VEGA JOINS ARMY WRESTLING STAFF
Former Williams Head Coach Makes Move To West Point
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Former Williams College head coach Rafael Vega has joined the Army Wrestling staff, Athletic Director Kevin Anderson and head wrestling coach Chuck Barbee announced.
Vega comes to West Point following his seven-year tenure at Williams College that included All-American honors on the mat and in the classroom.
"We are excited to welcome Rafael to the Army Wrestling program," said Barbee. "He has developed talent at every level not only in the wrestling room but in the classroom as well. He is a hard worker and excited about this opportunity to work at the U.S. Military Academy. He understands the challenges and his tireless work ethic as an instructor and as a recruiter is going to be a great benefit to our program."
While at Williams, a Division III school in Williamstown, Mass., Vega coached four All-Americans and 14 Academic All-Americans.
Among those wrestlers he guided were Ryan Malo, a national finalist, Corey Paulish, a fourth-place finisher as a sophomore, Tom Priare, a national finalist and three-time All-American and John Dolan, also a three-time All-American.
The Ephs led Division III wrestling with a 3.54 grade point average, a figure that was in the top 10 of all sports at that level.
Under Vega, Williams won the New England Wrestling Association title last year, placed in the top-three in the conference on five occasions and in the top-six six times while producing 30 All-New England wrestlers.
"Rafael comes from a strong academic school so he has an idea of the type of young men we recruit," said Barbee. "His experience, coupled with his success as a scholastic and collegiate wrestler, was really what set him apart from some other quality candidates."
Prior to joining the Williams staff as an assistant in 2001, Vega served as a volunteer at Mount Anthony Union High School and as a coach and clinician at Bruce Baumgartner's World Class Camp for two years.
As a high school wrestler in Vermont, Vega was a USA Wrestling All-America, chosen to represent the U.S. in the Dapper Dan Classic and secured Junior Olympic European championships in both freestyle and Greco roman.
Vega chose Edinboro University and was nationally ranked in all four of his seasons. Twice, he finished third at the Eastern Wrestling League championships and was a two-time NCAA qualifier.
The Edinboro Wrestling Rookie of the Year, Vega twice placed at the nationally renowned Midlands Tournament and was a three-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference finalist.
Vega also starred internationally, winning the Tour de Monde Junior Olympic Czechoslovakian freestyle and Greco Roman championships and the Tour de Monde Junior Olympic German freestyle and Greco Roman championships.
TRANSACTIONS
COLLEGES
ARMY -- Named Rafael Vega assistant wrestling coach.
www.goARMYsports.com
Ryan Yanoshak
Special Assistant to the Senior Associate A.D.
U.S. Military Academy
639 Howard Road
West Point, N.Y. 10996
845-938-7197 (office)
845-406-1130 (cellular)
Black Knights' Recruits Recognized Nationally Once Again
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Head coach Chuck Barbee and his staff, once again, attracted a top notch recruiting class to the U.S. Military Academy for this coming fall. Army wrestling's Class of 2010 was ranked 22nd nationally
The contingent features eight grapplers who won state titles in high school, as well as five wrestlers who attended and developed their skills at USMAPS last year. Four members of Army's 2006-07 recruiting class hail from the talent-rich state of Pennsylvania.
"This class will help give us a strong foundation over the next three to four years," said Barbee. "I challenge each one of our recruits to make their mark right away. We have a lot of unproven weight classes going into next season and a freshman could certainly break into the starting lineup."
Barbee, entering his seventh season at West Point, has authored some of the best recruiting classes in the storied history of the the Black Knights' program. This year's class certainly maintains that higher standard of excellence to which Barbee and his coaching staff expect Army wrestlers to achieve.
The rankings, which came out earlier this month, named Oklahoma State's incoming freshmen as the top class for the 2006-07 campaign. Lehigh, ranked second nationally, was the top EIWA program in the rankings. Bucknell and Cornell were the only other conference rivals rated higher than Army in the annual polling of recruiting classes.
Matt Kyler (Pa.) highlights the outstanding class. He was a Pennsylvania state champion in 2005. Steven Gilbert was a four-time state champion in New Mexico, while Lance Penhale (Alaska) was a three-time state champ.
