Pack Preview: American

Pack Preview: Campbell

Featured Freshman Series: Brian Hamann

Brian Hamann

149 lbs.

Jackson Memorial High School (Jackson, NJ)

• 3X New Jersey State Place-winner
• 5th Place Beast of the East
• Senior Record: 36-6

• Favorite Athlete: Frankie Edgar
• Favorite Movie: Rainman
• Fun Fact: Good with numbers ("Some friends call me Rainman")

Featured Freshman Series: Peter Santos

Peter Santos

165 lbs.

Oakmont High School (Antelope, CA)

• 2013 California State Champion (170 lbs)
• 2012 5th Place California State Championships (152 lbs)
• 3rd Place Ironman 2012
• 2012 Freakshow Champion
• 7th Place FloNationals 2012
• 2nd Place Doc Buchanan 
• 4X California State Qualifier
• Senior Record: 44-2
• Career Record: 179-22
• 3X Team Captain

Watch more video of Wrestling Prep 2013-2014 on flowrestling.org

Pat's Pop In

GoPack.com Video Release: #PackBack: Wrestler Thomas Gantt

Gearing up for the 2013-2014 season

We hope that our Wolfpack wrestling family and friends have been enjoying a wonderful summer.  The Wolfpack wrestlers have been in Raleigh most of the summer training and preparing for a very successful season.

As we gear up for a new season (competition is only three months away!), we are looking for input from our fans for new blog content.  As a refresher, here are some of the featured segments we regularly published last season: Featured Freshman/Transfer, Pat's Pop Ins, Ranking Roundup, Mentality Monday. Please submit your answer to the poll below!

Check back often in the coming weeks as the blog gets a fresh look and we get ready to begin our Featured Freshman series! Also, please be sure you're following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Pat's Pop In - Guest Host Jamill Kelly

Don't forget to vote for Jamill! EliteLevelSportMarketing.com

Pat's Pop Ins

ACC Pairings Released

BRACKETS
#ACCWRESTLE SITE

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Maryland is set to serve as the host school for the 59th annual Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship, which is set for Saturday at Comcast Arena in College Park, Md.

The all-day event will feature 18 wrestlers currently ranked among the nation’s Top 20 in their respective weight classes and nine ranked among the top 10, including Virginia Tech’s Jarrod Garnett (5th), North Carolina’s Nathan Kraisser (7th) and Virginia’s Matt Snyder (9th) at 125 pounds; North Carolina’s Evan Henderson (6th) at 141; Virginia Tech’s Nick Brascetta (9th) at 149; Virginia Tech’s Jesse Dong (9th) at 157; Virginia Tech’s Pete Yates (4th) and Virginia’s Nick Sulzer (7th) at 165; Maryland’s Josh Asper (5th) at 174, and Maryland’s Jimmy Sheptock (7th) at 184.

The doors to Comcast will open at 10 a.m., with first- round action set to begin at 11 a.m. The semifinals are set for 1 p.m., followed by the semifinal consolation matches at 3:30. The consolation finals are set for 5 p.m., followed by the championship matches at 7 p.m. All seating for the ACC Championship is general admission. Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door, with ages 3 and under admitted free.

All rounds of the 2013 ACC Wrestling Championship will be carried live by ESPN3, which plans dual mat coverage.

Please see the attached file for complete brackets and seeding for each weight class. Seeded No. 1 are UNC’s Kraisser at 125 Maryland’s Alexander at 133, North Carolina’s Henderson at 141, Virginia Tech’s Brascetta at 149, Dong at 157 and Yates at 165; Maryland’s Asper at 174, Sheptock at 184 and Christian Boley at 197; and Virginia Tech’s David Marone at 285.

The 125-pound bracket showcases the last four ACC champions in that weight class. Garnett took the title for three straight years from 2009 through 2011 before taking a medical redshirt last season. Virginia’s Snyder claimed the championship last season.

Other defending ACC champions expected to compete Saturday include Virginia Tech’s Brascetta at 149, the Hokies’ Yates (the 2012 ACC Championship’s Most Valuable Wrestler) at 165 and Maryland’s Boley at 197. The Terps’ Sheptock captured last year’s 174-pound title but has moved up a weight class and will be competing in this year’s championship at 184. Virginia’s Jon Fausey, last year’s 184-pound champion, is now competing in the 174-pound class.

