BOSTON, Mass.—Binghamton wrestling won two individual titles, advanced four to the NCAA Championship and tied for second as a team at the CAA Championship, contested Saturday at Boston University’s Case Gym. Hofstra won the team crown with 67.5 points, ahead of the Bearcats (54.0) and Rider (54.0). Boston was fourth with 51.5 points in a very close four-team race.
Graduate student Donnie Vinson defended his crown at 149 pounds and was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for a second straight year. Joining him on the top level of the podium was junior 184-pound Cody Reed, who punched his ticket to a second-straight NCAA Championship with a riveting overtime win. Senior 133-pound Derek Steeley completed an improbable journey to the NCAAs with a runnerup finish. Steeley overcame a serious leg injury that forced him out of the lineup for weeks and his participation in the CAA tournament was still in doubt just days before the event. Graduate student Nate Schiedel placed second at 197 pounds and sophomore heavyweight Tyler Deuel gave BU its fifth placewinner with a fourth-place showing.
Vinson (29-1), ranked No. 4 in the latest InterMat poll, won his second straight conference title in convincing fashion. After receiving a bye in the quarterfinals, Vinson pinned fourth-seeded Nick Tourville of Boston in 1:15 in the semifinals. In the finals, he roared to a 15-0 technical fall over second-seeded Alex Richardson of Old Dominion. After the championship, Vinson was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for a second straight year. He is already the program’s all-time wins leader (128) and is the highest-ranked wrestler in the CAA. He will now head to Des Moines for the NCAA Championship and a chance to add to his legacy. Last year, Vinson went 7-1 to finish third and become an All-American and BU’s highest-ever Division I national placewinner.
Reed, the No. 2 seed at 184, took a more dramatic route to his first CAA title. He edged unseeded Alex Najjar of Boston 3-2 in the quarterfinals and then worked to the finish for a 5-2 decision over No. 3 Austin Coburn of ODU. But only the champion received an NCAA berth at 184 so Reed had to win it all to make a return trip to the national championship. Trailing 5-3 with less than five seconds left in the title bout against top-seeded Ryan Wolfe, Reed secured a takedown on the edge of the mat to force overtime. Early in the extra period, Reed shot in and his single-leg takedown ended the bout and gave him the crown. He has now won nine of his last 10 matches and will bring 18 wins into the NCAAs.
Steeley completed his comeback from a leg injury and his semifinal win clinched an NCAA berth as three wrestlers from the 133-pound weight class were awarded automatic bids. Seeded third, Steeley began his day with a bang, posting a second-period pin over Zachary Isenhour of George Mason. In the semifinals, he rallied for a 7-4 decision over No. 2 Jimmy Morris before losing 8-4 to fourth-seeded Jamie Franco in the title bout.
Schiedel (26-2), ranked No. 5 in the country, rolled into the finals before suffering a 3-2 decision at the hands of second-seeded Brandon Palik of Drexel. Schiedel notched a quarterfinal pin and a semifinal major decision. He will make his fourth straight NCAA appearance and bumped his career wins total to 117, third-most all-time at Binghamton.
Deuel produced an 8-2 decision over Greg Velasco of Rider in the consolations and previously advanced a round with a bye. He finished his sophomore season with 18 wins.
An additional 40 NCAA at-large berths will be announced on March 13. The NCAA Championship will be held at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on March 21-23. Last season BU had five qualifiers, two All-Americans and placed 14th in St. Louis.
Final Binghamton Matches
Finals
133
#4 Jamie Franco (Hofstra) dec. #3 Derek Steeley, 8-4
149
#1 Donnie Vinson TF #2 Alex Richardson (ODU), 15-0
184
#2 Cody Reed dec. #1 Ryan Wolfe (Rider), 7-5 OT
197
#2 Brandon Palik (Drexel) dec. #1 Nate Schiedel, 3-2
3rd Place Match
Hwt
#4 Matt Tourdot (ODU) dec. #2 Tyler Deuel, 6-1
Semifinals
125
#1 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) maj. dec. #4 Mike Sardo, 10-1
133
#3 Derek Steeley dec. #2 Jimmy Morris (Rider), 7-4
149
#1 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) WBF #4 Nick Tourville (Boston), 1:15
184
#2 Cody Reed dec. #3 Austin Coburn (ODU), 5-2
197
#1 Nate Schiedel maj. dec. #4 Donald Mcneil (Rider), 12-1
Hwt
#3 Jacob Kettler (GMU) dec. #2 Tyler Deuel, 9-2
Quarterfinals
133
#3 Derek Steeley WBF Zachary Isenhour (GMU), 4:09
141
Vionny Fava (Rider) dec. #4 Joe Bonaldi, 10-5
157
#2 Zach Cibula (Rider) maj. dec. Jack McKeever, 14-3
165
#3 Brett Miller (ODU) dec. Vincent Grella, 3-2 TB1
174
#2 Billy Curling (ODU) dec. John Paris, 3-2
184
#2 Cody Reed dec. Alex Najjar (Boston), 3-2
197
#1 Nate Schiedel WBF Hunter Meys (Boston), 2:24
First-round consolations
141
#4 Joe Bonaldi dec. Tyler Scotton (Boston), 6-4 OT
165
Vincent Grella dec. #2 Connor Moran (Drexel), 5-4
Second Round consolations
125
Chris McGinley (Boston) dec. Mike Sardo, 3-0
141
#3 Luke Vaith (Hofstra) dec. Joe Bonaldi, 6-5
157
Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) maj. dec. Mike McKeever, 13-5
165
#4 Mitchell Wightman (Boston) dec. Vincent Grella, 2-1
174
#4 James Brundage (Rider) dec. John Paris, 10-7
Hwt
Tyler Deuel dec. Greg Velasco (Rider), 8-2
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