Wrestling Team Awards Announced at Postseason Banquet

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell wrestling program held its annual end-of-season awards banquet this past Saturday in Walls Lounge. The event capped a year in which the Bison posted their most dual wins since 2009-10 and had two more wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships. Head coach Dan Wirnsberger and his staff announced the team awards with junior Joe Stolfi (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) and sophomore Paul Petrov (Cedar Lake, Ind./Hanover Central) sharing the William A. Graham IV Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.

Stolfi earned the Graham Award for the second straight year, while Petrov was cited for the first time. The award amounts to an MVP honor and is given to the Bison who performs the best at the NCAA Championships.

Petrov also earned the Class of 2010 Leadership Award, while four other wrestlers also received individual honors. Sophomore Robert Schlitt (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) was presented the Coach's Award, while classmate Brenan McAllister (Salisbury, Md./Parkside) was given the 11th Man Award. Sophomore Rustin Barrick (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) earned the Most Improved Award, while Victor Lopez (Poway, Calif./Poway) copped the Freshman of the Year.

Additionally, the wrestling program gave out award for leading the team in certain statistical categories, including most wins (Stolfi – 34), wins by fall (Stolfi – 23), takedowns (Petrov – 86) and near fall points (Tyler Lyster – 61).

Stolfi advanced to the NCAA Championships for a second consecutive year thanks to winning the 285-pound title at the EIWA Championships. He became the third Bison to win an EIWA crown after entering the event as the No. 2 seed. Stolfi entered the NCAA Championships on an 18-bout winning streak and finished the year with a program-record 23 pins to tie for the national lead. He ranks fifth on the program's career pins list (32) and his 34 victories this past season are tied for second on the single-season ledger.

Petrov, the winner of the inaugural Freshman of the Year Award last year, was the winner of two awards this past Saturday. He earned his first NCAA berth this year after placing sixth in the 125-pound bracket at the EIWA Championships. The owner of a 31-9 overall record, Petrov was 30-4 vs. unranked foes in 2013-14 and he posted an 18-3 mark in bonus-point bouts. Petrov piled up three winning streaks of at least seven bouts, including nine wins in a row entering the NCAA Championships.

Schlitt earned the Coach's Award after posting a strong 16-13 overall mark while wrestling at 165 and 174 pounds. He was especially strong down the stretch, winning 11 of his final 17 bouts. Schlitt was 1-2 at EIWAs and 3-1 in dual matches.

McAllister collected seven wins in 2013-14 with three of them coming by major decision. He won three of his first four bouts and wrestled at the Bearcat Open, Navy Classic, Mat Town Open, Cradle Gear Invitational, Franklin & Marshall Open and Shorty Hitchcock Classic.

Barrick posted an 18-21 record after missing his freshman campaign with an injury. He was 5-0 in matches decided by pin and recorded five different winning streaks. Bucknell's entrant in the 165-pound bracket at the EIWA Championships, Barrick posted a 1-2 record at the event.

Lopez followed Petrov as Bucknell's Freshman of the Year. He joined Stolfi (1st) and Petrov (6th) as a placewinner at the EIWA Championships, finishing eighth in the 149-pound bracket. A two-time Bison Athlete of the Week (Nov. 18, Feb. 3) and an EIWA Wrestler of the Week (Feb. 3), one of the highlights of Lopez's rookie campaign was defeating ranked opponents from Oklahoma State and Oklahoma on the same day in November. Lopez led the Bison with three wins over ranked foes and his 23-19 overall record ranked him third on the squad in victories.

Bucknell finished the 2013-14 season with a 10-11 overall record and was 5-4 in EIWA duals, marking its first above-.500 conference finish since 2009-10. The Bison wrestled six ranked opponents, bringing its eight-year total to 44.