By Austin Sommer, EIWA Sports Information Director
Army West Point took part in the Southern Scuffle this past weekend. This annual event is held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In last season's tournament, Army finished with one champ and eight place winners – good enough for fourth place. This year's business trip included one champ with 9 place finishers. As an interesting tidbit, last season's point total for the squad at his event was 132.5. This year's point total was 133. It's consistent, but not much of an improvement from a year ago. Depending on how you look at this data, different conclusions can be drawn. Head Coach, Kevin Ward's conclusions are mild.
Coach Ward is entering his 11th season as Head Coach and he was thrilled with his team, but not overly excited. "It's a great moment for the team, as it shows what we are capable of." Ward continued, "If I'm being honest, we didn't wrestle that well overall. We had many bright spots and some lows." From what he tells his team, they are a V10 engine (V10 for each of the 10 weights). "Sometimes it's like we are running on a V6 – which is not our full potential." The engine comparison is a great way to look at it.
Speaking of consistency, Army West Point's 165lbs wrestler has been nothing but in his short career. Gunner Filipowicz was the runner-up at this event last year as a freshman. The 13th ranked wrestler in the nation dominated the field this year with two majors, two technical falls, and two pins en route to the title. Coach Ward said "Gunner expected to smash everyone, like he does every match. We can't control who he wrestles in tournaments." If you watch Gunner wrestle, you can tell he's excited to compete all the time. Ward added, "He trains this way too. He truly loves the sport." His success is evidence of that, touting an 18-2 record on the year.
Army's heavyweights really shined this weekend as well. Lucas Stoddard came into the weekend ranked no. 24 in the nation. He claimed the runner-up spot on the podium after knocking off two EIWA opponents on his side of the bracket. "It was great to see Lucas (Stoddard) perform well. He was dealing with some things all fall. He's starting to get into a rhythm," Coach explained. Brady Colbert was just as impressive, with similar match results to Lucas. Brady claimed third place in a bracket that had plenty of talent When asked about Colbert, Ward said "He's a very talented freshman. We love the way he attacks, how he hand fights, and his improvement since November is noticeable. He has never had a breakout tournament like this. It was a great weekend for Brady." Currently, Stoddard is 10-2 on the year as a sophomore and Colbert is a freshman holding a 16-5 record. These two will anchor the line-up for years to come.
The podium at 141lbs also had two Army West Point wrestlers. 23rd ranked Braden Basile was fifth while Richard Treanor took home third. To make things more complicated, Treanor defeated Basile head-to-head by a 10-7 score in the consolation rounds. Treanor has two wins over his nationally ranked teammate this season already. The records of each wrestler are so similar as well. Treanor is 11-4 on the year while Basile is 11-5. Ward described this dilemma. "It's definitely a roster battle. They both compete hard with very different styles. Someone will need to separate themselves during the second semester." Expect to see both Basile and Treanor in the line-up moving forward. Whomever ends up competing at the EIWA Championships is a great option for Army West Point.
It can be argued that the strength of the Army West Point line-up is the lightweights. They won the team title without a podium finisher at both 125lbs and 133lbs. Charlie Farmer was 2-2 at 125lbs on the weekend, underachieving what he's capable of. He fell to 27th in the rankings. Expect a big turnaround from him. At 133lbs, Ethan Berginc also failed to place. He came into the event ranked in the mid-20s. He was projected to be in the mix and challenge for a title. Unfortunately, Ethan was sick and tried to wrestle. He was simply too sick complete the event and had to medically forfeit out. Coach Ward explained "Ethan is a warrior and wants to step on the mat whenever he can. Maybe it was the wrong decision to let him wrestle. He'll be back this week for the F&M Open." Assuming there are no setbacks for Ethan, he will return with a vengeance.
A few highlights from The Southern Scuffle, according to Coach Ward, include a handful of wrestlers grinding out wins in the consolation finals to earn third place finishes. Rich Treanor and Brady Colbert fit this category. Wolfgang Frable earned a fourth-place finish after he defeated a ranked wrestler from Campbell in the quarterfinals. Senior, Dalton Harkins, had a quality win over Lennox Wolak of Virgnia Tech – who was an All-a season ago. Lastly, Jake Gilfoil made his collegiate debut after being sidelined with injuries to begin the season. The freshman is in the mix to earn the starting spot at 184lbs. This is another roster battle to keep an eye on.
Army West Point's next competition is the Franklin & Marshall Open on Friday January 10. They will bring "an army" of 25 wrestlers. As Coach Ward discussed, there will be a few roster battles on-going into the rest of the season. His main objective for the team is to show more consistency. Sometimes, the best way to do this is with multiple matches in a day. With a loaded field every year, the entire Army West Point squad will be ready for battle!