The final ACC standings saw Virginia Tech (16-3 overall) finish with a perfect 5-0 mark in ACC dual matches. Virginia (16-4) placed second at 4-1, followed by two-time defending champion Maryland (14-8, 3-2), North Carolina (9-6, 2-3), Duke (9-10, 1-4) and NC State (5-6, 0-5).

Virginia Tech finished the regular season ranked seventh in the NWCA/USA Today poll, while Virginia is 13th and Maryland 24th. InterMat, which ranks teams according to NCAA Tournament projections, places Virginia Tech tied for 11th, Maryland 20th, Virginia 24th and North Carolina 25th. Both Duke (tied for 51st) and NC State (49th on Feb. 5) were listed in the InterMat rankings at some point during the regular season.

In addition to a team championship, ACC wrestlers will be competing to fill the conference’s 30 automatic individual weight-class spots in the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 21-23 at Des Moines, Iowa. The ACC is also hopeful of earning several spots among the 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 13.

The breakdown of the ACC’s automatic NCAA qualifiers by weight class is as follows: 125 - 4; 133 - 5; 141 - 4; 149 - 2; 157 - 2; 165 - 3; 174 - 3; 184 - 4; 197 - 2; 285 – 1.

Maryland leads all schools with 24 ACC Championships. North Carolina owns 17 ACC wrestling titles, followed by NC State with 14 and Virginia with four. Maryland is hosting the ACC Wrestling Championship for the 16th time and for the first time since 2008.

Link to original ACC press release here.

Pack Preview: Duke Dual

We compete against Duke University tonight at Reynolds Coliseum at 7:00.  This is our last dual meet of the season and we are currently 5-5 as a team so this match will determine whether we will have a winning dual meet record this season.  Duke is led by first year head coach (third season on the Duke coaching staff) Glen Lanham.  He is assisted by Ben Wissel, Will Rowe, and Corey Bell.  Duke is 7-9 on the season.  Here is a look at their line-up…

125 Pounds – Peter Terrezza is a redshirt senior who has been the Blue Devil’s starter for four seasons.  He has sixty-three career wins, including six this season.  He has placed in the ACC Tournament two times.

133 Pounds – Brandon Gambucci is a redshirt sophomore and in his second year as a starter at Duke.  He tied for the most wins on the team last year in wins with twenty-three and currently has a 14-4 record this season.  He leads the team in both technical falls and pins.  He is nationally ranked twenty-seventh in the country by the NCAA Coaches Poll.  He finished third at the Keystone Classic earlier this season.

141 Pounds – Tanner Hough is a sophomore and a returning national qualifier.  He placed at the ACC Tournament last season and was named Duke’s most valuable wrestler last season.  He recorded twenty-three wins last season and has eighteen so far this season.

149 Pounds – Marcus Cain is a redshirt freshman who went 25-7 wrestling unattached last season.  He has the second most wins on the team with twenty so far this season.  He leads the team in dual meet wins with an 11-2 dual meet record.  He finished fourth at the Keystone Classic earlier this season.

157 Pounds – Immanuel Kerr-Brown is a redshirt sophomore who leads the team in wins with twenty-three.  He won nineteen matches last season and is in his second year as a starter.  He has won five of his last six matches.  This season, he won the Ashland Open, took sixth at the Hokie Open, and finished in the top eight at the Wolfpack Open.

165 Pounds – Randy Roden is sophomore.  He started last season at 174 pounds and won thirteen matches.  This season, he has six wins.

174 Pounds – Trey Adamson is a redshirt freshman who won nineteen matches wrestling unattached last season.  He is second on the team in dual meet wins (ten) and falls (five).  He also leads the team in major decisions (six).

184 Pounds – Dylan Ryan is redshirt freshman.  He won ten matches competing unattached last season.  He has two wins so far this season. 

197 Pounds – Diego Bencomo is the second redshirt senior in the line-up.  He has thirteen wins so far this year and eighty career victories.  Bencomo has won six of his last seven matches.  He was listed in the RPI Ranking by the NCAA in the thirty-second spot.  He finished second at the Hokie Open at the beginning of the season.  He has placed second and third in the ACC Championships.  He has started for four years and finished in the top twelve at the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore.

285 Pounds – Brian Self is a junior with eleven wins on the season.  He started the season wrestling at 197 pounds but has since moved up to heavyweight.  He has thirty-five career wins and is in his third season as a starter.