W.I.N Magazine's Top 25 Recruiting Classes
1) Oklahoma State
2) Lehigh
3) Penn State
4) Minnesota
5) Nebraska
6) Missouri
7) Arizona State
8) Old Dominion
9) Michigan
10) Oklahoma
11) Iowa State
12) Boise State
13) Virginia Tech
14) Bucknell
15) Cornell
16) N.C. State
17) Indiana
18) Purdue
19) Edinboro
20) Iowa
21) Illinois
22) Army
23) Bloomsburg
24) Rider
25) Maryland
Rutgers
www.goARMYsports.com
James Zuhlke
Asst. Dir. of Athletic Comm.
U.S. Military Academy
(845) 938-7197
ARMY ANNOUNCES 2009-10 WRESTLING SCHEDULE
Seven Tournaments, 11 Duals Dot Slate
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Eleven dual matches and seven tournaments comprise the 2009-10 Army wrestling schedule, released by veteran head coach Chuck Barbee on Monday.
The Black Knights will wrestle eight duals at West Point and participate in seven tournaments in preparation for the EIWA and NCAA Championships.
"Once again, we were able to secure a schedule against top-notch competition that will challenge us at every weight class," said Barbee, who enters his 10th season as head coach. "The diversity of our schedule features teams from the top conferences and will allow us to progress throughout the season and peak in March."
Army will open the season November 7 at the Clarion Open in Pennsylvania before traveling to Brockport, N.Y. for the Oklahoma-Gold Classic a week later. Among the teams expected for the Classic are Ohio State, Edinboro, Oklahoma, Kent State, Rutgers, Buffalo, Liberty and the host school.
On November 21, the squad is at the Body Bar Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y., along with Cornell, Maryland, Kent State, Columbia, Drexel, Wyoming, Bloomsburg, Buffalo, Clarion, Sacred Heart and Ithaca.
The first dual of the season is set for Tuesday, Nov. 24 against EIWA foe Bucknell at West Point's Gillis Field House. Two days later, the Black Knights welcome Rider to the same venue.
The one-day Cleveland State Open (Dec. 12) and two-day Southern Scuffle (Dec. 29-30) completes the first semester action.
Once again, a quality field is expected at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., with Big 10 powers Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana expected to attend, along with Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Kent State, North Carolina State, Princeton, Lock Haven, Cornell, Old Dominion and a host of other schools.
Army returns to the mat in the new year when it hosts Hofstra at 7:30 p.m., on January 8. Two days later, Army will welcome the U.S. Merchant Marine, Boston and Rutgers in a quad-match at Christl Arena.
The Black Knights will return to Ithaca, N.Y. for the New York State Championships Jan. 22-23 along with Cornell, Binghamton, Buffalo and Columbia among others and then wrestle at Brown and Harvard on Jan. 30.
Navy is hosting the Academy Championships on Feb. 6, then Army closes its regular season with three duals. Millersville and Sacred Heart will visit for a tri-match on Feb. 13 before the Black Knights end the regular season at Navy on Feb. 20.
Lehigh is again serving as the host school for the EIWA Championships March 6-7 in Bethlehem, Pa. Omaha, Neb., is the site of the NCAA Championships March 18-20.
2009-10 Army Wrestling Schedule
November
Sat. 7 at Clarion Open Clarion, Pa. All Day
Sat. 14 at Oklahoma-Gold Classic Brockport, N.Y. All Day
Sat. 21 at Body Bar Invitational Ithaca, N.Y. All Day
Tue. 24 BUCKNELL $! West Point, N.Y. 7:30 p.m.
December
Thur. 10 RIDER ! West Point, N.Y. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 12 at Cleveland State Open Cleveland, Ohio All Day
Tue. 29 at Southern Scuffle Greensboro, N.C. All Day
Wed. 30 at Southern Scuffle Greensboro, N.C. All Day
January
Fri. 8 HOFSTRA! West Point, N.Y. 7:30 p.m.
Sun. 10 U.S. MERCHANT MARINE# West Point, N.Y. 2 p.m.
Sun. 10 BOSTON $# West Point, N.Y. 4 p.m.
Sun. 10 RUTGERS $# West Point, N.Y. 6 p.m.
Fri. 22 at N.Y. State Championships Ithaca, N.Y. All Day
Sat. 23 at N.Y. State Championships Ithaca, N.Y. All Day
Sat. 30 at Brown $ Providence, R.I. TBA
Sat. 30 at Harvard $ Cambridge, Mass. 5 p.m.
February
Sat. 6 at Academy Championships Annapolis, Md. All Day
Sat. 13 MILLERSVILLE ! West Point, N.Y. 4 p.m.
Sat. 13 SACRED HEART ! West Point, N.Y. 6 p.m.
