College Wrestling
Rider University 27, Lock Haven University 16
LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs won six bouts, two by pin, to defeat Lock Haven in Rider's first dual meet of the season Friday evening in Alumni Gymnasium. “I think it went about as well as it could possibly go tonight,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “Sometimes that doesn't happen.”
Freshman Filiberto Colon (Belleville) gave Rider (1-0) a quick 6-0 lead with a pin.
“It felt pretty good tonight,” Colon said. “That's my goal every time out, to pin.” Colon set the New Jersey High School record with 112 pins at Belleville High School, earning All-America honors.
Colon wrestled unattached at the Stroudsburg Open in his collegiate debut last week and placed fourth, winning four of six bouts. “It felt good to be part of the team tonight,” Colon said. “At Stroudsburg I was on my own, so it felt a lot better tonight. College wrestling is a lot tougher than high school. The matches are longer.”
They aren't much longer for Colon, since he wins by pin. “Fil is a pinner,” Taylor said, “and he showed that tonight. Whether he is on top or on the bottom, he can pin you.”
Junior Ed Bordas (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) also won by fall to end the match. “I was disappointed at Stroudsburg,” Bordas said. “I lost my first match in four overtimes and just wasn't mentally in it after that. Tonight I wanted to not just win but win big. I wanted to take it to him. I wanted to show that I haven't lost anything.” Last year Bordas was a Colonial Athletic Association champion and a National Qualifier.
“One of the things we're trying to get Eddie back to is being tough on top,” Taylor said. “He's working on that. It makes him so much more effective.”
Rider junior Thomas Lorenzo (West Orange) improved to 5-1 on the season with a victory at 133. Lorenzo, who placed fourth in the CAA last year, began this season by placing third at the Stroudsburg Open.
Sophomore Fred Rodgers (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown) improved to 6-2 on the season with a victory at 141, giving Rider a 12-0 lead.
Senior Jason Lapham (West Chazy, NY/Beekmantown) won at 165 to improve to 6-0 on the season. Lapham, a transfer from Penn State who placed third in the CAA Championships for Rider last season, began this year by winning his weight class at the Stroudsburg Open.
“The kids have been working hard all year,” Taylor said. “They were more aggressive and that started to pay off in a lot of the matches.”
For Lock Haven (0-2), Matt Fittery improved to 6-0 with a victory at 149.
Lock Haven began the dual meet season by losing 32-9 to fifth ranked Missouri.
Rider and Lock Haven have wrestled 17 times, with the Broncs winning just three, the last time in 1996-97 when Lock Haven was ranked 14th in the nation. “Any time you can beat a Lock Haven team you have to feel good about it,” Taylor said. “They are well coached, they are always in shape, and they're going to wrestle you hard. They have been coming back much stronger the last few years, getting back to where they were at one time.”
Rider competes at the Keystone Classic, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, Sunday. “It is going to be a very tough tournament with Pittsburgh and Penn among others,” Taylor said. “We have a good mixture of older kids and young kids. Our main goal is to try to develop these young kids. They're working hard and the attitude is very good. For our experienced kids, we want to see them win the tournament. For the young kids, if they win the tournament great, but if they don't, we want to at least see improvement.”
“My goal at Keystone is to win it,” Bordas said. And for Colon, it will be to compile some more pins.
wt score R-LH
125: Filiberto Colon-R wbf Nick Hyatt-LH 1:48 6-0
133: Tom Lorenzo-R dec. Billy Ashnault-LH 8-4 9-0
141: Fred Rodgers-R dec. Zach Kell-LH 2-0 12-0
149: Matt Fittery-LH major dec. Nick Weaver-R 14-4 12-4
157: Mike Kessler-R injury def. Luke Lanno-LH ---- 18-4
165: Jason Lapham-R dec. Dave Richmond-LH 4-0 21-4
174: Alex Dalrymple-LH dec. Joe Ferber-R 4-2 21-7
184: Tom Kocher-LH won by forfeit ---- 21-13
197: Ben Hepburn-LH dec. Tyler Smith-R 10-3 21-16
HWT: Ed Bordas-R wbf Gabe Murtorff-LH 3:58 27-16