If you cannot attend, results will be posted on twitter (@PackWrestle) and live scoring will be provided by TrackWrestling.com

Pat's Pop Ins

Don't forget - tomorrow night the Pack takes on the Duke Blue Devils at 7:00 in Reynolds Coliseum.  This is the last dual meet of the year before we gear up for ACCs & Nationals! Go Pack!

Pack Preview: Davidson & Ohio Northern Duals

This afternoon we have two dual meets at Davidson College.  We will be wrestling both Ohio Northern and Davidson.  We take on ONU at 1PM and Davidson right after that match concludes.  Ohio Northern is 15-3 on the season and ranked seventeenth in the country in NCAA Division III.  ONU is led by Ron Beaschler in his 25^th year at the helm of the Polar Bears.  Last season, they finished eighteenth in the NCAA Division III Nationals.  ONU assistant coaches are Rob Yahrmarkt, Jay Salge, Luke Miller, Nathan Jones, and Ben Marks.  Davidson has six wins on the season for ninth-year head coach Bob Patnesky.  His assistants are Erik Wince, Tim Stoud, and Julio Arce.  Here is a look at their line-ups…

Ohio Northern University Line-Up

125 Pounds – Jerry Pasquale is 23-10 on the season as a junior.  He has been a three-year starter.  He is third on the team in falls with seven so far this season.  He finished third at the Alma Open and fourth at the Midwest Classic this season.  He has forty-four career wins.

133 Pounds – Jeremy Jones is a senior and is 22-15 so far this season.  Jones is in his fourth year as a starter.  He is a returning NCAA Division III National Qualifier.  He placed third at the Wheaton Invitational and seventh at the ONU Invitational this season.  He has seventy-one career wins and has been ranked in the top five in the country in NCAA Division III.

141 Pounds – Shaun Lee has three wins and is a freshman from Michigan. 

149 Pounds – Kyle Brezovec holds a 9-7 record as a sophomore.  He won ten matches last season. 

157 Pounds – Jeff Stover has three wins as a freshman.

165 Pounds – Tyler Gargano is 19-11 and is a freshman who transferred into ONU from Kent State.  He placed fourth at the ONU Invitational and eighth at the Midwest Classic this season. 

174 Pounds – Kyle Kwiat is the team leader as a senior.  He is a returning NCAA Division III National Champion and a three-time All-American.  He is 35-3 so far this season and 138-16 in his career.  He holds the all time win record at ONU.  He won the ONU Invitational, won the Alma Open, won the Wheaton Invitational, and took second at the Midwest Classic this season.

184 Pounds – Kyle Raber has seven wins and is the third senior in the line-up.  He has been ranked in the top ten in Division III.

197 Pounds – Michael Pawlitz is a junior with a 25-5 record.  He has the third most wins on the team.  He won twenty-eight matches last season.  He is second on the team in falls with thirteen.  He has been ranked in the top five in NCAA Division III this season.  He took second at the Alma Open, third at the ONU Invitational, and fifth at the Midwest Classic this season.  He has sixty-three career wins.

285 Pounds – Cody Lovejoy is a sophomore with a 26-9 record.  Lovejoy is second on the team in wins and also had twenty-eight wins last season.  He leads the team in falls with seventeen.  He finished third at the Alma Open, fifth at the ONU Invitational, and sixth at the Midwest Classic this season.

Davidson College Line-Up

125 Pounds – Philip Elias is one of Wildcat’s top wrestlers.  He is 11-6 on the season and sophomore from Pennsylvania.  Elias ahs the second most wins on the team.  He missed most of last season with an injury.

133 Pounds – Anthony Elias (Philip’s twin brother) is currently one of Davidson’s hottest wrestlers as he has won three of his last four matches.  He has six wins on the season.  Last season, he won eleven matches and won the Mat Rumble Tournament at VMI.  He was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team last season.

141 Pounds – Sejiro Littleton is sophomore with six wins on the season and hails from North Carolina.

149 Pounds – Kevin Birmingham is a sophomore from New Jersey.  He has seven wins so far this season.  He won fourteen matches last season.

157 pounds – Nathaniel Powers has two wins so far this season.  He is a freshman from Pennsylvania.

165 Pounds – Chris Cirenza is a senior who has been in the Wildcat line-up for a few years.  He has six wins so far this season.  He came to Davidson from the state of Virginia.

174 Pounds – Ian Solcz is sophomore from New York.  He has seven wins so far this season.  He placed third last season at VMI’s Mat Rumble Tournament.

