Hofstra University Sports Information
Hempstead, NY — Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, who captured the Atlantic Coast Conference 157-pound championship as a redshirt freshman at Virginia Tech last spring, has transferred and will compete for the Pride this season, Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Tom Shifflet announced.
Bonilla-Bowman comes to Hofstra after two seasons at Virginia Tech, where he redshirted in 2005-06 before posting a 20-13 record, winning the ACC title and being named the ACC Championship Tournament Outstanding Wrestler, and qualifying for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Detroit in 2006-07. He was 16-9 at 149 pounds, 4-4 at 157 pounds, was 9-8 in dual matches and 3-2 in ACC matches last season.
In the ACC Championship, Bonilla-Bowman, who was seeded third, posted an opening round 7-4 victory over Maryland’s Mike McGill, defeated second-seed Ben Fiacco from North Carolina, 8-5, and downed top-seeded Kody Hamrah from North Carolina State, 10-3 for the title. In the NCAA Championships, he lost a first-round decision to Drexel’s Ryan Hluschak, 18-12, and a consolation round decision to Jacob Murphy from Purdue, 4-2.
The Pomona, New York native attended Ramapo High School in Spring Valley and earned All-America honors with a seventh place finish at the 2005 Senior Nationals. Bonilla-Bowman earned six letters at Ramapo, was a three-year captain, and posted a 125-10 record with 73 wins by fall during his scholastic career. As a senior in 2004-05, he won four tournaments, captured the sectional title at 152 pounds and placed third at the New York State High School Championships.
As a junior Bonilla-Bowman won six individual tournaments, captured the sectional crown, and placed fourth at the New York State Championships. He recorded five individual tournament titles and the sectional championship as a sophomore. In addition to his wrestling accolades, Bonilla-Bowman, who was a member of the Honor Roll and Principal’s List as a senior, was also a goalkeeper on the Ramapo soccer team. He is also an accomplished musician, winning the New York State Art Teacher’s Association Award for his work on the drums, guitar and song writing.
“We are excited about adding a wrestler of Jonny’s caliber to our team, “Shifflet said. “With his talent and experience we expect him to step right into the line-up and compete for one of the jobs vacated by the graduations of All-Americans James Strouse at 157 and Mike Patrovich at 165.”
Hofstra, which finished seventh at the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, opens its 2007-08 regular season schedule on Saturday, November 10 against the University of Missouri. Match time at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex is 7 p.m
Wrestling Gear
