High expectations. As is always the case with the College's wrestling team, high expectations will be the theme all season.
The bar has been set high for the team, and although it is still early in the season, the team seems to be on the right track.
The Lions started off the season ranked No. 6 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III team rankings, and also have a number of individual wrestlers ranked high on the list.
Leading the pack is junior captain, Joey Galante, who is currently ranked first nationwide in the 157-pound weight class.
One of Galante's co-captains, senior Brian Dempsey, is ranked second in the 125-pound weight class and sophomore Jeff Harrington is ranked fifth at 174 pounds.
Head coach David Icenhower Sr. is excited about his team's prospects this year and says they are in a position to make a run at the national championship.
"We got off to a great start, winning the Ithaca Tournament last week," Icenhower said. "There have been a couple tournaments since then which weren't scored team-scored and we performed very well in them as well. We think we have five or six guys who can be All-Americans and even a couple who can be number one at the end."
Last Saturday, freshman Greg Osgoodby showed the great depth that the College has at a lot of weight classes this year.
With Harrington out with an injury, Osgoodby had to fill the spot at 174 pounds in the Ursinus College Fall Brawl. Although he was just a fill-in, Osgoodby was one of the three College wrestlers who took home the championship.
"With Jeff being out for the tournament, I felt I had to step it up and I did," Osgoodby said. "Being around such great college wrestlers has really improved my wrestling and I learn a lot from them."
Icenhower was pleasantly surprised with the performance of Osgoodby.
"There's high expectations for Greg," he said. "He's going to push Jeff and make Jeff better. Hopefully, by next season we can find a spot for both of them."
The other two winners for the College at the Fall Brawl were Dempsey and sophomore Ray Sarinelli at 133 pounds. Third place finishers included freshman Mike Jacoutot Jr. at 133 pounds, junior Mike Guenther at 165 pounds and junior Pat Cross at 184 pounds.
Galante is excited about the team's start so far and hopes it only gets better from here both for his team and him individually.
"I want the team to be top three in the country," Galante said. "The team is doing well and the freshmen are getting better every tournament. I've wrestled pretty well this year, but there's room for improvement. The rankings are something I try not to think about because it doesn't mean much until nationals."
Tonight, the College will square off against Hunter College at home at 7 p.m.