Sat. 20 at Navy $ Annapolis, Md. TBA
March
Sat. 6 at EIWA Championships Bethlehem, Pa. All Day
Sun. 7 at EIWA Championships Bethlehem, Pa. All Day
Thur. 18 at NCAA Championships Omaha, Neb. All Day
Fri. 19 at NCAA Championships Omaha, Neb. All Day
Sat. 20 at NCAA Championships Omaha, Neb. All Day
Home Matches In BOLD CAPS
! Matches at Gillis Field House, West Point, N.Y.
# Matches at Christl Arena, West Point, N.Y.
$ EIWA Matches
www.goARMYsports.com
Ryan Yanoshak
Special Assistant to the Senior Associate A.D.
U.S. Military Academy
639 Howard Road
West Point, N.Y. 10996
845-938-7197 (office)
845-406-1130 (cellular)
Army Wrestling Ties East Stroudsburg, 15-15
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army junior 149-pounder Matt Kyler improved his record to 34-3 this winter with his 20th-straight victory to lead the Black Knights in a 15-15 tie with visiting East Stroudsburg, Friday night, at Gillis Field House.
Neither team earned any bonus point victories and spilt 10-straight decisions as Army (10-4-2, 4-1-1 EIWA) also received victories from junior Lance Penhale (125), sophomore Casey Thome (141), sophomore Rudy Chelednik (157) and junior Richard Starks (197).
"We did a good job tonight of not giving up any bonus points, but we also didn't put any on the board and that obviously was the difference," said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. "East Stroudsburg has a solid team and they really came ready to wrestle. I thought we wrestled hard, but we just didn't put the points up in a couple of weight classes that we needed to."
ESU's Chris Birchler started the evening off with a 7-3 victory over Army junior heavyweight Michael Sprigg, before Penhale evened the match with a 6-1 win over David Luthy at 125.
Following a 8-1 Warrior decision by Matt Swallow over Connor McCarthy, Army forged a 12-6 lead with three-straight decisions by Thome over Matt Rizzo at 141, Kyler over Scott Keckman, 11-4, and Chelednik over Ken Monarque, 3-0.
ESU (4-12-1, 1-2-1 EIWA) answered with three victories of its own to lead, 15-12, as Thad Frick bested freshman 165-pounder Michael Gorman, 10-3, Jeff Jacobs earned a 3-2 win over sophomore 174-pounder Jacob Vetter, and Ed Ebewo held off senior John Drew, 12-7, at 184.
Needing at least a decision to salvage a tie in the final match of the night, Starks out-pointed Shane Mallory, 6-5, help the Black Knights avoid defeat.
Undefeated in his last 14 outings, Thome's record this season stands at 24-10, including a 12-4 ledger in dual meet competition. Ranked 20th in this week's Intermat/NWCA/NWMA national poll, Starks improved his mark to 28-6 and 13-3, while Chelednik's upped his season total 18-13, including an 8-5 dual record. Kyler is undefeated at 16-0 in dual meets this year.
Army hits the road on Saturday for a dual meet at Lehigh, which entered the week ranked seventh in the national team poll, scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.
Army 15, East Stroudsburg 15
285 - Chris Birchler (E) dec. Michael Sprigg, 7-3
125 - Lance Penhale (A) dec. David Luthy, 6-1
133 - Matt Swallow (E) dec. Connor McCarthy, 8-1
141 - Casey Thome (A) dec. Matt Rizzo, 9-5
149 - #10 Matt Kyler (A) dec. Scott Heckman, 11-4
157 - Rudy Chelednik (A) dec. Ken Monarque, 3-0
165 - Thad Frick (E) dec. Michael Gorman, 10-3
174 - Jeff Jacobs (E) dec. Jacob Vetter, 3-2
184 - Ed Ebewo (E) dec. John Drew, 12-7
197 - #20 Richard Starks (A) dec. Shane Mallory, 6-5
Army Wrestling Sweeps Brown And Harvard, Sunday
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army wrestling team picked up a pair of wins over visiting Brown and Harvard this afternoon in a pair of dual meets at Gillis Field House. The Black Knights (10-4-1) spotted Brown a 13-0 lead before taking six of the final seven bouts en route to the 21-16 victory in the opener, and then took care of business during a 30-11 win over Harvard.
Army juniors Matt Kyler (149) and Richard Starks (197), along with senior Michael Sprigg (285) and sophomore Casey Thome (141) all picked up two victories on the day.
