Nov. 11, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - With two returning placewinners off last year's team that finished fourth at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championship, the Navy wrestling program has been picked to finish third according to the 2008-09 EIWA Preseason Poll released this week. Additionally, four Midshipmen are ranked among the top six in their respective weight classes, including reigning EIWA Champion and All-American Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) at 133 pounds.

Cornell, winner of each of the last two EIWA Championships, is the preseason pick to repeat. The Big Red are also the highest-ranked EIWA team in the national poll where they are ranked No. 3 behind 2008 National Champion Iowa, followed by Iowa State. Cornell returns eight NCAA qualifiers, including six who garnered All-America recognition and NCAA Champion Jordan Leen at 157 pounds.

Penn, who narrowly lost to Cornell in the EIWA Championship by half a point, fell in behind the Big Red in the preseason rankings at No. 2. The Quakers return five national qualifiers, including Cesar Grajales who took the 149-pound title at the EIWA Championship a year ago.

Ranked third in the EIWA and 21st in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Preseason Poll, the Mids return two NCAA qualifiers, Baker and 149-pounder Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.), who placed third at the EIWA Championship a year ago. Lehigh, under the direction of first-year head coach Pat Santoro, and Harvard round out the top five, neither of which have a returning EIWA Champion.

Baker, the preseason EIWA favorite at 133 pounds and ranked sixth nationally, made an incredible run at the end of last year, winning 11 of his final 14 matches that included title wins at the All-Academy Championship, as well as his first EIWA Championship crown. Along the way, he earned a 10-5 win over Army's Whitt Dunning to lead the Mids to their eighth consecutive win against their arch rivals. He entered the EIWA Championship as the No. 4 seed and upset top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Mike Grey, 5-4, in the semifinals. He then defeated 18th-ranked and third-seeded David Marble in the championship bout, 5-4. He took an eight-match winning streak into the National Championship where he won his first two bouts of the tournament, including a 3-1 decision over No. 6-ranked Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra.

Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) heads into his sophomore campaign after one of the most memorable seasons by a freshman Navy wrestler. He turned in a 35-12 record in his rookie campaign, becoming only the third wrestler in school history to win 30 matches as a freshman. His 35 wins are the second most by a Navy rookie, while setting a Midshipman record for most single-season wins at 149 pounds. Additionally, he is tied for 12th on the Mids' single-season wins list.

Saddoris placed in six of the eight tournaments in which he competed last season - third at Eastern Michigan Open, third at Navy Classic, third at Reno Tournament of Champions, seventh at Southern Scuffle, first at All-Academy Championship and third at EIWA Championship. Additionally, he posted a 4-2 record in dual action, including a 7-3 victory over Maryland's Eric Medina in his first collegiate dual. He also pinned (2:21) Army's Thome in the annual Star Match to give the Mids the lead for good and guide Navy to its eighth straight win over the Black Knights. He posted a 5-1 record in his first EIWA Championship appearance, where he placed third and earned an NCAA?Championship berth. Though he dropped both matches in his first NCAA Championship appearance, the opportunity to wrestle at that level will prove to be an invaluable experience.

Ranked 18th in the Intermat/NWCA rankings, Saddoris stands fourth in the preseason EIWA rankings in what may be one of the most competitive weight classes in the conference. Penn's Cesar Grajales returns to defend his EIWA title, while Army's Matt Kyler, who won the 141-pound EIWA crown a year ago, has moved up to 149 pounds. Saddoris, though, has gotten off to a fantastic start with a 7-0 record (3-0 dual) and includes a title win at the Eastern Michigan Open.

Senior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) has experienced his share of ups and downs during his career, due in most part to injuries. Off to a 7-2 start in his final campaign, including a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Michigan Open, Ahern is ranked sixth in the preseason EIWA rankings. Like Saddoris, he is among a talented weight class that includes returning National Champion Jordan Leen from Cornell, while Penn's Matt Dragon, a decorated wrestler in his own right, returns after a year recovering from injury.

The final Midshipman named in the preseason EIWA rankings is team captain Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.) whose accomplishments over the last year have not only been lofty, but have paid dividends already.

Last season he turned in an impressive 20-4 record as the backup to All-American and EIWA Champion Ed Prendergast. Winning 15 of his first 16 matches, including each of his first 10, he won tournament crowns at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Navy Classic by beating Prendergast in the title bout. He went on to place second at the Southern Scuffle and fourth at the Reno Tournament of Champions. He owns a 48-16 record over his career, topping 20 wins in each of the last two seasons.

