125: The frontrunner for the starting spot at this weight class is third year Matt Snyder. Some of you may remember Matt as the guy that bumped up from 125lbs to 133lbs to help the team midway through last season. He unselfishly jumped up a weight (and was extremely undersized at first) simply b/c we asked him to do it. This is the type of person Matt is. He loves wrestling and when we asked him to go up, he did it with no hesitation. It took him a little while to settle in, but once he got used to the weight he finished out the year in very strong fashion. He ended up beating both the UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech wrestlers in the same weekend and took that momentum into the ACC tournament where he finished an impressive second place (barely losing to the 6th ranked kid in the nation and 2x All American Steve Bell of Maryland). He narrowly missed earning a trip to the NCAA tournament and if he can stay healthy we see no reason why he won't make it there this season. Matt is a very funky wrestler that poses a match-up problem for anybody he faces. Snyder, who transfered in from Bloomsburg University last year racked up a big win total in his first full year here in Charlottesville. He is a beast on top and will probably lead our team in pins this year. We expect a very big year out of Mr. Snyder in 2011.
Looking to break into the starting line-up as well is second year Gabe Gomez. Gomez, a former 2x state champion from Bloomfield, CO redshirted last season. He is great worker in the room and should push Snyder hard. Gabe stayed here all summer and trained and this should pay dividends this season.
133: Our only returning wrestler at this weight from a year ago is second year Matt Cubillos. Matt was our starter at 133lbs for the first half of the season last year. He took some lumps due to a very tough schedule last season but made some major strides this summer. Much like the rest of the roster, Matt made the decision to stay here this summer and train. He lived in the weight room, worked all my camps and was constantly looking to get better. He should be much improved this year.
Pushing Matt for the starting job will be three very talented first years. Here is a quick look at these three young studs (in alphabetical order):
1) Gus Sako: 2x OH state champion from national powerhouse St. Edward, OH. Gus is very tough on top and has great technique. He will have to develop quickly from the bottom position but he is putting in the work day in and day out to do just that. He is one of the guys we brought in to take our program to the next level. We believe he'll only be at this weight class for one year (as he is about 5' 9" tall already) and will be a force in our lineup for years to come.
2) Joe Spisak: State Champion, 2x state finalist and 3x state placer from the great state of Pennsylvania (Boiling Springs, HS). Joe is also VERY good on top and his biggest strength on his feet is his scrambling ability. Joe will have to continue to tighten up his technique from his feet though and he knows it. Joe is very physically gifted (this past week he bench pressed 260lbs and he only weighs 140lbs) and we feel once his technical skills line up with his physical skills, he'll be very tough to beat.
3) Bryan Whitt: 5x State Champion from Virginia. Whitt is another highly accomplished recruit. He is one of the most decorated high school wrestlers ever to come out of the Commonwealth of Virginia and starts his career here with a nice base. He'll need to continue to make strength gains however if he is going to make a splash this season.
141: NCAA Qualifier Nick Nelson returns to the line-up after a redshirt year in 2010. Nick, who was an ACC runner up as a first year student athlete (and who was in the round of 12 in 2009, narrowly missing All American honors after upsetting the #2 seed at the NCAA tournament) is one of our most vocal leaders in the room. Nelson, who is a fourth year, has emerged as the prototypical student athlete that we want our young guys to model themselves after. He is a great student, hard worker, focused and always looking for ways to better himself as a person. Nick should be ranked in the top ten nationally to start the season, but his goal for this year is to be an All American at the very least. We believe his work ethic and desire to be the best will help him attain his lofty goals.
Others to watch at this weight class are first year Tanner Hirstine. Tanner was a state champion from Colorado last year and is as great a kid as you'll ever meet. He really has been a sponge in the room thus far and we think you'll be hearing a lot from him in future years.
149: This is a really interesting weight class for our program this season. We have some great guys all fighting for the starting spot at this weight class. Derek Valenti looks to be the front runner for the spot but he's got some great kids pushing him. Here's a look at some of the talent we have in the room at this weight in alphabetical order:
1)Dave Ebbott: Dave started for us for about 5 matches last year, going 3-2 over that span. Dave put a run together last season where he pinned three opponents in a row (Princeton, Duke and NC State). Dave has a motor that never stops but needs to continue to improve his technique to stay a consistent starter this season. Dave is one of the brightest students on the team (Comm school kid that always has a stellar GPA to report) and everyone on the team loves him. He's a fun guy to root for!
