heavyweight Justin Allen was selected first by Kish. Allen faced junior Samir Soriano and gave the White team a fast 6-0 lead after pinning Soriano in the second period.
Early in the night, the freshmen were given a chance to show their prowess. At 141, freshman Kyle Rosser was able to roll over junior Steve Seemuller 10-0. In 157, freshman Sean Bilodeau squared off against freshman Ben Marich. Bilodeau squeaked by in a strong battle, 13-7.
"Overall, I was extremely impressed with the way the matches went," Strobel said. "The boys went into the night with the same mentality that I'd want them taking into any other match."
Sophomore wrestler Tim Buirkle said he believes the format of this year's wrestle-offs may help the Hawks down the road.
"We all looked at the wrestle-offs as we would the biggest match of the season," Buirkle said. "I think that because our coaches work us hard and stress work ethic, even for the wrestle-offs, it'll definitely benefit us in matches later in the season."
Other key match-ups in the wrestle-offs featured sophomore Mike Galante and senior David Nakasone battling at 165, freshman Alex Caruso and senior Eddy Silverman at 174, and sophomore Alex Iacocca and junior Jamie O'Dowd in the final battle of the night. Galante, with the help of an early take down, slipped by Nakasone, 4-3. Caruso had five takedowns to roll past Silverman, 13-5, while Iacocca defeated O'Dowd 15-10.
