Centennial Preview 2012

Centennial Conference Championships – 11 qualifiers

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at Gettysburg
Returning Qualifiers/All-Americans:
Paul Marcello (Johns Hopkins, 141), Martin Bell (USMMA, 149), Connor McCormick (Ursinus, 149), Joe Favia (Stevens, 165), Ryan Dormann (Stevens, 174), Gregg Martino (NYU, 174), Connor McNamara (Ursinus, 197), Reid Mosquera (Johns Hopkins, 197)

The guard has changed in the Centennial, as the four-time defending champion Merchant Marine squad graduated a group of seniors that brough home numerous All-American awards and a pair of NCAA Championships. What is left to be seen is who will step in and win the 2012 title. Ursinus swept the dual meet slate in the conference and has a pair of 2010 qualifiers in McCormick and McNamara, while Stevens has its own pair of qualifiers and spent most of the year in the national rankings. Johns Hopkins could also be a threat with realistic shots to win at six weights, and conference newcomer NYU is solid from top to bottom. There are no returning All-Americans in the Centennial, so it falls on the shoulders of some unproven athletes to come up big in La Crosse.

125 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Bewak (JHU, HM), Donaldson (Ursinus, HM), O’Boyle (McDaniel, HM), Evans (Gettysburg, HM)
With the exception of the senior Evans, this weight is dominated by newcomers, as top seed Bewak, O’Boyle, and Donaldson are all freshmen, and NYU’s Santana is a junior college transfer. Bewak defeated everyone he wrestled, but after that, things start to get messy, as pretty much the rest of the guys mentioned have an argument for the 2nd or 3rd seed via head to head matchups and common opponents. Regardless, this weight, as much as any in the tournament save 133, will come down simply to who can show up when the lights are on.

133 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: none
This is the weight class where seeding almost does not matter. Whoever wrestles the best is going to win, and that person could be any of the top four seeds. Spano has the most wins with 32, but also has some head-scratching losses in the conference, though he owns two wins over Blank of Ursinus. Tancredi has the best win of the year, defeating Messiah’s Loht in an early season match, to go along with his wins over Spano and Blank, but his long layoff and weight issues make him a bit of wildcard. Yagloski also had a long layoff before recently returning, while Campbell beat Spano but lost to Blank. Very little can happen that would be a surprise here.

141 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Marcello (JHU, Contender), Goretsas (McDaniel, HM)
Marcello is the 2x defending champ at 133 who has moved up to 141 with success this year. As usual, he wrestled an abbreviated schedule, but still put up an 18-3 record. After Marcello, it is a group of solid wrestlers who have taken turns beating each other this year. DiGiovanni of NYU, Gaylor of Ursinus, Goretsas of McDaniel, and Duffey of Washington & Lee will all be in the running to place, though it would be a pretty big upset for any of them to take out Marcello, and there is a chance that the second best 141 in the Centennial is Marcello’s teammate Crystal.

149 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: none
Even without anyone ranked, this is going to be hotly contested. The 2010 champ McCormick (Ursinus) and the 2011 champ Bell (USMMA) both return, as does last year’s runner up Caserta (Stevens). Also in the mix are Homan (Muhlenberg), Stauber (JHU), and possibly Yox (McDaniel). Even Gorman (NYU) cannot be overlooked on the strength of his win over Bell back in January. This is a weight where matchups and seeding could play a role in who makes the finals and has a chance to earn the qualifying spot.

157 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Fusaro (JHU, HM), Dennis (W&L, HM)
Fusaro looked like the favorite back in December when he won the Petrofes tournament and he may yet win, but he will get a stiff test from several others in the weight. Lowe (McDaniel) is a threat in every match with his ability to put points on the board. He just has to make sure the big points he scores outweighs the big points he gives up. Dennis (W&L) dropped to 157 in January and has done well since then, beating Fusaro and Jasinski (Ursinus), but losing to Lowe. Jasinski lost to Dennis but beat Lowe. Odell (Stevens) is another freshman looking to prove himself in the postseason.

165 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Thomson (Gettysburg, 3rd), Rice (NYU, 4th), Favia (Stevens, Contender)
The best weight in the conference is right here with three wrestlers who have been in the top ten this year. Thomson beat the other two in conference duals, while Rice beat Favia in a close one. It seems likely the one wildcard will come from this weight. Since the weight is only three deep, the top seed Thomson has an easier road to the finals, while Favia will attempt to turn the tables on Rice in a semifinal rematch. None of the top three were here last year as Rice was at 174 in the Metro, Favia took the year off to train in Iowa, and Thomson was in high school.

174 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Martino (NYU, 9th), Dormann (Stevens, Contender), Diesel (USMMA, HM)
There are two top competitors and two more hoping for an upset at 174. Dormann won the conference last year and Martino has qualified a few times in the past at 141 before resurfacing this year as a slightly undersized 174. Nevertheless, Martino just has 2 losses and a win over Dormann. Dormann just has three losses, one to Martino, one to #1 ranked Doliscar of Ithaca (who also beat Martino), and one to Lenhardt of JWU, who is injured and out for the year. Coming in behind those two are Diesel, a freshman whose brother was the runner-up at this weight last year and Leon the 4th place finisher a year ago.

184 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Schott (USMMA, HM)
Schott was 3rd last year, but he moves down to his natural 184 weight class this season. He has been solid this year and comes in as the favorite. Sternlicht of Muhlenberg could be a dark horse here, as he has some big move potential and did pin Schott. His 6-5 record hides some talent, though his health is often a question. Pawlowski (NYU) and Manganaro (Ursinus) have also had decent seasons and will be favored to place. All in all, though, it is not a great weight class.

197 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: McNamara (Ursinus, Contender), Mosquera (JHU, Contender)
Mosquera and McNamara are the two most recent champions at this weight, so they will be favored to make the finals. McNamara pinned Mosquera in their dual, and he has some big moves. Mosquera misses a lot time with injuries, but he is very talented when healthy. The spoiler here could be Myers (NYU) who was finally cleared to wrestle in January and is probably still rounding into form. He lost decisions to both of the top two wrestlers. Russell (USMMA) is the final wrestler with placement potential here with a 13-6 record against DIII but losses to the top two.

285 lbs.
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers: Camlin (McDaniel, HM)
Camlin has solidified himself as the top seed with wins over the other contenders and a lot of pins on his record. He is definitely the favorite if his conditioning is under control. The next best wrestler here is Poplaski (Gettysburg) who will be the #2 seed and scored a takedown off Camlin in their match before giving up two later on. Cornely (Ursinus) is the top returner after finishing 4th last year. Maher (Stevens) is the last wrestler with a winning record, and he lost on riding time in double OT against Poplaski two weeks ago.