Empire Preview 2012

Empire Conference Championships – 16 qualifiers
Saturday, February 25, 2012 at The College at Brockport
Returning Qualifiers/All-Americans:
Tyler Marlow (Brockport, 2010 NQ, 125), Seth Ecker (Ithaca, 1st, 133), Jeremy Stierly (Ithaca, 2nd@141, 149), Troy Sterling (Cortland, 157), Derek Brenon (Ithaca, 157), Nick Sanko (Ithaca, 165), Tim Stewart (Messiah, 184), Jared Myhrberg (Cortland, 197), Matt Mahon (Ithaca, 285), Cory James (Cortland, 285)

Through much of the season the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference has appeared to be a wide open race.  However as tournament time draws near, Ithaca seems to be getting healthy and firing on all cylinders.  In fact a recent dual meet with top challenger, Cortland showcased a strong Bomber squad that looks to send a pack of wrestlers to the national tournament again.  Ithaca currently has five wrestlers ranked in the top 10 by d3wrestle.com while Cortland boasts three such grapplers.  If anything the recent dual showed that upsets can be expected and individuals from all eight Empire squads will be looking to punch their tickets to the big dance.  In addition to Cortland, Messiah and Brockport have both enjoyed strong regular seasons and should have a number of wrestlers pushing to earn a trip to Lacrosse, WI.  Lycoming, Oneonta, Oswego and RIT round out the field and all teams have legitimate contenders on their rosters.

125
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – McNeil (Cortland, Contender), Hinton (Lycoming (Contender), Marlow (Brockport, HM), Gomez (Ithaca, HM)
The lowest weight has been a bit of a puzzle through the regular season but boasts a lot of potential talent for tournament time.  Nigel McNeil, a former NY state champ, came out of the gate very strong but has been out of the lineup for quite some time.  If he’s back he should be the favorite.  Tyler Marlow was not with Brockport last season but is a returning national qualifier and Ricardo Gomez moved down to 125 part way through the season.  Gomez is a former JUCO All American and certainly could make some noise.  Stephen Hinton of Lycoming has steadily progressed in his four year career and has enjoyed a strong, consistent senior campaign.

133
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Ecker (Ithaca, 1st), Loht (Messiah, Contender), Mikac (Oneonta, HM)
Seth Ecker is the overwhelming favorite at 133 as he is the defending National Champion.  Messiah’s Kaleb Loht has enjoyed a solid freshman season and should be the top contender.  A former PA state place winner, Loht is 35-5 and has beaten several other contenders from d3wrestle.com’s rankings.  Santiago (Oswego), Mikac (Oneonta), and Rosso (Brockport) could all be game opponents and challenge to place high in the conference.

141
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Bistis (Cortland, 8th), Bracey (Messiah, HM), Gomez (Ithaca, HM)
Bistis seems to be the favorite at the weight, but Gomez pulled the upset 2-1 in a recent dual meet.  Seeding could be very interesting as Gomez spent most of the year at 133 and Bistis has a number of quality wins, two of which came over one top contender in the conference in Bracey.  Golding of Brockport is a veteran wrestler and proven winner that could certainly be in the mix for the title as well.

149
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Stierly (Ithaca, 2nd) Kanouff (Messiah, Contender), Berry (Cortland, Contender), Hauser (Oneonta, HM)
Defending champ and two time runner-up Jeremy Stierly is the heavy favorite but has only wrestled a handful of matches this season.  Three wrestlers seem poised to make a run at the finals in Kanouff, Berry, and Hauser; all have solid records with good wins and the tools to be a threat.

157
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Sterling (Cortland, 6th ), Brenon (Ithaca, 8th), Rispoli (Brockport, Contender), Sercu (RIT)
For much of the year Sterling appeared to be the favorite with Brenon struggling and then out of the lineup.  Since Brenon’s return he has wrestled very well and upset Sterling in their dual meet.  If the two meet in the finals it will be a much anticipated rematch.  Rispoli is a senior who has produced a lot of wins for Brockport and can wrestle with the best. A lot of wrestlers should be vying for All Conference placement including Sercu (RIT), Hardenberg (Messiah), and Graff (Oneonta)

165
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Sanko (Ithaca, 10th) Conroy (Cortland, Contender), Plummer (Messiah, Contender), James (Brockport, HM)
This weight looks to be a wide open battle of four fairly even wrestlers for the conference crown and a trip to the national tournament.  Sanko won the conference a year ago, but lost to Conroy in the dual meet just a week ago.  James has wins over Conroy this year but has struggled in other competition.  Plummer was conference runner up at 174 a year ago and has produced a solid season.  A darkhorse could be freshman Tory Cain (RIT) who has beaten James this season.

174
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Doliscar (Ithaca, 1st), Cross (Messiah, 10th), Fuschino (RIT, Contender), Puca (Cortland, HM), Neivert (Brockport, HM)
Jules Doliscar transferred to Ithaca after twice earning JUCO All American honors and has not skipped a beat in NCAA D.III.  After a midseason win over former National Champ Mike Schmitz of Wisconsin Lacrosse, he earned the #1 ranking and has not relinquished it.  Cross has been strong with a t 35-5 record and has beaten most of the others in the conference.  The rest of the field should be hotly contested with Fuschino, Puca and Neivert providing plenty of opposition for the favorites.

184
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers –Stewart (Messiah, Contender), Korpi (Cortland, Contender), Mills (Oswego, Contender)
This weight looks to be a three person race for the title.  Stewart is the defending champ at the weight, Korpi made a midseason weight change and looks to capitalize on his chance in the lineup, and Mills has a lot of experience and talent.  Others that should battle for All Conference honors are Dickey (Ithaca), Brunschmid (Brockport), Cunningham (Lycoming), and Brent (RIT)

197
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Myhrberg (Cortland, 3rd), Korbul (Lycoming, HM)
After a disappointing early exit from the national tournament, Jared Myhrberg seems fueled to get back to the tournament this season.  He is a clear cut favorite at this weight.  Korbul has had some success this season and is the defending Empire runner-up.  Others looking to earn All Conference honors and hoping to find their way to Lacrosse are Glover (Brockport), Ebersole (Messiah), and Smith (Oneonta).

285
d3wrestle.com Ranked Wrestlers – Mahon (Ithaca, Contender), James (Cortland, Contender), Wilkinson (Brockport, HM)
Heavyweight has been interesting this season as both returning national qualifiers came in with high hopes but have struggled at times.  Mahon is 19-7 and beat James a week ago so he is the favorite.  James looks to return to form with a repeat performance of last year when he won the conference.  Wilkinson was last year’s 3rd place finisher and could provide a lot of trouble for the favorites.  Others looking to make some noise will be: Stewart (RIT), Jones (Messiah), Sheridan (Oswego) and Barber (Oneonta)