New York, NY… By sweeping through both of its matches at the annual New England/Metropolitan Conference Duals, The College of New Jersey racked up the program's 600th victory since wrestling became a varsity sport in 1966. Those matches were held on Saturday at Hunter College.
The Lions opened the day with a 24-12 victory over 26th-ranked Williams College before reaching the milestone in its next match against Roger Williams University. TCNJ earned that win with a 31-6 triumph over the Hawks.
Having reached that milestone, another one looms on the horizon as head coach David Icenhower zeroes in on 500 career wins. Those wins elevate his career mark to 496-78-4 leaving him four shy of becoming the third coach at the Division III level to hit that mark. The veteran coach should hit that plateau in the early stages of the 2009-2010 season.
The program's all-time mark now stands at 600-110-7.
The Lions, ranked 18th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III poll, are now 13-1-1 this season
The Lions had five grapplers go undefeated on the day starting with sophomore Dan Hughes (Delran, NJ/Delran) at 133 pounds. Junior Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittatinny) won one bout at 149 and another at 157, while sophomore Justin Bonitatis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) had a big day at 165 winning once by technical fall and another by fall. Senior Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) was 2-0 at 174 pushing his career win total to 120. Freshman Scott Kelley (Vineland, NJ/Sacred Heart) was the Lion to go unbeaten with a pair of wins at 184, including in by pin.
The Lions are right back on the mat tomorrow hosting 27th-ranked Springfield College in a noon start at Packer Hall.
Weight by weight summary
#18 TCNJ 17, #26 Williams College 12
125: E. Cohen (W) Dec. Dan Franke (TCNJ) 6-1
133: Dan Hughes (TCNJ) Dec. J. Mattana (W) 2-1
141: C. Paulish (W) Dec. Bill Tenpenny (TCNJ) 5-1
149: Tyler Branham (TCNJ) Dec. D. Rittenburg (W) 3-1
157: C. Breitensetin (W) Dec. John Barnett (TCNJ) 2-0
165: Justin Bonitatis (TCNJ) Tech. Fall J. Foster (W) 24-9
174: Greg Osgoodby (TCNJ) Maj. Dec. A. Gatewood (W) 14-2
184: Scott Kelley (TCNJ) Dec. N. Shippee (W) 11-6
197: R. Malo (W) Dec. Adam Kozoil (TCNJ) 4-2
285: Ed Broderick (TCNJ) Pinned C. Curzi (W) 2:35
#18 TCNJ 31, Roger Williams University 9
125: M. Trayser (R) Dec. Dan Franke (TCNJ) 9-7
133: Dan Hughes (TCNJ) Dec. A. Jackson (R) 10-5
141: Bill Tenpenny (TCNJ) Dec. C. O'Shea (R) 9-2
149: John Barnett (TCNJ) Dec. A. Cirello (R) 6-0
157: Tyler Branham (TCNJ) Maj. Dec. R. Crothers (R) 9-1
165: Justin Bonitatis (TCNJ) Pinned A. Roth (R) 2:15
174: Greg Osgoodby (TCNJ) Dec. K. Ford (R) 6-0
184: Scott Kelly (TCNJ) Pinned R. DeWolfe (R) 0:44
197: Adam Koziol (TCNJ) Dec. D. Lawler (R) 3-2
285: B. Kissnae (R) Dec. Kyle Falzone (TCNJ) 11-8
