Grapplers Open Season With Impressive Showing At Bearcat Open
November 14, 2001 | Men's Wrestling
The Terrier wrestling team opened its season on Saturday (November 10th) at the Bearcat Open in Binghamton, NY. BU entered the tournament with high expectations and did not disappoint, placing in eight of the ten weight classes. The tournament included fellow CAA members, Binghamton University, Drexel University, and Hofstra University as well as a number of other talented teams.
The most intriguing match up of the afternoon pitted junior tri-captain Jose Leon (Santa Ana, CA), second at 125 pounds in the preseason CAA rankings, against Tom Noto of Hofstra, ranked number one in the CAA at 125. The two met in the finals and Leon put up a valiant effort before dropping the match 3-1 and finishing in second-place. Senior Ali Abri (Ashland, VA) secured a third-place finish after defeating Adam Santee of Brown University, 7-6, and junior Ed Strauss (Easton, PA) recorded a second-place finish at 197 pounds, losing in the finals to Chris Skretkowicz of Hofstra.
Benjamin Schilens (Westlake, OH) blew by the competition at the 165-pound weight class before falling to Noel Thompson of Hofstra in the finals, leaving him with a second-place finish.
Senior tri-captain Chad Grant also had a successful tournament as he finished third at 174 pounds after defeating Nick Ciarcia of Brown University, 7-4. Freshmen Joey Rivera (Stroudsburg, PA) and Courtney Howard (Sitka, AK) finished sixth at 133 and 285 pounds, respectively in their collegiate debuts and junior Mark Laramee (Rockland, MA) battled to a fourth place finish at 141 pounds.
The Terriers will look to build upon their good showing at the Bearcat Open when they travel to the University of Pennsylvania to take part in the Keystone Classic on November 18th.
