Wrestling with the best

By Paul Mullin

What was a relaxing spring break week for most was a week of intense preparation for the Rider wrestling team, which sent five wrestlers to the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship Tournament that ran from Thursday, March 16 to Saturday, March 18.

The Broncs were represented in Oklahoma City by sophomore TJ Morrison, freshman Mike Kessler, freshman Doug Umbehauer, sophomore Zack Cunliffe and senior Joe Maroney.

“The future looks bright,” said Head Coach Gary Taylor. “The young wrestlers who went received valuable experience that will really help them understand the competition at the highest level.”

All five of the Rider wrestlers lost in the first round of the tournament, but Morrison managed to pull out a win in the consolation round. After losing to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion Adam Wright on March 17, Morrison scored a 16-10 victory over Lehigh’s Matt Cassidy.

Kessler, who was originally selected as a wild-card alternate for the tournament, secured a berth due to an injury to Brian LaShomb of Old Dominion.

“All year it was in the back of my mind,” Kessler said. “Nationals, it’s what you train for. It was definitely always one of my goals because my brother was a two-time NCAA qualifier and I always looked up to him.”

Kessler wrestled ninth-seeded Tyler Turner of Wisconsin at 149 pounds, a match he admitted was made more difficult by the fact that he did not know he would be attending the championship until just before it took place.

“I found out I was wrestling in the tournament like four days before, so I was about 18 pounds over,” he said. “I lost about 18 pounds in four days. By the time I got on the mat I was kind of drained.”

A week earlier, Kessler and company finished fourth at the CAA Championships, where they were selected to make the trip to nationals. Cunliffe, the second seed in his weight class, won the championship at 133 pounds, beating the fourth-seeded wrestler to take home the prize.

Maroney and Umbehauer both finished as runner-up in their respective weight classes, while Kessler scored a third place finish and Morrison a fourth place one.

A second seed in his weight class, Maroney lost to the top seed in the finals, but still qualified for his first trip to nationals in his career at Rider.

Morrison, also a second seed, lost to the third seed in the semi-finals and secured a fourth place finish in the consolation round by defeating the fifth seed. Morrison placed third in the CAA Championships previously, in addition to a win at the nationals last year.

Umbehauer lost to the fifth-ranked wrestler in the nation, Mike Patrovich of Hofstra, in the finals after upsetting the third seed at the tournament. Hofstra would go on to win the tournament.

“We lost two matches in the semifinals that really changed the complexion of who would finish second, third and fourth,” said Taylor. “That’s one of the problems with young wrestlers; the consistency factor.”

Taylor celebrated the experience received by the up-and-coming athletes as invaluable. Kessler, looking forward to a very promising college career, agreed, stating that what he learned this time around will most definitely contribute to his success in the future.

“Now that I know what nationals are like my training will be at a new level,” Kessler said. “I’m going to prepare for the tournament a lot more by doing extra stuff outside the practice room because it’s a real eye opener at the NCAA’s. Training is going to be a big thing.”