2) Nicky Gordon: Nicky redshirted last season and will be moving up to 149lbs this year. Nicky is as gifted a wrestler as we have in our room. He is packed w/ fast twitch muscles, speed and skill. He was a huge recruit coming out of high school, with over 200 wins, wrestling for powerhouse Wyoming Seminary in PA. His father is one of the top high school wrestling coaches in the country so its no surprise Nicky has a great foundation from which to build on. He is in a deep room though and will need to feed off that competition in order to have a successful first year competing for our squad.
3)Derek Valenti: Derek is a returning NCAA Qualifier and is as competitive a young man as you'll ever meet. He's one of the best kids I've ever coached from the top position and will be moving up a weight this year to 149lbs. Derek is as nice a guy as you'll ever meet off the mat but has a nasty streak on the mat that makes him tough for anyone to wrestle. Derek went 1-2 at NCAA's last year but will be looking for much better results this season.We weren't planning on Derek going up this year but he stayed all summer and trained hard and put on about 10 pounds of muscle. The state champion and high school All American is one of the hardest workers on the team. We feel that Derek has the capability to be an All American at whatever weight he chooses to compete at and we expect a lot out of him moving forward.
Another young man to note in this weight class is third year Sam MacGregor. Sam came in as a walk on but has become one of our favorite guys on the team. He is a coaching staff favorite because he loves wrestling and loves being in the room. Everyday this kid walks into the room he is excited...and that makes me excited. He is a hard worker and hopefully his work will pay off this season.
157: Moving up a weight class this season will be NCAA qualifier Shawn Harris. Shawn took second in the ACC last season and will be looking for a lot more this season. Shawn's biggest win last year was when he bumped up a weight class to 157lbs and beat then 5th ranked Thomas Scotton from UNC. Shawn took third in the ACC as a freshman and then redshirted his second year here at UVa. Shawn is not as vocal as some of the other upper class-men but is just as effective in his leadership capabilities. He leads by example and his 3.6 GPA last semester and contagious passion for the sport of wrestling shows that.
Also looking to make his way into the line up again this season is third year Dan Clark. Clark, a former high school All American from Ramsey, NJ, has been in the starting line up before and knows what it takes to win. Dan is very good from the top position but will need to make an effort to "open up" more with his offense to beat the top guys. He is very talented, has been battle tested in the past and could be a force in our line up in the near future.
165: Coming back into the line up after a season ending injury a year ago is former NCAA qualifier Jedd Moore. The third year and former 2x state champion from Ohio, burst onto the scene as a first year and won 30 matches (including several wins over nationally ranked wrestlers along the way). Jedd's biggest win came against 2x All American and eventual NCAA runner up Dan Vallimont (Penn State) that season. A year later Jedd had to sit out the season after having major surgery to correct injuries to his foot. He is back now however and fully functional. For those who don't remember Jedd, you are in for a real treat this season. Jedd, who's nickname is "machine" is explosive, hard nosed and never stops pushing the action. Like many of the guys I've already mentioned, Jedd's ultimate goal is to be an NCAA champ!
Also looking to make the starting line up at this weight class will be first year Connor Miller. Miller is a state champ from Virginia (Faquier HS). Connor has tremendous upside and we expect him to improve a great deal this year. Luckily for Connor, he has guys like Harris, Clark, Moore, Henrich and Sulzer to train with everyday. With this type of workout situation we feel he'll make some major gains this season.
174: There is no secret that 2x All-American Chris Henrich will be looking to bring home our first ever NCAA title this season at this weight class. Chris was so close last year but eventually ended up taking 3rd. His summer training included trips to Missouri and Colorado Springs to workout with some of the best wrestlers in the country and has actually gotten bigger and better since the end of last year. This is a scary thing for other guys at his weight class. I won't go on about this b/c I feel like it is stating the obvious, but will say that anything other than 1st place at NCAA's this year will be a let done for Chris and for us.
