OCTOBER 2013 • VOL. 6, NO. 1 • LEWISBURG, PA 17837

A NOTE FROM HEAD COACH DAN WIRNSBERGERGreetings from Lewisburg!

I hope this note finds you doing well and the fall season brings you and your family happiness. I love this time of year for many reasons. The fall season is beautiful in Lewisburg with the colors and climate. However, my favorite part of fall is how close we are to kicking off another wrestling season.

Our young and talented team has been working extremely hard this fall in preparation for the competition schedule. The challenge and the test comes early this year as we face some stiff competition.

Within the first three weeks of the season we compete against #22 Lehigh, #4 Oklahoma State, and #5 Oklahoma. This provides our student-athletes with a great opportunity to put their name on the national scene. We plan to prepare a day at a time and control the areas of life and training that we can control. We are looking forward to the season and encourage you to show up to our matches. We need strong fan support this year and you are an important part of the program. We need you in the stands because it does make a difference.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who continues to support the program financially. As many of you know our endowment only covers a percentage of our coaching salaries and operating budget. Your financial support is essential for our continued growth in the EIWA. We need to put our student-athletes in the best possible situation to achieve their individual goals and our team goals.

As the Bucknell Wrestling Family, we can come together to support our endowment or our annual fundraising ac-count. I am asking you to make a financial commitment today in support of Bison Wrestling. Our program needs your financial support in order to continue to achieve our goal of competing at the highest level. Your earmarked contribution for “Wrestling” to the Bison Club will help make this a reality. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

My Best,

Dan Wirnsberger --- Head Wrestling Coach

Head Coach: Dan Wirnsberger ...........................................Phone: 570-577-1035E-Mail: djw020@bucknell.eduAssistant Coach: James Gibson .........................................Phone: 570-577-1755E-Mail: jmg059@bucknell.eduAssistant Coach: Jarrod Garnett .........................................Phone: 570-577-3980E-Mail: jvg007@bucknell.eduVolunteer Coach: Derek CaldwellE-Mail: dmc055@bucknell.eduFax: ....................................................................................................570-577-1660

“GRAPPLER REPORT”THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE BUCKNELL WRESTLING PROGRAM

Bison Wrestling Contact Information

STOLFI 7TH IN PRESEASON NATIONAL

RANKINGSJoe Stolfi (Har-

leysville, Pa./Soud-erton) came one win shy of becoming the sixth Bison in the

history of the program to be named an All-American last March. He re-turns for his junior year in 2013-14 and is listed seventh in the country at heavyweight in WIN Magazine’s Preseason Rankings. Bucknell is 33rd nationally in the team rankings.

WIN awards team points based on how many potential All-Americans a squad could have next March. Since Stolfi is predicted No. 7 at heavy-weight, Bucknell earned 6.5 points in the team standings, one spot ahead of Indiana. Cornell (No. 12) and Lehigh (No. 30) are the only EIWA teams listed ahead of the Bison.

Stolfi posted a 26-16 record a year ago, tying Corey Lear for the team lead in victories. He compiled a 5-1 record at the EIWA Championships and finished in third place, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Cham-pionships. Stolfi became the first Bucknell heavyweight to qualify for NCAAs since Tim Pangonas in 1984.

Stolfi was a team-best 6-1 in EIWA duals in 2012-13, did not lose back-to-back matches after Jan. 6 and registered eight wins by fall.

The Official Newsletter for Bison WRESTLING Alumni, Parents & Friends Pg. 2

Bucknell Wrestling has acquired two new Assistant Coaches for the 2013-14 season. Assistant Coach Jarrod Garnett was a former stand-out at Virginia Tech, finishing sixth at the NCAA Tournament at 125 pounds in 2013. Garnett was also a three time ACC Champion and 2013 ACC Outstanding Wrestler. The former Hokie accumulated 126 career victories in his four seasons at Virginia Tech and was a 2012 Midlands Champion. Garnett’s primary focus at Bucknell is on the lightweights ranging from 125 pounds to 141 pounds.

