Wrestling Rings in the New Year at Southern Scuffle

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell wrestling team will be making its first appearance of 2014 on the mats at the Southern Scuffle this Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 1-2. It will be the debut appearance for the Bison at the 11-year-old event that is expected to feature 34 All-Americans and eight NCAA finalists.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the host school for the Southern Scuffle. The two-day event will take place in the McKenzie Arena. Competition begins each day at 9 a.m. with the championship finals taking place Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 per day for general admission.

A total of 34 teams are in the Southern Scuffle field, including 10 of the top 25 in the current Intermat team rankings.

While Bucknell will be wrestling at the Southern Scuffle as a team for the first time, Austin Miller did post a 2-2 record at the event a year ago as an individual entrant.

The Southern Scuffle will be the second official tournament competition of the year for the Bison, who placed eighth of 14 teams at November's Navy Classic.

Nine Bucknell wrestlers are expected to be in action this week with one entrant at every weight class except 184 pounds. The projected lineup features five freshmen, two sophomores and two juniors.

Junior Joe Stolfi, who leads the Bison with a 12-3 record this season, is ranked No. 17 nationally at 285 pounds, according to Amateur Wrestling News. He has won seven consecutive matches, including six of those by fall. His nine pins this year are a career high and place him three shy of joining the program's single-season top-10 list. Stolfi's 18 career pins place him three shy of joining the program's all-time top-10 ledger as well.

Sophomore 125-pounder Paul Petrov also enters the Southern Scuffle on a lengthy winning streak with six victories in a row. He is 9-2 in his last 11 bouts and has six bonus-point wins this season. Petrov, who is tied for second on the team with 11 victories, won the 125-pound bracket at the Mat Town Open and finished fifth at the Navy Classic.

The Bison will return to dual competition Jan. 10-11 when they travel to Hampton, Va., for the Virginia Duals. Bucknell will wrestle duals in a team tournament-style format. The Bison have competed at the Virginia Duals every year since 2007-08.

Bucknell Probable Lineup at Southern Scuffle (2-4, 1-0 EIWA)
125: Paul Petrov (11-4)
133: Grim Gonzalez (11-11)
141: Connor Lapresi (8-9)
149: Victor Lopez (10-9)
157: Logan Kerin (3-12)
165: Rustin Barrick (10-9)
174: Joey Krulock (6-5)
184: No Entry
197: Tyler Lyster (8-7)
285: No. 17 Joe Stolfi (12-3)