March 29, 2024

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It's time to think about Travel.

Bucknell Wrestling Travels to Sacred Heart

Bucknell (0-2, 0-0 EIWA) vs. Sacred Heart (0-1, 0-0 EIWA)

When:
Sunday, January 24 – 2 p.m.
Where: William H. Pitt Center – Fairfield, Conn.
Format: Round-Robin Tournament
Internet Video: NEC Front Row
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Bucknell at a Glance

• The Bison are currently 0-2 (0-0 EIWA) on the season. They most recently fell to West Virginia, 29-3, and No, 19 Oklahoma, 29-9, on Jan. 17.

Zach Hartman (165) went 2-0, and Darren Miller (133) scored his first career victory over a nationally ranked opponent, during those duals.

• Bucknell went 10-6 (9-3 EIWA) in 2019-20 dual action. The Bison reached the double digits in dual victories for the first time since 2016-17; their total of EIWA victories also matched their 2016-17 figure.

• Bucknell took seventh at the 2020 EIWA Championships, bolstered by placing six on the podium. Hartman (165) and Drew Phipps (197) finished as EIWA runners-up.

• Hartman, who became Bucknell’s first freshman to finish as an EIWA runner-up in 2019, became the second Bison to twice finish second at the EIWA Championships.

• Hartman and Phipps qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships, which were not held due to the COVID-19 public health threat. Phipps, who is now a volunteer assistant coach with the program, graduated as a two-time NCAA qualifier and three-time EIWA placewinner.

• Bucknell returned one NCAA qualifier in Hartman. The Bison also brought back four EIWA placewinners: Hartman, David Campbell, Jaden Fisher and Joey Gould.

• Bucknell lost four of their six 2020 EIWA placewinners to graduation: Phipps, Mitch Hartman, Kyle Inlander and Brandon Stokes.

• Campbell, Hartman and Matthew Kolonia are serving as captains in 2020-21. Campbell and Hartman are each in his second season as a captain.

• The Bison’s group of nine newcomers includes three state champions, seven state placewinners and eight team captains. The freshmen hail from four different states: Pennsylvania (6), Michigan, Missouri and New Jersey.

• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 16th season at the helm of the Bucknell wrestling program. He has scored 130 career victories, good for second in school history; he was also tabbed as the 2015 EIWA Coach of the Year after the Bison placed third at the EIWA Championships and qualified four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships.

• Wirnsberger and Bob Ferraro, who led Bucknell to a 169-175-6 record from 1974 to 1997, are the program’s only head coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.

Bison in This Week’s Polls

Zach Hartman (165): 9th Intermat and FloWrestling, 11th The Open Mat

Darren Miller (133): 14th Intermat and FloWrestling, 16th The Open Mat

• For the second-straight week, Hartman is in the top 10 of the Intermat and FloWrestling rankings. His placement in all three polls is unchanged from a week ago.

• On the strength of his upset of then No. 11 Tony Madrigal of Oklahoma, Miller entered the Intermat and FloWrestling rankings for the first time this season. He also jumped eight spots in The Open Mat poll, vaulting to 16th from 24th.

Sacred Heart at a Glance

• Bucknell and Sacred Heart will not compete in a traditional dual on Sunday. Instead, the teams will hold a round-robin tournament.

• The Pioneers are currently 0-1 (0-0 EIWA). A year ago, they went 8-6 and placed 17th at the EIWA Championships.

• Bucknell is an unbeaten 8-0 against Sacred Heart in their all-time series. The Bison’s average margin of victory is exactly 31 points; they’ve given up more than 10 points to the Pioneers just once, in their first meeting in 2001 (24-21).

• Last season, Bucknell dropped Sacred Heart by a 36-3 margin in Davis Gym. The Bison picked up bonus points in six of their victories, highlighted by a pin by Vincent Andreano (165) in his first collegiate dual start.

• On Jan. 26, 2019 in Fairfield, Conn., Bucknell scored its first shutout since the 2015-16 campaign by rolling to a 40-0 victory over Sacred Heart.

• The Bison netted bonus points in five of their 10 bouts to cruise past the Pioneers. Zach Hartman (157) pinned his opponent while Matthew Kolonia (149), Nick Stephani (174) and Drew Phipps (197) all won by commanding technical falls.

• Bucknell has blanked Sacred Heart three times, with its previous shutouts coming in 2012 (51-0) and 2016 (39-0). The Bison’s 39-0 whitewashing, which took place on Feb. 7, 2016, was their first shutout since their first match of the 2013-14 campaign and their most recent one entering last year’s dual against Sacred Heart.

A Look Ahead

• The Bison next travel to Army West Point for a 2 p.m. dual on Sunday, Jan. 31.