Volunteer Assistant Derek Caldwell was a two-time EWL place winner for Lock Haven University. He served as the Head Coach at Penn State New Kensington for the 2012-13 season. Caldwell will focus his time on the Bison middleweights from 149 pounds to 174 pounds.

With the addition of these two coaches, there is more individual attention to all 10 weight classes.

This brings to light the vision that Head Coach Dan Wirns-berger has for the future of Bucknell Wrestling. The struc-ture of this coaching staff gives the Bison Wrestling team the ability to individualize needs of the wrestlers through Coach Gibson, Garnett, and Caldwell while Coach Wirnsberger has a full oversight of the program.

“I believe that this structure gives our wrestlers the best opportunity to succeed athletically,” says Coach Caldwell, “since all three of us (Caldwell, Gibson, Garnett) can focus our time and effort on a few guys, we can better prepare them for their future matches.” “I think what makes Bucknell wres-tling unique is that each weight group (lightweight, middle-weight, and upper weight) have a respective coach who has wrestled in that range and makes it their primary mission to develop those certain guys,” Coach Garnett says of the con-figuration of the coaching staff. “With this structure in place I believe that this program is creating the building blocks for the future.”

GARNETT & CALDWELL JOIN BISON COACHING STAFF

Derek Caldwell

Jarrod Garnett

2013-2014 SCHEDULEHere at Bucknell, we have continued the theme of

wrestling one of the toughest schedules in the country by putting together a top notch slate for 2013-14. Our be-lief is that we can best prepare ourselves for the EIWA and NCAA tournament by facing the best competition throughout the regular season. Highlighting the schedule are four nationally ranked teams based on WIN Maga-zine’s Tournament Power Index. We face an early road test against #4 Oklahoma St. and #5 Oklahoma. To open up our home schedule, we host the 17th ranked Panthers of Pittsburgh as. On Sunday, February 2nd, we travel to The University of Virginia, also ranked 17th, to face the Cavaliers. We have also been able to enter in a pair of na-tional tournaments in January as we travel to the Southern Scuffle and Virginia Duals in back-to-back weeks.

Oct. 26 Intrasquad Lewisburg, Pa. 11:00 a.m. Nov. 2 Shippensburg Lock Haven, Pa. 5:30 p.m. Nov. 2 Lock Haven Lock Haven, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Nov. 9 Lehigh * Bethlehem, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Nov. 17 Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 2:00 p.m. Nov. 17 Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla. 7:00 p.m. Nov. 23 Navy Classic Annapolis, Md. All Day Dec. 21 Pittsburgh Lewisburg, Pa. 6:00 p.m. Jan. 1 Southern Scuffle Chattanooga, Tenn. All Day Jan. 2 Southern Scuffle Chattanooga, Tenn. All Day Jan. 10 Virginia Duals Hampton, Va. All Day Jan. 11 Virginia Duals Hampton, Va. All Day Jan. 18 Brown * Lewisburg, Pa. 11:00 a.m. Jan. 18 Clarion Lewisburg, Pa. 3:00 p.m. Jan. 19 Penn * Lewisburg, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Jan. 24 Columbia * New York, N.Y. 7:00 p.m. Jan. 31 American * Lewisburg, Pa. 7:00 p.m. Feb. 2 George Mason Fairfax, Va. 9:00 a.m. Feb. 2 Virginia Charlottesville, Va. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 9 Army * West Point, N.Y. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 9 Sacred Heart * Fairfield, Conn. 7:00 p.m. Feb. 14 F & M * Lancaster, Pa. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15 VMI Lewisburg, Pa. 2:00 p.m. Feb. 21 Binghamton * Vestal, N.Y. 7:00 p.m. Mar. 8 EIWA’s Philadelphia, Pa. All Day Mar. 9 EIWA’s Philadelphia, Pa. All Day Mar. 20 NCAA’s Oklahoma City, Okla. All Day Mar. 21 NCAA’s Oklahoma City, Okla. All Day Mar. 22 NCAA’s Oklahoma City, Okla. All Day

* Conference Match Home Matches in Bold

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FRESHMAN SPOTLIGHT WITH VICTOR LOPEZ

What solidified your decision to come across the country to wrestle for Buck-nell?There was more then just one reason. Bucknell is a complete package with great academics and great backing for Bucknell Wrestling. Also, Bucknell has such a friendly environment. Everyone I pass says hi to me and people are al-ways holding the door open for others. I think what really sealed the deal was the brotherhood within the wrestling team.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you aren’t training or wrestling?My favorite thing to do would have to be hanging out with my family and friends telling stories and listening to music.

