HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The 2008 CAA Wrestling Championship gets underway on Friday, March 7 at the Mack Sports Complex in Hempstead, N.Y.  The championship features two nationally-ranked teams and 18 ranked individuals.

Hofstra looks to extend its string of CAA titles to seven at the 2008 championship. The 17th ranked Pride is led by Charles Griffin (3rd AWN/2nd InterMat), posting a perfect 6-0 mark in the CAA and going 30-3 overall. Other top performers for the Pride include Dave Tomasette (12/11) at 125, Lou Ruggirello (5, 6) at 141, Jon Bonilla-Bowman (18th AWN) at 157, Alton Lucas (6/6) at 174 and Joe Rovelli (11/10) at 197. Ruggirello, Bonilla-Bowman, Lucas and Rovelli posted perfect marks in CAA competition this season.

Old Dominion stands in the way of another Hofstra repeat with three nationally ranked wrestlers. The 19th ranked Monarchs are led by James Nicholson (11/10) at 125, Kyle Hutter (17/17) at 133 and Chris Brown (20/19) at 165. 

Other top individuals include Drexel's Steve Mytych (13/13) at 125 and Ryan Hlushak (11/14) at 157. Rider also has a trio of nationally ranked grapplers, with Don Fisch (19th InterMat) at 149, Doug Umbehauer (11/12) at 184 and TJ Morrison (12/17).

Binghamton's Kyle Fried (16/18) and Boston University's Mike Roberts (15/20) are both ranked in the 149 class. Binghamton's Josh Patterson is ranked 18th in the AWN in the 174 class. George Mason's Cayle Byers is ranked (16/12) in the 197 class.

The first round, quarterfinals and consolation matches are set to take place Friday.  The action will continue on Saturday with the semifinals and consolation rounds. Both the consolation finals and the championship finals will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.