Question 1:
Josh Peters was having a solid year before fading some against MAC competition last year. Seems that he would be a good wrestler and likely starter at 197 next year. I recently visited the roster page and didn't see his profile. Will he be back next year? Related to this, 184 is open with Jimmy Hamel graduating. Justin Heisserman wrestled at 189 and occasionally 215 in high school. Do you project Heiserman at 184 or 197?
Response:
Jimmy Hamel graduated this year and we will have very good 184 and 197 pound wrestlers in the line-up. Unfortunately, Josh Peters is no long a part of the UB Wrestling Team.
At 184 pounds, we will have one of the following three wrestlers: Ron Majerus, Zach Ward, or Jake Waste. Ron is a redshirt junior who started at 165 pounds as a true freshman. He had a solid year where he placed in the MAC Championships. The following year, he redshirted and placed in several tournaments at 174 pounds. Last season, he again started for us at 174 pounds. Ron placed at both the UB Open and the New York State Collegiate Tournament. He also had a memorable match where he scored multiple takedowns on #1 Nationally Ranked Honeycutt of Edinboro when he wrestled up at 184 pounds. Zach Ward is a redshirt freshman who won an open tournament last year and placed in several others. He won about a dozen matches last year and continues to improve. Jake Waste was one of the top recruits in the country this year. He won five National Championships during his high school career and is looking to add two more at Fargo this month. Jake also was a Minnesota State Champion, placed in a ton of national tournaments, won a college tournament as a junior in high school, and finished high school with a 201-26 career record. Waste or Majerus could also be at 174 pounds this season.
At 197 pounds, we will have one of the following three wrestlers: Tyler Peter, Mibo Aiono, and Justin Heiserman. Tyler will be in his fourth year with the program and has worked very hard and gained a lot of experience over the years. He has wrestled a lot of good competition and is ready to go for next year. Mibo joined the team last year and wrestled up at heavyweight. He plans to drop down to 197 this year and will be big for the weight. He is also very athletic. Justin Heiserman is projected to wrestle 197 pounds. He was ranked in the top 20 in the country at 189 pounds this year and has several very good wins. He was a NHSCA High School Senior All-American, Disney Duals Gold Medalist, two-time Michigan State Champion, three-time Michigan State Finalist, and four-time Michigan State Qualifier. He finished his high school career with a 192-27 record with 116 pins.
Question 2:
Congratulations on a strong season last year and a great recruiting class! UB will be loaded at the lower weight classes next year. The Soria brothers and Arik Robinson have been mentioned as competing for the 125 spot. Last year's starters Taylor Golba (early) and Sean Walton (late) are rarely mentioned but are both tough wrestlers at 125. Kevin Smith at 133 is not likely to be displaced. Andrew Schutt had a strong year at 141. Blake Ruolo comes in at 141/149. Other strong wrestlers will also be pushing for time. 149 is the only lower to mid weight class without an incumbent starter. How do you see competition for the starting lineup playing out?Response:
I would say that we will be very good at 149 pounds next year. Chris Conti, Wally Maziarz, James Loomis, and Blake Roulo will all probably be 149 pounders. Chris Conti has won several important matches for us in the last three years. He is a very hard worker and great young man. He is getting bigger as he is moving up from 141 pounds and looks great. I think the people that do not get the chance to see him train daily will be impressed with how good he really is. He is a hammer on the mat and is getting very good on his feet. Wally Maziarz is rapidly improving and recently qualified for the World Team Trials in Greco-Roman. Wally also won an open tournament this year. Loomis gained valuable experience last year and wrestled several matches. He is very aggressive and wrestles a high-pace style which makes him exciting to watch. Nothing is set in stone, but there is a good possibility in Roulo redshirt next year. Roulo was one of the best recruits in the country this year and won four straight NHSCA High School National Titles (only the second wrestler to ever do so). Roulo also was a multiple-time All-American, Virginia State Champion, and finished his high school career with a 179-14 career record.
-------------
Please feel free to leave additional comments and questions on this post.
The UB Wrestling Camp gets underway this Sunday on UB's North Campus. If you haven't signed up yet, there is still time! Go Bulls!
Do you think that Kevin Smith could move up a weight this year? If so what does 133 like if he is at 141 pounds?
ReplyDelete