Wrestling Begins Dual Action at Northern Illinois, No. 12 Iowa State

Friday, November 15

DeKalb, Ill.

8 p.m. ET

Bucknell University

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Wrestling Begins Dual Action at Northern Illinois, No. 12 Iowa State

11/13/2019 11:12:00 AM | Wrestling

Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 EIWA) vs. Northern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
When: Friday, November 15 – 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT)
Where: Victor E. Court – Dekalb, Ill.
Internet Video: NIUHuskies.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Bucknell (0-0, 0-0 EIWA) vs. No. 12 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
When: Sunday, November 17 – 2 p.m. (1 p.m. CT)
Where: Hilton Coliseum – Ames, Iowa
Internet Video: FloWrestling ($)
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell begins 2019-20 dual action at Northern Illinois and No. 12 Iowa State this weekend.
• A year ago, the Bison went 7-11 (4-7 EIWA) during dual competition. They also placed 13th at the EIWA Championships in March and tied for 14th in a 67-team field at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in late December.
• Bucknell return three NCAA qualifiers: Zach Hartman, Garrett Hoffman and Drew Phipps. The Bison also bring back three EIWA placewinners in Hartman, Phipps and David Campbell.
• Hartman and Phipps are serving as captains in 2019-20. Phipps is in his second season as a captain.
• At the 2019 EIWA Championships, Hartman became the first Bucknell freshman to finish as a runner-up and Phipps earned his second-straight podium finish.
• Hartman rose as high as eighth in the national polls at 157 pounds a year ago. He notably placed third at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships with a 6-1 record.
• The Bison graduated eight seniors in 2019, including three-time EIWA Championships starter D.J. Hollingshead.
• Bucknell's group of eight newcomers includes two state champions, six state placewinners and six team captains.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is entering his 15th season at the helm of the Bison wrestling program. He has scored 120 career victories, good for second in school history; he was also tabbed as the 2015 EIWA Coach of the Year after Bucknell placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.
• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led the Bison to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program's only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.

Projected Bucknell Lineup
125: Brandon Seidman (3-2)
133: Darren Miller (3-1)
141: Noah Levett (0-0)
149: Matthew Kolonia (3-1)
157: Jaden Fisher (3-1)
165: Zach Hartman (4-2)
174: Frankie Guida, Jr. (0-1)
184: Brandon Stokes (2-1)
197: #-/17/- Drew Phipps (3-0)
285: Nate Feyrer (0-1)

Bison Ranked
Garrett Hoffman (285): 16th The Open Mat, 17th FloWrestling
Drew Phipps (197): 17th The Open Mat

Inside the Bison Projected Lineup
• The Bison have two NCAA qualifiers in their projected starting lineup: Zach Hartman and Drew Phipps. In addition, both are EIWA placewinners.
• Phipps has started Bucknell's past 33 duals dating back to the 2017-18 campaign. He started every dual a season ago and all but the Lehigh dual in 2017-18.
• Hartman, who started every 2018-19 dual at 157 pounds, is expected to move up a weight class.
• Brandon Stokes is projected to start at 184 pounds for the first time in his career. While 184 pounds is his more natural weight class, all 23 of his career starts came at heavyweight.
• Three Bison are projected to earn their first dual start this weekend: Brandon Seidman (125), Darren Miller (133) and Jaden Fisher (157). Seidman is a sophomore while Miller and Fisher are freshmen.
• In 2018-19, Bucknell used 19 starters in dual competition. Three Bison started every dual: Hartman, D.J. Hollingshead (165) and Phipps (197). Hollingshead was lost to graduation.
• Matthew Kolonia started all but the American dual in 2018-19. After starting the first four duals at 141 pounds, he moved up to 149 pounds, his current weight class.
• At least three different starters took the mat at three weight classes: 133 (3), 141 (4) and 285 (4).

Returning NCAA Qualifiers
Zach Hartman: 2019 at 157
Garrett Hoffman: 2017 at 184
Drew Phipps: 2019 at 197

Returning EIWA Placewinners
David Campbell: 2018 (8th at 133)
Zach Hartman: 2019 (2nd at 157)
Drew Phipps: 2019 (6th at 197), 2018 (8th at 184)

Northern Illinois at a Glance/Series History
• The Huskies are opening dual action against the Bison. A year ago, they went 8-10 (2-5 MAC) and took sixth at the MAC Championships.
• Northern Illinois has sent at least one wrestler to the NCAA Championships for 48-straight years. In 2019, Brit Wilson (174) and Bryce West (125) represented the Huskies in Pittsburgh; both return in 2019-20 for their red-shirt sophomore year.
• This week, Wilson was ranked 15th in the 184-pound weight class by Intermat.
• This will be the first meeting between Northern Illinois and Bucknell.

No. 12 Iowa State at a Glance/Series History
• The Cyclones are set to face the Bison in their first dual of 2019-20. They opened their season by crowning six champions at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on Nov. 10.
• Iowa State was ranked 12th in this week's NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. A year ago, Bucknell faced three ranked opponents: No. 1 Penn State (L, 3-42 on Nov. 30), No. 24 Pitt (L, 4-34 on Dec. 16) and No. 17 North Carolina (L, 6-31 on Feb. 1).
• A year ago, the Cyclones posted a 10-4 (6-2 Big 12) record. They went on to place second at the Big 12 Championships and 16th at the NCAA Championships.
• Chase Straw (157) won a Big 12 title. Jarrett Degen (149) and Willie Miklus (197) captured All-America laurels at the NCAA Championships; Miklus graduated as a four-time All-American.
• Iowa State has a ranked grappler at all but two weight classes. The following Cyclones checked into this week's Intermat poll: Alex Mackall (8th at 125), Austin Gomez (5th at 133), Ian Parker (12th at 141), Degen (4th at 149), David Carr (11th at 157), Straw (20th at 165), Samuel Colbray (8th at 184) and Gannon Gremmel (16th at 285).
• This will be the second meeting between Iowa State and Bucknell.
• The teams last squared off on Nov. 22, 1997 at the Boston University Open; the Cyclones prevailed over the Bison, 27-14.

A Look Ahead
• The Bison next attend the Navy Classic on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Annapolis, Md.

Note for projected lineup: 2019-20 record in parentheses; rankings are Intermat/The Open Mat/FloWrestling; lineup is subject to change