Others to note: We have two extremely talented first years at this weight class as well. Billy Coggins is a state champ from Rocky Point, NY that will be a staple in the program for years to come. On top of being very physically gifted, his technique might be the best I've seen in a guy his age. Very rarely does a kid come out of high school and pick up college positioning quickly. Billy however, has picked up things about as fast as anyone one in his age group I've ever coached. My advice is to remember this name. The other first year that will be fun to watch is Nick Sulzer. Sulzer won just about every age group national championship there is to win out of high school (including a state championship for St. Edward HS in Lakeland, OH) and was one of the top ranked recruits nationally (at any weight class) coming out last year. He has all the physical tools to be a multiple NCAA champion. That might sound arrogant, but I hope you don't take it that way. This is just how good we think this young man is. Guys like Nick don't come around very often. When you see him wrestle, you'll know what I mean.
184: We have another special talent coming off of a redshirt year in second year Jon Fausey. Jon was the #2 ranked 189lber in the nation coming out of high school and certainly didn't disappoint us last year. Jon competed very well in open tournament competition and really stepped it up this off season in the freestyle portion of our schedule. Jon earned All American honors after placing 4th at the University National Championships in Akron, OH (where he defeated highly touted Penn State wrestler Eddie Ruth along the way) and also trained out at the Olympic Training Center this summer. The crazy thing to me is that after all this he still has four years of eligibility left!! Jon is very focused, pulled down a 3.8 GPA last semester and will not let any distractions get in the way of reaching his goals. Keep an eye out for his development this year. He's young, but I think you will see an impressive progression in his wrestling come the end of the season.
Also competing at 184lbs this season will be one of my personal favorites in second year Stephen Doty. Doty, a former state champion from Missouri, is a guy that many of you might not know a lot about. That will be changing in the near future. There is no secret that I really enjoy being around Stephen. I tell anyone that will listen that I am way more blessed to be his coach than the other way around. I made Stephen stand up at our first annual UVa family picnic last month b/c I wanted the other student athletes to see the type of person/wrestler/student they should strive to be. Stephen is very quiet and unassuming, but his toughness both mentally and physically is plain to see. Stephen started on and off for us last season but was behind Chris Henrich. This summer he put on a lot of muscle and will be moving up a weight class. We are leaning towards redshirting Stephen at this point but we have plenty of time to work out our final plan for him.
197: Moving up to 197lbs this season will be returning ACC Champion and NCAA qualifier Mike Salopek. At 6 foot 3 inches tall it was a no brainer to move Mike up. Mike is arguably the best pure athlete on our team. The other day before a lift he was jumping up and touching the rim of the basketball hoop in University Hall so effortlessly that I actually felt guilty that he didn't pursue football in college (only half kidding here..lol). When you see him wrestle his physical tools are immediately evident but what you might not know is how mentally tough Mike is. We affectionately refer to Mike as "pipe bomb" in our room b/c when he mat returns an opponent it looks like an explosion! We feel that Salopek has the ability to stand very high on the podium at NCAA's. He actually was ranked 13th in the nation heading into the 2010 NCAA tournament and just missed being seeded. He has three years left to reach his goals and it should be an action packed three years.
Hwt: Fifth year Jack Danilkowicz returns for his final season in Charlottesville at this weight class. Jack graduated last year from the McIntire School of Commerce and is now pursuing a Master's degree in higher education (with an emphasis on leadership). Jack has always carried a very high GPA and has always been a model citizen off the wrestling mat. What he is doing differently this year however, is taking more of an active role as a vocal leader within our program. We need big things from Jack this year and his is capable of just that. Last season he defeated two very tough opponents to take 3rd at the ACC tournament which qualified him for the NCAA Championships. At the NCAA tournament Jack went 1-2 and gained invaluable experience. It was this experience at the "big show" that pushed him to make the commitment to come back for his last year of eligibility. We are lucky to have him!
Also wrestling Hwt this year will be first year Derek Papagianopolous. Derek, who will likely redshirt, was a top ten nationally ranked Hwt coming out of Massachusetts. Derek was a 3x MA state champ and a 2x NE champion as well. He was also a two time Junior National All-American to boot. Derek is a tough, powerful kid with a lot of room for growth. This past summer coach Alex Clemsen and I had the pleasure of watching him take third at the Junior National Championships out in Fargo and we knew we had something special on our hands. Currently the plan for Derek is to take this year, focus on improving his skills everyday and pop into the line up for the 2011-2012 season.
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