"We had a lot of new faces in the lineup today and that can sometimes be a lot of pressure," said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. "We knew we would be outmanned at a couple weights, but our guys did what they had to do to help us win."
Brown used three-straight wins, including a pin by Bran Crudden over Army sophomore Dean Gaier at 174, and a 14-6 major decision by Matt Gevelinger over senior John Drew at 184, to take the early lead.
Starks, ranked 18th in this week's national poll, got the Black Knights rolling at 197 with a 7-0 shutout of Branden Steams, before Sprigg followed with an 11-3 major over Zach Zdrada at heavyweight. Junior Lance Penhale made it three in a row after holding on for a 4-3 decision opposite Greg Einfrank at 125 to cut the deficit to three, 13-10.
The Bears made it a 16-10 edge after Ross Baldwin took a 7-2 decision from sophomore Josh Sandhaus at 133, but it was all Army from there. Thome took a 2-0 decision from Steve Delorenzo at 141 and Kyler, ranked 12th at 149, turned in a 16-1 technical fall over Dave Foxen to put the Black Knights up, 18-10, with one bout remaining. Sophomore Rudy Chelednik sealed the victory with a hard-fought 2-1 decision over Bryan Tracy at 157 that came down to a 1:57 advantage in riding time.
"When you draw the names out of the hat, you never know who is going to have to close the deal," added Barbee. "Rudy was the guy that got called on to do it today and he did a really great job in a clutch situation and got a big win for us against Brown."
Against the Crimson, the Black Knights were awarded victories in five of the first six bouts to open a 20-3 that proved insurmountable. Freshman Mike Gorman started the match off with a 7-4 decision over Mike Sandler at 165, before Harvard's Bryan Panzano evened the score with a 7-2 win over Gaier at 174. Sophomore Jake Vetter earned a 6-3 decision over Pat Ziemnik at 184, before Starks earned a 21-5 technical fall over Sean Murphy and Sprigg picked up a 7-3 decision over Spencer DeSena to make the score, 14-3.
Following a Harvard forfeit at 125, Tom Picarsic earned a 12-2 major over Sandhaus, but a pin by Thome over Fermin Mendez and an 11-0 major by Kyler over Walter Peppleman sealed the Black Knight victory.
Kyler improved his record to 30-4 this winter, including a spotless 15-0 mark in dual meet competition. Starks' record currently stands at 24-6 with a 12-3 dual ledger, while Thome's mark is 20-10 with an 11-4 dual total and Sprigg's record is 24-9 and 12-3 to lead Army.
"Matt and Richard keep rolling along and seem to keep getting better every week. They just keep building in confidence and intensity and continue to wrestle with a lot of aggression. Casey hasn't had too many breaks during the season and has been going up against some super-tough competition all year. It was good to see him step it up and tough out some big wins for us," continued Barbee.
The Black Knights will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 7, when they looks to defend their team title at the All-Academy Championships, hosted by VMI in Lexington, Va.
Army 21, Brown 16
165 - Jeff Lemmer (B) dec. Mike Gorman, 12-5 (ot)
174 - Bran Crudden (B) pin. Dean Gaier, 3:47
184 - Matt Gevelinger (B) maj. John Drew, 14-6
197 - #18 Richard Starks (A) dec. Branden Stearns, 7-0
285 - Mike Sprigg (A) maj. Zach Zdrada, 11-3
125 - Lance Penhale (A) dec. Greg Einfrank, 4-3
133 - Ross Baldwin (B) dec. Josh Sandhaus (A), 7-2
141 - Casey Thome (A) dec. Steve Delorenzo, 2-0
149 - #12 Matt Kyler (A) tech. Dave Foxen, 16-1 (5:20)
157 - Rudy Chelednik (A) dec. Bryan Tracy, 2-1
Army 30, Harvard 11
165 - Mike Gorman (A) dec. Mike Sandler, 7-4
174 - Bryan Panzano (H) dec. Dean Gaier, 7-2
184 - Jake Vetter (A) dec. Pat Ziemnik, 6-3
197 - #18 Richard Starks (A) tech. Sean Murphy, 21-5 (6:30)
285 - Mike Sprigg (A) dec. Spencer DeSena, 7-3
125 - Lance Penhale win by forfeit
133 - Tom Picarsic (H) maj. Josh Sandhaus, 12-2
141 - Casey Thome (A) pin. Fermin Mendez, 1:48
149 - #12 Matt Kyler (A) maj. Walter Peppleman, 11-0
157 - #4 J.P. O'Connor (H) maj. Rudy Chelednik, 12-2