"When Pat went through the college recruiting process, everything was so foreign," recalled Popolizio. "We had no prior knowledge of it looked like or what it should look like it. We had never seen it before. So after I got to watch Pat at Oklahoma State, I said, 'Man, this is a whole 'nother world, so why not make it happen here.'"
The first Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals took place in December of 2003. It was a quad meet (four teams) that was highlighted with Buffalo wrestling Sacred Heart. The event was held at Niskayuna High School and only 300 fans came through the doors.
"At the time, we actually thought we did a good job," said Popolizio. "We had three mats down and we thought getting 300 people there was a good thing. And then we kind of pushed it a little more. We raised the bar about what the expectations should be."
Since its inception four years ago, the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals has grown from a small, local event to a premier and exciting early-season collegiate wrestling event. Last season's event attracted over 1,100 fans and included four teams who finished in the top 30 at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City.
The field of teams for the 2006 Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals looks to be just as competitive.
No. 1 Minnesota returns to the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals after posting a perfect 4-0 mark at this event last season. The Gophers, who finished runner-up at last season's NCAA Championships, return four All-Americans from last season's team, including NCAA champions Dustin Schlatter (149) and Cole Konrad (Hwt). Schlatter posted a remarkable 39-1 record last season as a true freshman with his only loss of the season coming at this event to Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan, 1-0. Mack Reiter, a two-time All-American for Minnesota at 133 pounds, tore his ACL at an early-season practice and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.
No. 12 Hofstra is a newcomer to the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals. The Pride are led by first-year head coach Tom Shifflet. Prior to coming to Hofstra, Shifflet spent four seasons as head coach at UNC Greensboro. He also organized the Southern Scuffle, which is widely considered one of the most prestigious midseason events in collegiate wrestling. Hofstra, who is coming off an 11th place finish at last season's NCAA Championships, returns two All-Americans. Senior Mike Patrovich placed fourth at 174 pounds, but has moved down to 165 pounds for his senior season. Chris Weidman, also a senior, finished sixth at 197 pounds.
Wynn Michalak (Photo/John Sachs)Pennsylvania (Penn) will be making its debut at the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals. Zeke Jones, a former World champion who is in his second season as head coach, guided Penn to a 12th place finish at last season's NCAA Championships. The Quakers return an NCAA champion, two All-Americans, and four NCAA qualifiers. Matt Valenti was the NCAA champion at 133 pounds, Matt Herrington placed fifth at 174 pounds, and Cesar Grajales (141) and Matt Dragon (157) were both NCAA qualifiers. Herrington is a local New York product who hails from Cambridge.
American returns to the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals after placing 17th at the NCAA Championships in March. The Eagles are coached by Mark Cody, who is known in collegiate circles as one of the most renowned technical coaches in the nation. Josh Glenn, a 197-pound pinning machine, is a returning All-American after placing fourth in Oklahoma City. NCAA qualifier Adam LoPiccolo returns at heavyweight. Damian Swietlik, who will compete at 149 pounds, is a talented newcomer and a three-time Poland Junior Nationals champion.
Bloomsburg returns four NCAA qualifiers. Mike Sees, a 125-pounder, and Mike Spaid, a heavyweight, were Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) champions. At 157 pounds, Aric Fuhrman won 23 matches and finished fourth in the EWL. Tony Curto, a 141-pounder won 22 matches last season and took fifth at the EWL.
Princeton is led by first-year coach Chris Ayres. A former Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) champion and All-American for Lehigh, Ayres brings a new passion to the Princeton program. He spent the past five seasons at his alma mater working under Greg Strobel, so he understands what it takes to win. The Tigers are young this season with three freshman and three sophomores in the starting lineup.
Pat PopolizioKey Individual Matches by Round (Lineups Subject to Change):
Round 1 (10:00 AM):
-- At 133 pounds (Mat 1), it will be a battle of two talented true freshmen when Minnesota's Mike Thorn takes on Hofstra's Lou Ruggirello. Thorn is a three-time Minnesota state champion and a Junior Nationals All-American. Ruggirello is a three-time New York state champion and an NHSCA Senior Nationals champion.
-- At 184 pounds (Mat 1), NCAA runner-up Roger Kish of Minnesota will face NCAA qualifier Joe Rovelli of Hofstra. Last season, Kish scored a 7-2 decision over Rovelli at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in January.
Round 2 (12:00 PM):
-- At 174 pounds (Mat 1), No. 7 Gabe Dretsch of Minnesota will wrestle Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan. Sinnott, a MAC champion, defeated Dretsch twice last season by scores of 9-3 (at this event) and 4-2 (in overtime) at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in January.
-- At 197 pounds (Mat 2), two All-Americans will go head to head when American's Josh Glenn faces Hofstra's Chris Weidman. Glenn, a junior, posted a 35-3 record last season and placed fourth at 184 pounds at the NCAA Championships. Weidman, who finished last season with an 18-13 mark, was a surprise All-American, placing sixth after entering the event unseeded. Weidman scored a big upset over top-seeded Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan (who is also competing in this event) in the second round.
Round 3 (2:30 PM):
-- At 157 pounds (Mat 1), Matt Dragon of Penn is expected to face Eric Neil (or Trevor Stewart) of Central Michigan. Dragon put together an impressive freshman campaign last season, winning the EIWA title and reaching the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships. Neil was an NCAA qualifier in 2005.
-- At 197 pounds (Mat 2), Minnesota's Yura Malamura, a junior college national champion and a newcomer for the Gophers, will take on All-American Josh Glenn of American.
Round 4 (4:30 PM):
Gabe Dretsch (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)-- At 197 pounds (Mat 1), Central Michigan's Wynn Michalak will take on American's Josh Glenn at 197 pounds in what should be the premier individual match-up of this season's event. At the 2005 Journeymen/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals, Glenn (who competed at 184 pounds) pinned NCAA runner-up Roger Kish of Minnesota. Both are strong, powerful wrestlers, so fans can expect to see an exciting battle between two of the nation's top wrestlers.
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