What is your current area of study here at Bucknell?Currently I am undecided but I’m moving towards a med track or majoring in Economics.

What are your goals athletically here at Bucknell?My goal is to be a National Champ and to be Bucknell’s best wrestler to come through the program.

Who is your favorite wrestler on the team and why?That is a hard one, but I think I would go with Joey (Krulock) because he is always smiling kind of like me. There will be times when we laugh for no reason.

Other than your teammates, who is your favorite wrestler to watch compete and why?I like to watch Kyle Dake wrestle because he is such a tough wrestler and he is funky.

What was the best advice someone gave you before coming to Bucknell?Have fun in whatever you do and try to be the best at it.

Is there a particular competition you are most excited for this season? If so, why?I am really excited about the Southern Scuffle because I get to find out where I am with all these other nationally ranked guys.

What current wrestler do you most want a chance to wrestle this season and why?I want to wrestle Kendrick Maple because he was last year’s national champ and I would know how close I am.

What are your personal expectations for the team this year?I expect this year’s team to do better than all previous years and to place in the top five at EIWA’s.

HOME MATCH EVENT SCHEDULEYouth DaySaturday, December 216:00 p.m.

Alumni DaySaturday, January 1810:00 a.m.Alumni Social at theMain Concourse

Duals Meets at11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.with another socialhour at 1:00 p.m

Toga Tug-a-WarFriday, January 317:00 p.m.

Veteran’s DaySaturday, February 152:00 p.m.

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The Official Newsletter for Bison WRESTLING Alumni, Parents & Friends

Bucknell UniversityWrestling OfficeLewisburg, PA 17837

Dear Friend of Bison Wrestling:

Energy, passion, and togetherness have been the hallmarks of the Bucknell Wrestling Program for many years. This has been true not only for the wrestlers on the mat, but for the group of supporters who have helped our program each year. As most of you know, the University budget covers only a fraction of the operating expenses to run a competitive Division I wrestling program.

Thanks to your support and the additional fundraising efforts from our team, last year we finished with $101,000 in much needed support of the program. This year, we have been given a fundraising goal of $100,000 to meet our program’s budgetary needs. This money is spent in the three main areas of student-athlete recruitment, purchasing equipment to help train our team members, and covering the travel, lodging, and food costs for our team’s travel. As you know, student-athlete recruitment is a year-round and highly competitive and intensive process that is of essential importance in fielding successful teams. In addition, we feel it is important to be able to travel safely, stay in quality hotels, and feed our wrestlers appropriately when we travel.

I am well aware that we are still in a difficult time economically. At the same time, our program needs your financial support to continue in our quest for excellence. Your earmarked contribution for wrestling to the Bison Club will help make this a reality. We hope we can count on 100% participation from everyone on our support team. Thanks in advance for your assistance! Dan Wirnsberger --- Head Wrestling Coach

Methods of GivingCheck or Cash: This is the most common way to give. When writing a check, make it out to Bucknell University and in the memo section note “Wrestling.”By Credit Card: The university accepts most major credit cards.Gifts of Stock/Securities: To arrange a stock transfer, call the Office of Development & Alumni Relations at 570-577-3200.Pledges: You can set up a payment schedule when you make a pledge, and payment reminders will be sent to you.Corporate matching gifts: Many corporations match their employees’ charitable donations to nonprofit institutions. Check with your benefits department for matching gift information and to see if they will match gifts to athletics.You can give on-line: www.BucknellBison.com.

YOUR BISON WRESTLING PROGRAM NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!!