Grapplers clinch winning Ivy season

The wrestling team guaranteed its first Ivy League winning season in the past 23 years with a 28-13 victory over Columbia on Saturday. Despite a tough 46-3 loss to No. 6 Cornell later in the day, Princeton (9-9-0 overall, 3-1-0 Ivy League) is still looking like one of the best the University has seen this decade.

The Tigers raced out to a quick lead with five wins in the first six matches against Columbia (6-10-1, 0-3-0). The day opened with what has become a staple of Princeton meets — a win for freshman 133-pounder Garrett Frey to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Freshmen Zach Bintliff and Luis Ramos followed that up with two strong pins in the 133- and 141-pound weight classes, respectively.

Sophomore 149-pounder Dan Kolodzik and senior 157-pounder Danny Scotton continued the streak of Princeton victories with a major decision and a decision to bring the Princeton lead to 22-0. The Lions finally won a match when senior 165-pounder Mike Alvarez conceded a hard-fought 5-4 decision to Columbia’s Eren Civan, but junior Travis Erdman’s 4-3 victory at 174 pounds quashed any hopes Columbia harbored of a comeback.

The Tigers closed out the meet with a victory at 184-pounds for sophomore Kurt Brendel and losses in the 197-pound and heavyweight classes.

The match against the Big Red proved to be too much for the Tigers, who were overwhelmed by a Cornell squad that includes six nationally ranked wrestlers. In a lopsided matchup, the Big Red (6-4-1, 2-0-0) came up with a 46-3 victory over the Tigers, whose only points came from a compelling 5-3 victory for Scotton, who finished with a perfect weekend.

Princeton’s young wrestlers still gained some valuable experience competing against Cornell. Frey suffered a competitve 10-4 loss to Frank Perelli.

Fellow freshmen Bintliff and Ramos struggled against nationally ranked opponents. Bintliff lost by technical fall to No. 11 Mike Grey, and No. 1 Kyle Dake pinned Ramos.

The Tigers are still in a strong position in the Ivy League and can look to the upcoming weekend to clinch second place in the conference. Being a part of one of the winningest Princeton squads in recent years is certainly something to be proud of.

“When I was in high school, I had to drive 45 minutes to practice every day after school,” Kolodzik said. “It is a really special feeling to finally be part of a team, and especially a team that’s doing so well. I’m certain that we are going to talk about the last few weekends at Reunions in years to come.”

Kolodzik has been experiencing a recent revival just in time for the team’s current success. Kolodzik has managed victories in all but one of the team’s Ivy League matches and has been a dominant force on the mat. He attributes this success to keeping his weight in check with the help of head coach Chris Ayres.

Ayres is also credited for helping Kolodzik and the rest of the team come to terms with its abilities and believe that it can have success. The wrestling team isn’t just an organization now; it’s bonded in the last few weeks over its collective successes.

All in all, the Tigers have plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks and, just as importantly, the coming seasons. They can take another huge step in the right direction this coming weekend when they face off against Penn for sole possession of second place in the Ivy League.