Wrestling | 11/3/2023 3:30:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University wrestling team are set to start their season this weekend as they travel to Lycoming College to compete in the annual Lycoming Invitational. The competition begins on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 9a.m. and it is a good opportunity for every wrestler to get matches under their belt.
Last Season
The Cardinals made their long awaited debut last season and impressed with a 5-4 record in duals and were competitive in the invitationals they took part in. They began last year with the Lycoming Invite and Fisher had 19 athletes compete with various levels of success. The season ended with the NCAA Regionals that saw four Cardinals wrestle, and three of those competitors will be returning.
Still Young and Growing
The wrestling program brings in 17 freshman, to go along with 10 sophomores and a total of seven upperclassman (one junior, five seniors, one grad student).
Torin Bishop,
Nathan Coon,
Richard Hess,
Derek Bernardino, and
Zenmatsu Myles are all going into their second year of collegiate wrestling and were some of the regular selections throughout the season.
Bernardino is ranked 5
th in the region in the 133-pound class and was impressive in the classroom being named Scholar All-American. Bishop wrestled in the 149-pound weight class and won over 20 matches in 2022-23.
Joshua Maslyn and
Mason Wersinger both competed in the NCAA Regionals at Ithaca College and both return for their senior season and will be looked at as leaders of the team. Wersinger won over 25 matches last year in the 149-pound class, with Maslyn doing just as good in the 157 weight class.
Newcomers
The Cardinals have a few new wrestlers that have the coaching staff excited. Brayden Vandenberg transfers from University of Buffalo and in the 197-pound class, he is a tough wrestler with a high ceiling. Alex Samson transfers from Mercyhurst as a graduate student as a 141-pound wrestler. Samson won a state title for Victor high school and can go up against pretty much anyone in the country. Danny Parkulo comes from Averett was a 125-pound competitor, and he was a Southeast Futures Champions, Adrian Invite Finalist and tallied a 17-6 record in Division III last season.
When asked about the expectations for this season, head coach
Ryne Morrison says that things haven't changed.
"We want to have the best possible team culture that we can. Have integrity, commitment and compete your tail off everyday and control what we can control," he said.
With it being the first season of competition for the wrestling program there was a lot of unknown, but the hope is now that there is comfort in the routine and the team can take that next step.
"Last year was a new experience for everyone, but the culture came together well and the team competed the way we expected," said coach Morrison.
"We know from last year that we have to continue to get better everyday, but what we have right now is good enough to make an impact regionally and national," he concluded.
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