College Wrestling
Rider University 25, Drexel University 10
LAWRENCEVILLE?The Broncs won seven of 10 bouts in a Colonial Athletic Association dual meet victory over Drexel Tuesday night. “Overall I thought we wrestled well, we were aggressive,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor.
Freshman Aaron Nestor (Transfer, PA/Reynolds) won by fall, his third pin of the season and first at 149, to give Rider a 12-4 lead. “Aaron is starting to emerge, starting to get some confidence,” Taylor said. “He's starting to do some of the things that we brought him here to do.”
“I feel stronger at 149,” said Nestor, who red-shirted last year. “It was hard sitting in the stands last year,” Nestor said. “This year I get to do it and it is a lot more fun.”
Nestor began the season at 141 and was 7-6, placing sixth at the Keystone Classic and seventh at the Stroudsburg Open, before moving up to 149, where he is now 6-5 and ranked fifth in the CAA. “141 was pretty tight for him,” Taylor said. “He was a 152 pounder in high school. He seems to have more energy at 149.”
“I was in the 170s during the summer, so cutting the weight to 141 was a little too much,” Nestor said. “I felt too weak. It seemed like a good idea when I started the season.”
“It was his decision to move up and he's been wrestling well,” Taylor said. “The Clarion kid was pretty good.”
A native of Western PA, the Clarion victory on January 31 was a bit of a homecoming for Nester. “I was recruited by Pitt and Clarion out of high school,” Nestor said. “I had some family at the match last week so that was nice. It came to Rider and Clarion as my choices, and I'm glad I chose Rider. After winning last week there it proved I made the right choice.”
Nestor was a two-time State runner-up and also placed third in PA one year at Reynolds High. “He was pretty successful in high school,” Taylor said. “Now we're starting to see some things that made him successful. Even for good wrestlers, that first year on the college level takes some time to figure it out. In college everybody is good and a lot of them are bigger and stronger when you are a freshman.”
Also for Rider (6-6, 3-1 CAA), sophomore Fred Rodgers (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown) won to give Rider a 6-4 lead. “Freddie wrestled a very smart match,” Taylor said. “He wrestled with good intensity but also a very intelligent match. The wrestler he beat is very good on top, so he had to be careful what he did.”
Senior Doug Umbehauer (Shamong, NJ/Lenape), ranked fifth in the nation and second in the CAA, won by a major decision.
Junior Michael Kessler (Randallstown, MD/Owings Mills), ranked 25th in the nation and second in the CAA, defeated the sixth ranked wrestler in the CAA to give Rider a 15-4 lead. “That was probably their second best wrestler that Kessler beat,” Taylor said. “He has had some success, beating some good kids, so that was a nice win for Mike.” Kessler was losing 1-0 after the second period and the match was tied at 1-1 until a late takedown won the bout 3-1. “Mike always likes to keep everyone on edge,” Taylor said. “He's very good at that. He creates the mystery.”
Rider senior Jason Lapham (West Chazy, NY/Beekmantown), ranked 29th in the nation and third in the CAA, defeated the fourth ranked wrestler in the CAA.
Junior Ed Bordas (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central), ranked 31st in the nation and first in the CAA, defeated Kyle Frey, ranked third in the CAA, for the final score.
Freshman Jimmy Kirchner (Somerville) won at 133 to get Rider on the board.
For Drexel (6-14-1, 2-4 CAA), Jon Oplinger, ranked 10th in the nation and second in the CAA, won at 197. “He's their best and he's a very good wrestler,” Taylor said. “He looked good and wrestled a smart match.”
The dual meet featured two of the winningest coaches in wrestling. Drexel head coach Jack Childs has 382 career wins, most among active Division I coaches. Taylor has 344 career wins, third most among active coaches.
Rider and Drexel have met 33 times since the series began in 1970-71, with Rider winning 25.
The Broncs host 23rd ranked Old Dominion in a CAA dual February 14. Rider was home Tuesday for the first time since January 6 and wrestles the last three dual meets of the season in Alumni Gym. “I like that we're here,” Taylor said. “We've been on the road long enough. We need to establish some things.”
125 Mike Gomez-D major dec. Tim Trivisonno-R 10-2 0-4
133 Jimmy Kirchner-R dec. Frank Cimato-D 6-3 3-4
141 Fred Rodgers-R dec. Matt Dugan-D 6-2 6-4
149 Aaron Nestor-R wbf Robert Robinson-D 6:18 12-4
157 Michael Kessler-R dec. Billy Haydt-D 3-1 15-4
165 Jason Lapham-R dec. Scott Hunter-D 3-1 18-4
174 Dave Woodall-D dec. Mike Ward-R 5-3 18-7
184 Doug Umbehauer-R major dec. Shawn Fausey-D 11-3 22-7
197 Jon Oplinger-D dec. Mike Miller-R 7-1 22-10
hwt Ed Bordas-R dec. Kyle Frey-D 4-1 25-10
