Posted on Thu, Jan. 06, 2005
Bucknell begins process to resurrect its wrestling program
Come August, Bucknell wrestling will rise from the dead.
And its resurrection is being guided by a State College High graduate.
Tim Pavlechko, Bucknell’s senior associate athletics director, is leading the search for a coach at the Lewisburg institution.
The return of Bucknell wrestling is being made possible through a $5.6 million donation from an alumnus, Bill Graham, of Philadelphia, who wrestled for the Bison in the 1960s. Part of that gift will also go toward helping pay for the women’s crew team. When Bucknell dropped wrestling several years ago, Title IX was cited.
Pavlechko, no stranger to wrestling as he was oversight director for wrestling for the NCAA for several years, said interest in the Bucknell job has been steady since the announcement about Bucknell returning to the mat.
He declined to say how many have applied for the coaching job but noted that interviews will be held in the next 30 to 60 days with a new coach likely to be named soon after the NCAA championships in St. Louis in March.
Won’t the late naming of a coach hurt recruiting? Pavlechko, a 1991 graduate of Bucknell where he played football, said the recruiting calendar for wrestling, like most other sports has been broadened. He said Bucknell is looking for a true student-athlete and that many athletes with strong academic backgrounds are kind of “self-recruited.”
Bucknell’s emphasis is placed on academics and provides the right fit for an athlete who excels in the classroom.
Pavlechko, who wrestled at State College for one year, said the university has looked at several leagues.
“Really, a league is a about qualifiers (for the NCAA championships) and there are several we can fit into, “he said.
Wrestling fans will be awaiting the naming of a coach and selection of a league.
Gone, at least for now
T.J. Jaworsky, the head wrestling coach at Davidson, was fired Monday after his arrest on charges of cocaine possession and driving while impaired. He had been coach for 3 1/2 years and had a career record of 5-42.
Jaworsky was a three-time NCAA champion at North Carolina. Included in one of his final wins was a decision over Cary Kolat, then a freshman at Penn State.
Former Pitt wrestler Bob Patnesky was named the new head coach at Davidson.
Chris Fleeger, Purdue’s No. 2 ranked 133-pounder, was declared academically ineligible for the second semester. Fleeger, the NCAA runner-up in 2003 to Cornell’s Travis Lee at 125 pounds, did his high school wrestling at Loyalsock High near Williamsport. His high school coach was Ben Hepburn, a former Penn State grappler.
A long walk
Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, whose Sooners lost to Southern California in Tuesday’s Orange Bowl for the national title, says one of the coaches he admires most is former Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable.
One would think Gable might have made the Sooners walk home after Tuesday’s rout in Miami.
Getting richer
Cornell’s wrestling program has been steadily on the rise under State College High graduate Rob Koll. It got a little richer this week when Troy Nickerson, one of the top recruits in the country, announced he would attend Cornell.
Nickerson wrestles at Chenago Forks High, near Binghamton, N.Y.
A Bunch of trouble
Two weeks ago we touted the possible matchup of Cornell’s Dustin Manotti and C.P. Schlatter, Minnesota’s prize recruit, in the finals of the Southern Scuffle at 149 pounds. They met and Manotti had his way 10-2.
The top surprise at the tournament, won by Minnesota, and held at Greensboro, N.C, was the upset of Cornell’s Lee at 133 pounds.
Edinboro’s Shawn Bunch topped the former NCAA champion 11-10. With Fleeger out of the way, Bunch has to be Lee’s major competition for another title.
Other winners at Greensboro were: 125, Bob Lowe, Minnesota; 133, Bunch, Edinboro; 141, Nate Gulosh, Navy; 149, Manotti, Cornell; 157, Travius Piccard, Citadel; 165, Matt Nagel, Minnesota; 174, Joe Mazzurco, Cornell; 184, Roger Kish, Minnesota; 197, Daren Burns, UNC-Greensboro; 285, Cole Konrad, Minnesota.
Some Penn State backups or redshirts did well at the Buffalo Open on Dec. 30. Winners and Penn State placers: 125, Fernando Martinez, Army; 133, Jake Strayer, Penn State; 141, Albert Madsen, Ohio, fourth, Brock Scott, Penn State; 149, Pat Lloyd, Buffalo, third, Jack Decker, Penn State; 157, Jeff Marsh, Michigan, second, Jarrad Turner, Penn State, third, Mark Friend, Penn State; 165, Jason Cardillo, Slippery Rock, second, Phil Bomberger, Penn State; 174, Brian Cantalupi, Penn State, third, Neil Bretz, Penn State; 184, Garrett Hicks, Buffalo, fifth, A.J. Cummings, Penn State; 197, Kyle Cerminara, Buffalo, second, Joel Edwards, Penn State; 285, Gregg Thomas, Buffalo, second, C.J. Wonsettler, Penn State.
And finally, Nebraska topped Minnesota 21-12 Tuesday in Lincoln.
Wrestling Gear
