TOURNAMENT UPDATES
TOURNAMENT BRACKET
WILLIAMSPORT, PA – The Oswego State wrestling team started off its season by winning its first dual in a narrow decision over RIT, but has since dropped the following three. The Lakers will look to find their bearings at the Budd Whitehill Duals hosted by Lycoming College in the Oswego State Game of the Week.
Consecutive losses to Ithaca, Lycoming and King's College have put a sour taste in the Lakers' mouth, but a slew of dual matches in Pennsylvania should help stop the bleeding. The Lakers kick off the weekend at 10:30 a.m. on Friday against Heidelberg, a small school from Tiffin, OH.
The Student Princes of Heidelberg currently hold a 5-4 dual record, and are the No. 7 seed in the tournament. The winner of this match could go on to face No. 2-seed Wabash in the second round. The Little Giants of Crawfordsville, IN boast a 3-1 record in duals this season, with their only loss coming at the hands of the nationally-ranked Luther College by just five points.
Given the limited knowledge Oswego State has of its opponents going into the tournament, the Laker wrestlers have to trust their instincts during matches against unfamiliar opponents.
Omar Santiago (Sr., Huntington Station, N.Y.) has become accustomed to wrestling against schools from all around the country.
Santiago owns an 11-1 career record at the Budd Whitehill Duals, having suffered his only loss in his first appearance as a freshman in 2010. Since that loss, the senior captain has registered 11-straight wins at the Lycoming, PA competition. This season, Santiago holds a 16-5 record, moving his career record to 69-40.
Santiago's first opponent is ranked No. 8 in the country in the 133-pound weight class. Santiago knows he's in for a tough match, but he will take the same mindset into this match as he would any other.
“I don't know much about him, but he's ranked No. 8 in the country, which means he has to be a really tough opponent,” Santiago said. “I always go out there ready to win. It doesn't matter who I wrestle. I usually don't keep up with names or rankings. I always wrestle the person as just another person out there.”
He also stressed the importance of a complete team effort when it comes to doing well in this tournament.
”It's different because we're going in as a team and the results reflect what everybody put into each match,” he said. “If I wrestle in an invitational, it's just me out there. I do contribute points, but here we need everybody to be ready to win so we can advance our whole team in the bracket.”
In Williamsport, PA, last season, the Lakers went 2-3, with one match finishing in a tie and decided using tiebreaker criteria, giving the Laker opponent an extra team point for recording more pins. Other than its first match, Oswego State only lost its other two duals by a combined 11 points.
Santiago has high hopes for his team entering the weekend.
“Individually, my goal is always to win,” he said. “I aim to beat everyone I wrestle. I've been on this team for four years now and we've always tried to keep a winning record and we've always come up short. Hopefully this weekend, some of the guys who need to step up big will help us win these matches.”
The Lakers kick off the weekend at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, with competition spanning the entire day and continuing through Saturday.