184 Pounds – Scott Patrick is a junior from Maryland.  He has a team best 14-9 record.  He has the most wins on the team and also the most matches.  Last season, he went 11-3 and placed at both the VMI Mat Rumble and the Citadel Open.  He placed fifth this season at the Wolfpack Open.

197 Pounds – Carson Stack has seven wins on the season.  He is a freshman from New Jersey.

285 Pounds – Ed Isola is a sophomore from Florida.  He has five wins on the year.  He is a returning starter who moved up to heavyweight from 197 pounds last season.

Mentality Monday

Mentality Monday

We apologize for the delay - here is this week's Mentality Monday with Bret Peltier.

Pack Preview: UNC Dual

We wrestle at UNC tonight at 7PM.  We take on the Tar Heels in Carmichael Arena and the match will be on ESNP3 as well.  The Tar Heels have won four duals meets and have five nationally ranked individuals.  UNC has won the last six dual meets over NCSU.  CD Mock is entering his tenth year as the head coach at Carolina.  Cary Kolat is the associate head coach and is in his third year with the program.  Dennis Papadatos and Trevor Chinn are the other assistants at UNC.  He is a look at the Tar Heel line-up…

125 Pounds – Nathan Kraisser has burst onto the scene as one of the best freshmen in the country.  He is currently ranked eighth in country.  He has a 26-4 record with a sparkling 10-0 dual meet record.  He is tied for second on the team in both pins (four) and major decisions (five).  He won the Wolfpack Open, took third at the Penn State Open, and fifth at the Hokie Open this season.  He has won his last seven matches.

133 Pounds – Joey Ward is ranked eighteenth in the country as a freshman.  He is currently 16-7 with a 5-2 dual meet record.  So far this season, he placed second at the Hokie Open, fourth at the Wolfpack Open, and seventh at the Penn State Open.

141 Pounds – Evan Henderson is a sophomore and returning national qualifier.  He won twenty-seven matches last season and is currently 27-6 on the season.  He is second on the team in dual meet wins with a 9-1 record.  He won the Wolfpack Open, took second at the Penn State Open, and third at the Hokie Open this season.  He is on a four match win streak and is ranked ninth in the country.

149 Pounds – UNC has two good options here as Nick Heilmann and Christian Barber have been splitting time.  Heilmann is a redshirt sophomore.  He has fifteen wins on the season and is tied for second on the team for the most major decisions with five.  He took fifth at the Wolfpack Open and forth at the Penn State Open this season.  Barber is a redshirt freshman that won twenty-one matches last season.  He is 18-11 on the season.  He has placed second at the Wolfpack open and sixth at the Penn State Open this season.

157 Pounds – This is another weight that has seen two wrestlers split time in dual meets.  Jacob Crawford or Chris Mears could take the mat tonight.  Crawford, a freshman, is 10-6 on the season after missing November and most of December with an injury.  He took third at the Franklin and Marshall Open this year and has competed in four dual meets.  Mears is a sophomore and has competed in half of the Tar Heel dual meets at 157 pounds.  He posted four wins at the Hokie Open earlier this season.

165 Pounds – John Staudenmayer is a redshirt freshman that won twenty-eight matches last season.  He is nationally ranked thirtieth with a 17-10 record.  He leads the team in major decisions with six and is tied for the most technical falls on the team.  He took fourth at the Penn State Open and fifth at both the Wolfpack and Hokie Opens.

174 pounds – Tanner Eitel is a redshirt sophomore that transferred into UNC.  He has only wrestled in seven matches this season (all dual meets this semester).  He has a deceptive 4-3 record as all three of his losses are to nationally ranked wrestlers and he has a top twenty win.  He will most likely be in the next set of rankings.

184 Pounds – Alex Utley is a sophomore and is ranked twenty-fourth in the country.  He has an 18-12 record on the season.  He has wrestled in every dual meet this season for the Tarheels.  He won the Wolfpack Open and took sixth at the Penn State Open this season.

197 Pounds – Antonio Giorgio is a redshirt sophomore that redshirted last season.  As a freshman, he won nineteen matches and was ranked in the top twenty in the country for a good portion of the season.  This season, he has posted eight wins taking second at the Hokie Open and fifth at the Wolfpack Open.  Giorgio has not wrestled since early December but could be back for the match.  If he is not wrestling tonight, watch for Frank Abbondanza, a sophomore to start.  Abbondanza is a returning starter that has seven wins on the season.  He has wrestled in all ten dual meets for UNC this season wrestling anywhere from 174 to heavyweight.

