Impressive finishes at Navy Classic anticipate success on the mat

Heading into the winter of 2013-14, head coach Chris Ayres and his coaching staff established the theme of “A New Era” for their grapplers. The team quickly embraced this mantra, as Ayres’s squad went from a 2-13 dual record in 2012-13 to an 11-4 mark last season. The Tigers went undefeated on the road in duals, which included a head-turning weekend on Feb. 8-9, in which the Tigers took down Harvard, Boston University and Brown over a 24-hour span.

With a roster that only lost two regular starters while gaining one of the top freshman recruiting classes in the nation, the Tigers now stand poised to embrace a new theme for their 2014-15 campaign: “In the Hunt.”

"Last year, our season was kind of a dream season," 197-pound junior Abram Ayala said. "We didn't think we were gonna accomplish the things we accomplished. This year, our attitude is very much a business mindset; we expect a lot. We're no longer comparing ourselves to Princeton teams of the past but to the best Division 1 teams in the country right now."

"I think this team has the potential to really do something special," 184-pound sophomore Brett Harner said. "One interesting thing that I've noticed is a complete attitude shift from last season. Coming in as a freshman, I wasn't real sure what to expect, but we had an exciting season and experienced some success in the process. We accomplished some great things, but it was by no means satisfactory. I think our preseason training and performance thus far have been fueled by that discontent, as the feats we did accomplish last year will only be par for this year's course."

With a lineup that arguably has the most depth and talent in Princeton’s history, the wrestling team has already shown outstanding results in the opening weekends of competition, both from veterans and rookies.

As a team that primarily relied on underclassmen over the last few years, the Tigers now have a squad that is rich in talent and leadership among its older members. Eyes are particularly set on Ayala, who was Princeton’s lone NCAA qualifier last March. Currently ranked No. 17 in the nation, Ayala has made quick work on the mat so far, as he took home the 197-pound title at the Binghamton Open on Nov. 9. Ayala’s dominance continued on Sunday at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md., where the Florida native again found his way to the finals. En route to his finals appearance, Ayala took down Phil Wellington of Ohio, who InterMat currently ranks as No. 13 in the nation at 197 pounds. Ayala then defeated Wisconsin’s Timmy McCall, currently ranked by InterMat at No. 11 in the nation, to take the title.

"The way I train, I expect to be in there with all of these guys," Ayala said. "My goal for this season is to be on the podium in March and to push for a national championship. And that's been my goal since I left the hotel at the end of NCAA last March."

Likewise, senior Adam Krop has shown great results for the upperclassmen early on, as the former NCAA qualifier placed second at the Binghamton Open and third at the Navy Classic.

But the younger guys continue to demonstrate dominance for the Tigers and will be invaluable to the team’s success this winter. Harner has turned heads through November, as he also came away with a first-place finish at the Binghamton Open. He then battled his way to the finals of the Navy Classic on Sunday, where he fell to Richard Robertson of Wisconsin. Sophomore 141-pounder Jordan Laster also made it to the finals of the Navy Classic where he fell to Mike Morales of West Virginia University in a war that went all the way to the fourth overtime period.

"We have older guys who are doing well, but the nucleus of our team is our sophomores," Ayala said. "We have Harner at 184, [sophomore] Ray [O'Donnell] at heavyweight and [sophomore] Jordan [Laster] at 141."

As much talent as the sophomore class possesses, this year’s freshmen have also held their own at the dawn of their collegiate careers. Rookie 165-pounder Jonathan Schleifer, the 2014 New Jersey state champion at 160 pounds, is off to an incredibly hot start. A native of East Brunswick, N.J., Schleifer finished second at 165 pounds at the Binghamton Open and followed it up with a fourth-place finish at the Navy Classic. Freshman 157-pounder Francesco Fabozzi and freshman 133-pounder Christian Innarella are also looking to crack the starting lineup in their debut seasons.

And with a tougher lineup comes a tougher schedule for the Tigers. With a second-place finish in the team standings at the Navy Classic, the Tigers have already demonstrated collective strength that the team has not possessed in decades. And this year’s squad has an action-packed December before it, as it travels out to Northwestern twice before the new year. The team will take on Eastern Michigan, Davidson, Cal Poly and a strong Northwestern lineup at the Northwestern Duals on Dec. 6. After hosting their first two home duals the following weekend, the Tigers will take to the mat at Madison Square Garden for the 2014 Grapple at the Garden, where they will face Lehigh, currently ranked No. 20 in the nation by InterMat, and Army on Dec. 21. Princeton’s top starters will then fly back out to Northwestern for the notorious Midlands Championships to cap off 2014 from Dec. 29-30. The heart of the dual season in 2015 will witness the Tigers square off against several national powerhouses, both in and out of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. In total, Princeton will wrestle six of InterMat’s current Top 25 wrestling programs in the country, which will ultimately conclude on Feb. 21 when the Tigers host Big 10 powerhouse Nebraska at Dillon Gymnasium.

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"Our schedule this year is awesome," Harner said. "We wrestle duals against Lehigh, Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Nebraska, just to name a few. We're also eager to improve on last year's Midlands performance, which was possibly the lowest point for a lot of us last season. With the depth of our schedule, this year provides the perfect platform for each of us, and for Princeton Wrestling as a whole, to make a statement at the national level."

The season will culminate with the 111th EIWA Championships on March 7-8, which will be hosted in Bethlehem, Pa., at Lehigh University. From there, all NCAA qualifiers will converge upon St. Louis, Mo., from March 19-21 where the nation’s best will duke it out at the NCAA Championships.