While the Boston University wrestling team may sometimes slip under the radar in the athletic scene on campus, the Terriers have grappled their way to a very strong season and now have high hopes for the postseason. With a split last weekend at home, defeating Rider University and falling to Harvard University, the Terriers finished the season ranked third in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Terriers, after an injury-riddled season last year, are hoping to do great things in the postseason. With Friday’s win against a tough conference opponent in Rider, the Terriers propelled themselves in that direction.
“Everybody wrestled to their ability,” said senior Jason Holder. “And everybody did their job as a whole, as a team.”
BU defeated Rider 19-15, winning five of the 10 bouts. Winners for the Terriers included junior Jose Leon at 125 pounds, junior Mark Laramee at 141 pounds, freshman Rayes Gonzales at 149 pounds, senior Ali Abri at 184 pounds and junior Ed Strauss in the heavyweight division.
In the CAA, the teams are ranked according to the number of individually-ranked wrestlers on each team, but they are also ranked separately based on conference record. While the Terriers are in a tie for fourth with Old Dominion University, just behind Rider in the rankings, their 5-2 conference record places them third as a group. The league leader is Hofstra University, which has 10 conference-ranked wrestlers and is ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation.
While the Saturday loss to Harvard was a tough way to end the season, it was a non-conference match. In the 23-13 loss, BU won four bouts. Winning for the Terriers were Leon, Laramee, sophomore Leighton Brady and junior Chad Grant.
“Against Harvard,” Holder said, “we didn’t get off to a good start as a team.”
Along with securing a third-place finish in the conference, on Friday night the Terrier wrestlers also accomplished a first for coach Carl Adams in his tenure at BU: beating the Broncos of Rider.
Adams, now in his 21st season, has lost to Rider six times in the past.
The Terriers head to Harrisonburg, Va., the weekend of March 8, to compete in the conference tournament at Old Dominion University. In only its first season in the CAA, the Terriers finished with a 5-2 conference mark while going 11-4 overall. The team, which currently boasts eight conference-ranked wrestlers, has high expectations for the tournament.
“Our goal is the national tournament,” Holder said. “We had a lot of injuries last year that hurt the team. This year we’re healthy and in pretty good shape.
The NCAA Division I wrestling tournament, which takes place March 21-23 in Albany, N.Y., is the ultimate goal for all college wrestlers. While individuals are invited based on their ranking in their weight class, Holder said if the team continues on its current path, they could make the trip as a group.
“If everybody wrestles to their ability. I feel we could take the whole team,” Holder said.
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