Stevens 2017 Preview
Team: Stevens Institute of Technology
Head Coach: Joe Favia
Years at School as Head Coach: 3
Career Record at Current School: 53-8
Assistant Coaches: Anthony Bonaventura, Zebulon Hilyard
2016-2017 Dual Meet Record: 22-0
2017 NCAA Qualifiers: Troy Stanich (133, 3rd Place), Dylan Van Sickell (141), Zach Wilhelm (149, 7th), Colin Navickas (165), A.J Kowal (197, 6th)
Returning NCAA Qualifiers: Stanich, Van Sickell, Wilhelm
Top Returning Starters:
Troy Stanich – 45-1, D3wrestle and Centennial Conference Freshman of the Year, Conference Champion, East Regional Champion, 3rd at NCAA’s 2017
Dylan Van Sickell – 38-16, 2017 NCAA Qualifier
Zach Wilhelm – 48-9, 2016,17 NCAA Qualifier, 7th at NCAA’s 2017
Thomas Poklikuha – 42-9, Conference Runner Up, 6th at East Regional 2017
Top Incoming Wrestlers:
Brett Kaliner – West Chester, PA
Colin Myles – Sparta, NJ
Bruce Parola – Moscow, PA
Matthieu Dupuy – Kentfield, CA
Mark Kimbrell – Kettering, OH
Season Outlook:
Coming off back to back top ten finishes at the NCAA Championships, the Ducks are ready to continue to climb up the ranks and bring home their first team trophy. Coach Joe Favia is entering his 4th season at the helm and looking to build off the momentum from the last few seasons. Due to graduation, the Ducks will have some new faces in the lineup but the expectations will still be high as they look to defend their Centennial Conference Championship and face some tough competition in the new Mideast Regional. The Ducks will be led by returning All Americans Troy Stanich and Zach Wilhelm, along with returning NCAA Qualifier Dylan Van Sickell; they will look to improve on their NCAA performances from a season ago.
The Ducks will continue to battle against some of the best teams in the country throughout the year. The Ducks will see 11 teams that finished in the top 20 at NCAA’s last season, either in a dual meet or tournament setting, proving to be another tough schedule for the Ducks. Some top events that highlight the Ducks schedule will be the Ithaca Invitational, The New Standard Invitational hosted by York College, Grapple at the Garden, and the Matman Invitational hosted by Cornell College. The Ducks are looking forward to solidifying themselves as one of the top programs in the country and are looking to bring home some hardware from Cleveland in March.