You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “Hofstra to Host Wagner in 2008/2009 Home Opener (UPDATED W/RESULTS”.
Email This Post
Print Post
(+3 rating, 3 votes)
Loading ...
It was a great weekend for the Big Red. We had a doubleheader on Saturday, starting with a 1 p.m. match at Hofstra, and then culminating in a 6 p.m. Ivy League faceoff at Columbia. Over the course of the day, our guys only gave up eight offensive points.
For those of you who have [...]
This is the forth release of the Section 11 individual and tournament rankings.
We are very pleased to announce that our gym has been featured in the number one Powerlifting magazine in the country. Powerlifting USA’s latest issue has an article about us listed under “Hardcore Gym!” This is a very cool honor and we would like to thank Rick Brewer, House of Pain, and of course, [...]
Teaching Drills for Improving the BIG THREE: Part 3 Deadlift Drills
By John Gaglione
The Stick Good Morning
The Stick Good Morning is a great exercise to teach the deadlift. Many of the principles learned for the squat hold true for the deadlift as well. The athlete wants a tight upper back, brace abdominals, they want to [...]
Latest on Live
Outstanding preview. Thanks Matt.
There’s one question that just begs asking……
WHY WAGNER?
Back in the not so distant past, when Wagner was a member of the CAA wrestling conference, the Pride used the compulsory Wagner dual as an opportunity to give a little competitive mat time to the guys who work their tail ends off all season in the wrestling and weight rooms, but who sit behind more polished wrestlers on the Hofstra depth chart.
The Wagner dual was often scheduled as part of a ‘doubleheader’, with the starters facing the more challenging competitors and the reserves toiling against the local Seahawks from Staten Island.
Under the circumstances, the annual dual made perfect sense.
But time and circumstances have changed. Hofstra no longer ranks among the elite Top 15 programs in the country and Wagner no longer wrestles under the CAA banner.
So how does this dual benefit the relatively young and inexperienced Pride?
You could say that the starting 10 needed a break, coming off of this past weekend’s tournament in Brockport, but that justification would be a complete crock.
With the exception of Ruggirello, JBB, Lucas, Fagiano and possibly Patrovich, the young and developing Pride wrestlers need to be continually challenged by counterparts with equal or superior credentials and pedigrees if they hope to successfully compete against conference and nationally ranked opponents.
Better yet…..remember that only Lucas has already achieved All-American status among the Hofstra veterans. Ruggirello and Bonilla-Bowman, who were close, and both Patrovich and Fagiano can all contend for a place on the medal stand if they continue to get better.
Wrestling Wagner wasn’t going to advance those goals.
Wrestling Wagner wasn’t going to better prepare the Pride for the events of next March…..or even for the upcoming duals against Penn State and Missouri.
Wrestling Wagner wasn’t even an upgrade in competition over the Wrestle-Offs held at Northport H.S.
So, again, I ask the question, “WHY WAGNER?”
The only benefit that can be derived from this dual is that the Pride, as a team, most certainly won the dual……and the wrestlers themselves added a plus number to their individual win columns.
That said, I’m reasonably sure that these young men didn’t enroll at Hofstra to pad their numbers or to falsely inflate their worth with meaningless wins.
I’m just hoping that the schedule makers share that philosophy.
There’s only five home matches on this year’s plate, and only a limited number of non-conference opportunities available to develop both the young and veteran wrestlers.
You can’t convince me that we didn’t just throw one away when we scheduled this dual.
By the way, if you think that these comments were meant to disrespect the Wagner wrestling program, you are completely incorrect. Those young men work just as hard as the Pride wrestlers. They’re just simply not as accomplished or talented.
Hofstra showed the willing Seahawks more disrespect by scheduling them for their “Homecoming” match.