In mid-April, he put together a 5-2 record to finish seventh in the 120 kg weight class at the 2008 U.S. Freestyle National Championship qualifying him for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He placed third at the Olympic Trials and was named to the U.S. Freestyle National Team. As a national team member, he was required to report to training camp in July where he served as Olympian Steve Mocco's training partner. Later in the month, he was invited by head coach Kevin Jackson to accompany Team USA to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics as Mocco's sparring partner and the alternate at 120 kg.

While Steele did receive recognition by the pollsters early on last year, his accomplishments over the summer have certainly brought him the attention he deserves. Ranked fifth in the Intermat/NWCA rankings, Steele has been selected third in the EIWA picks behind Zach Hammond or Cornell and NCAA qualifier and EIWA runner-up Ryan Flores of Columbia.

The Midshipmen will have nearly two full weeks to prepare for the 2008 edition of the Navy Classic slated for Saturday, Nov. 22 at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. Action is slated to begin at 9:00 am with Bucknell, Campbell, The Citadel, Delaware State, Duke, Duquesne, Franklin & Marshall, Gardner Webb, George Mason, UNC Greensboro and Virginia Tech set to join Navy in the annual competition.

Team Ranking (by vote of all EIWA Head Coaches)
1. Cornell
2. Penn
3. Navy
4. Lehigh
5. Harvard
6. Army
7. Bucknell
8. American

Individual Ranking (by vote of EIWA Ranking Committee)
125
1. Troy Nickerson, Cornell (Jr)
2. Rollie Peterkin, Penn (Jr)
3. Jasen Borshoff, American (Jr)
4. Tony Communale, Princeton (So)
5. Jose Matos, Bucknell (So)
6. Greg Einfrank, Brown (Jr)

133
1. Joe Baker, Navy (Sr)
2. Mike Grey, Cornell (So)
3. David Marble, Bucknell (Jr)
4. Matt Fisk, Lehigh (Jr)
5. Thomas Picarsic, Harvard (Sr)
6. Whitt Dunning, Army (Sr)

141
1. Rick Rappo, Penn (Sr)
2. Corey Jantzen, Harvard (So)
3. Seth Ciasulli, Lehigh (Jr)
4. Kyle Borshoff, American (Jr)
5. Sal Tirico, Columbia (Sr)
6. Casey Thome, Army (So)

149
1. Cesar Grajales, Penn (Sr)
2. Matthew Kyler, Army (Jr)
3. Trevor Chinn, Lehigh (Sr)
4. Bryce Saddoris, Navy (So)
5. DJ Meagher, Cornell (So)
6. Matt Dunn, Columbia (Jr)

157
1. Jordan Leen, Cornell (Sr)
2. JP O'Connor, Harvard (Jr)
3. Matt Dragon, Penn (Jr)
4. Christopher Stout, American (Sr)
5. Brian Rowan, Army (Jr)
6. Joel Ahern, Navy (Sr)

165
1. Mack Lewnes, Cornell (So)
2. Zach Shanaman, Penn (Sr)
3. Mike Cannon, American (Jr)
4. Andy Rendos, Bucknell (Jr)
5. Andrew Flanagan, Harvard (Sr)
6. Mike Galante, Lehigh (Jr)

174
1. Steve Anceravage, Cornell (Sr)
2. Scott Giffin, Penn (So)
3. Alex Caruso, Lehigh (So)
4. Shane Riccio, Bucknell (Jr)
5. Justin Herbert, Franklin & Marshall (Sr)
6. Michael Whalen, Rutgers (Sr)

184
1. Louis Caputo, Harvard (Jr)
2. Thomas Shovlin, Penn (Jr)
3. Matt Gevlinger, Brown (Sr)
4. David Craig, Lehigh (Jr)
5. Justin Kerber, Cornell (So)
6. Kenji Porter, Columbia (Sr)

197
1. Josh Arnone, Cornell (Jr)
2. Richard Starks, Army (Jr)
3. Karim Mahmoud, Rutgers (Jr)
4. Branden Stearns, Brown (Sr)
5. Shane Mallory, East Stroudsburg (Jr)
6. Jack Sullivan, Penn (Sr)

285
1. Zach Hammond, Cornell (Sr)
2. Ryan Flores, Columbia (So)
3. Scott Steele, Navy (Sr)
4. Trey McLean, Penn (Sr)
5. Mike Sprigg, Army (Jr)
6. Chris Birchler, East Stroudsburg (Jr)

### Go Navy ###