285 Pounds – Cody Klempay is a freshman that was one of the top recruits in the country this past season.  He has seen limited action this year but has posted two wins.

Rivalry.

ri·val

  [rahy-vuhl]

noun

• a person or thing who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to equal or outdo another; competitor.

Come out and support the Wolfpack as they take on the Tar Heels Friday night at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill! GO PACK! 

Mentality Monday

Mentality Monday

Pack Preview: American University Dual

Joe DeAngelo 125 lbs.

American University is coached by Former NCAA National Champion Teague Moore.  Moore is in his second season at American.  Last year, he guided them to a 19^th place finish at the NCAA Championships with five national qualifiers and two All-Americans.  AU’s assistant coaches are Kyle Borshoff, Pete Friedl, and Luke Manuel.  The Eagles have won two of their last three dual meets and sit at 3-3 on the season.  They have posted wins over Harvard, Stanford, and George Mason this season.  Here is a look at their projected line-up…

125 Pounds – David Terao is one of AU’s best wrestlers.  He has a judo background so watch for trips and throws from him.  Terao is just a redshirt freshman but leads the team in wins (18) and falls (8).  So far this season, he has finished 2^nd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic, 4^th at the Keystone Classic, 5^th at the Las Vegas Invitational, and 8^th at the Southern Scuffle.  Last season, he posted a 22-6 record winning two open tournaments.

133 Pounds – Esteban Gomez-Rivera is a freshman starter for the Eagles.  He currently has nine wins and finished 4^th at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  He was a two-time Florida State Champion and four-time state finalist.

141 Pounds – John Boyle is a freshman from New Jersey.  He finished 4^th at NHSCA Senior Nationals last year.  So far this season, he has 10 wins including a win at the Las Vegas Invitational over nationally ranked Cameron Jackson of Michigan.  His best shot is a single to the right leg.

149 Pounds – Kevin Tao is one of three redshirt seniors in the AU line-up.    He has been nationally ranked in various polls most of the season.  So far this season, he has 16 wins (3^rd most on the team), 6 pins (2^nd most on the team), and 5 major decisions (most on the team).  Tao placed 5^th at the Oklahoma Gold Classic earlier this season and also finished in the top 12 at the Southern Scuffle this year.  He is a returning National Qualifier that won a bout at the national tournament last season.  In the last three years, he has 70 career wins (not including his freshman year when he started for Columbia University).  He is good defensively and tough to score on.

157 Pounds – Mark Cirello is a redshirt sophomore for the Eagles and second-year starter.  He won five matches last season and has four wins so far this year.  Cirello is a leg rider on top.

165 Pounds – Phillip Barreiro is a redshirt senior who dropped down from 174 pounds this season.  Last year, he won eight matches.  Barreiro is having a breakout season as he finished 2^nd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic and is 5-1 in dual meets on the season.  He currently has 10 wins and is a four-year starter.  He wrestles very hard and is physical.

174 Pounds – Keithen Cast is a former junior college national finalist.  He transferred into AU this season from Northwest College.  Cast is a junior with 12 wins so far this season.  He placed a solid 2^nd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic.  Cast is a well-rounded wrestler.

184 Pounds – Thomas Barreiro is Phillip’s twin brother.  The redshirt senior has been a fixture in AU’s line-up nearly his whole career.  He has placed 3^rd at the Oklahoma Gold Classic both of the last two seasons.  Three of his twelve wins this season have come in dual meets.  Much like his brother, he wrestles a very hard and physical style.

197 Pounds – Devon Bradley is in his first year starting for American.  He is a junior from Florida.  He has wrestled in every competition for AU this season.

285 Pounds – Blake Herrin is redshirt junior in his first year as a full-time starter as he was behind three-time All-American Ryan Flores prior to this season.  Herrin won the Oklahoma Gold Classic and finished in the top twelve at the Las Vegas Invitational.  He has the second most wins on the team (seventeen) and the best winning percentage (.773).  His record is 17-5 and 6-0 in duals this season.  He has 62 career wins and was 17-11 last season.  He finished third at both the National Collegiate Open and the Oklahoma Gold Classic last season.  He has a good blast double.

Check out the GoPack.com press release on tomorrow's dual here.