The Stylus

Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Sports

When it comes to sports, establishing a program that consistently wins year in and year out often proves to be the most daunting of tasks. Even teams who manage to achieve a reputable program often have a few bad seasons here and there, whether it be due to a key injury, seniors departing, players transferring, lack of leadership, lack of talent or just plain bad luck.

Point being, there's lots of pitfalls waiting to cripple a teams season, and while avoiding them for a few seasons, maybe even a decade is impressive enough, managing to avoid them for nearly 50 years is something out of a fairy tale.

But somehow, that's exactly what The College at Brockport men's wrestling managed to accomplish this past week.

But before Brockport locked down success, they had to endure some mediocrity. On Sunday at the New York State International Wrestling Championships (NYSIWC) at Cornell, Brockport placed eighth of sixteen participants.

Despite an average team performance, there were some highlights individually. Senior James Forsyth won three straight in the consolation bracket to finish fourth in the 165-pound weight class.

In the 133-pound weight class, freshman Eric Valez and junior Ryan Fallot took fifth and seventh place.

After losing in his second round, Fallot, like Forsyth, won three straight in the consolation round before losing in the consolation quarterfinal round. Valez would be pitted against Fallot after losing his championship bracket quarterfinal match.

Valez went on to beat Fallot in a close 5-4 decision to take fifth place.

The Brockport Golden Eagles defeated SUNY Oswego 33-12 in a dual meet. More importantly, the win ensured Brockport of another winning season, marking the programs' 48th straight. Brockport's phenomenal streak is second only to division-I school Oklahoma State, which has a streak of 49.

Freshman Tyler Marlow got the match started on a high note, winning 18-2 on a technical fall at 125 pounds. Freshman Eric Valez followed with a 16-5 win at 133 pounds.

With the match tied at 9 wins each, Brockport found their stride when junior Thomas Rispoli won on a 3-1 decision at 157 pounds.

Rispoli's win sparked the Golden Eagles, as they would win their next five matches after that, including a 11-2 major decision by senior James Forsyth at 165 pounds.

In the 174-pound division, freshman Clay Neivert and Thomas Bosch both recorded pins to ensure the victory for Brockport.

Consistency has been a common theme in the upper-weight classes for Brockport, especially in the division.

Forsyth and Neivert are among the top in division winning percentage, posting numbers above 70 percent. Combined, they are 21-7 within the division.

Brockport (3-2) takes on RIT tonight at 7 p.m. It will be the final home match of the year for the Golden Eagles.

Then, they enter tournament play again as they travel to Baldwin Wallace in Ohio for the John Summa Invitational this weekend, which starts Saturday, Feb. 5 at 10 a.m.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools