Cornell counts on Freshmen Five in attempt to retain title

If Cornell is able to defend its EIWA title this year, it will be helped considerably by the efforts of five freshmen. This season, some familiar names in the Cornell lineup were lost to injury and there were some openings in the lineup for newcomers. It has been first-year wrestlers who filled the void.

"It is a real good problem to have," said Cornell coach Rob Koll. "It gives me three more years of security after this."

Four of Koll's super frosh have qualified for the semifinals on Sunday, and have helped Cornell to build a lead after the first day of the tournament.

Coming into the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 133 pounds is freshman Mike Grey. He was a legend in his native New Jersey, where he became the first four-time state champion in history competing for the Delbarton School. Grey also had a Junior National title to his credit before going off to college.

His first college choice was Lehigh, but made a move to Cornell during the summer after his senior year. After a year off the mats, Gray entered this tournament with 35-5 record and is currently ranked No. 2 nationally on InterMat.

"Grey's record speaks for itself," said Koll. "Some people thought that he was over-rated. He has shown that is not the case."

Another freshman who has been on fire is Mack Lewnes at 165 pounds, a top seed in the EIWA who holds a No. 4 ranking nationally with InterMat. Lewnes had a 27-3 record going into the tournament, and pinned both of his opponents Saturday.

Lewnes was a four-time Maryland state champion and two-time National Prep School champion for Mt St. Joes Prep from Annapolis, Md. He spent a year at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs before going into the college circuit.

"He is no secret," said Koll. "He spent a year in Colorado Springs and that helped him a bit. He is a pinner. He doesn't stop wrestling."

Perhaps a surprise EIWA semifinalist is D.J. Meagher at 149 pounds, who entered the tournament with a 20-6 record and a No. 5 seed. Meagher defeated No. 4 Bryce Saddoris of Navy at 149 pounds, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Meagher is from Bow High School in Bow N.H, where he was a three-time New Hampshire champion and two-time New England champion.

"I saw some tape on him and was very impressed. Luckily, nobody else was recruiting him. Who knows, maybe he would have wanted to go to Cornell, anyway? We stole that one away," said Koll.

The story of the tournament so far has been Justin Kerber, who was a backup at 174 pounds early in the year. When starter Taylor Moore went down to injury at 197 pounds, Kerber, a native of Iowa, went up and won the team spot. He won some key matches down the stretch, and has qualified for the semifinals, wrestling men much bigger than he.

"When our heavyweight was hurt, I told him we'd move him up and he could be national champion," joked Koll. "He is very strong and has great genes. His uncle is Randy Lewis, his father is three-time All-American Jeff Kerber from Iowa and his mother was a gymnast from Iowa. We are happy to get him away from the Hawkeyes."

The only freshman to lose a bout on Saturday was heavyweight Maciej Jochym, who entered with a 21-11 and a No. 5 seed. Jochym was pressed into duty for the varsity when EIWA runner-up Zach Hammond was injured late in the season. Jochym, a New York state high school champion and runner-up from Herricks High School, stepped right in and has already been a factor.

"He just made a mistake," said Koll about Jochym's quarterfinal loss. "He didn't realize that heavyweight is a different sport. He shot when he shouldn't have. He made a tactical mistake. He is 250 pounds of solid muscle, and you will hear about him for a long time."

If Cornell is able to repeat as EIWA champions, there will be many different reasons for the team's success. Many will point at the Freshmen Five as a key reason for the Big Red's success this season.

Harman's EIWA Newsletter informs fans and promotes conference

The issue of the EIWA Newsletter which previewed this year's conference championship was labeled No. 200. For the last 18 years, wrestling historian and superfan John Harman of New Jersey has been publishing the news and results from the EIWA and sharing it with America.

Each week, the EIWA Newsletter provides articles, rankings and results about the nation's oldest college wrestling conference. The EIWA has been in existence for 104 years. Harman developed his first issue in November 1990 and has never looked back.

"I did it out a desire to get more information," said Harman. "Printing a newsletter gave me an excuse to collect that information. That was before the internet. If you waited for Amateur Wrestling News then, you'd get it six weeks later."

Initially, Harman published on a variable frequency basis, making the newsletter weekly in February each season when the season heated up. It has only been a few years that he has published every week.

Subscriptions built slowly, mostly word of mouth among fans, families and coaches. At its peak, Harman had as many as 450 subscribers for the newsletter. It has dropped a bit lately, since the internet has become more available and complete. The design of the newsletter is almost exactly what it was when it was created, but a few years ago, Harman created an on-line version, where the newsletter was placed in pdf form and sent via e-mail.

Harman used to have to track down sports information directors and coaches all the time to get the information, but the development of websites for each team has assisted in making the research more efficient. Back then, he had to spend tremendous time on re-typing materials sent via FAX, but now he can cut-and-paste off the internet.

"It has always been fun," said Harman. "It gets a little crazy on Monday, the day it goes out. I still do this for fun."

Helping wrestling is something Harman has done for a long time. For 10 years, Harman provided regular notes of interest about the NCAA Div. Tournament, which was shared with all of the journalists covering the championships. Although he gets no "credit" for his efforts, many new items pointed out by Harman appear in articles and broadcasts from the competition each year. He is also very active with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, serving on its Board of Governors and is the treasurer of the New Jersey chapter of the Hall of Fame.

His newsletter continues to make a big difference for those involved with the EIWA Conference.

"It provides a great service for EIWA fans and a great promotion of the conference to the wrestling community nationally," said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. "As a coach, I refer to it all the time. It is wonderful to have somebody like John Harman helping wrestling like he does. I love the electronic version. I download it onto my laptop and use it all the time."