Wrestling: Freshman grapplers bowl over opponents

“I heard they did terribly,” Ayres said.

Freshman 133-pounder Adam Krop began to talk about his bowling score until someone pointed at freshman Robert Shepherd and laughed.

“I had the highest score out of everyone. I walked away, and Shepherd went to my machine and changed everything to zeroes,” Krop said.

Some members are pranksters, some are always joking and one of them confuses everyone else as to whether or not he’s actually being sarcastic; the group has a collective goofy camaraderie in which their jokes feed off one another.

When one of them reaches out a hand to introduce himself, his teammates step in on his behalf.

“He’s Snake,” freshman 174-pounder Ryan Callahan said of classmate and 184-pounder Jacob Herskind.

“No, he’s Big Dog,” freshman 133-pounder Joe DeQuinzio corrected.

Early on in the year, even before becoming comfortable with the coaches, freshman 157-pounder Brandon Rolnick called an assistant coach and imitated an older wrestler over the phone.

“Yeah, you were told to pack your bags,” DeQuinzio joked.

A comment about hummus can stir up an entire discussion before the teammates return to arguing why some people like college football better than the National Football League.

“For the short amount of time that they’ve been here, I think they’re extremely tight,” Ayres said.

According to Ayres, the wrestlers had team activities earlier in the year that brought them close together.

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“We had a nice tailgate with the alumni and stuff,” DeQuinzio said. “That was a nice welcome to the team, because we were there with the parents and everything; that was a first nice family moment with the team.”

Outside of typical practices and Princeton-related traditions, the freshmen also have transitioned into the team through community events.

“We did a volunteering thing for Special Olympics,” freshman 184-pounder Dan Santoro said. “We were real tight; that was a really awesome experience.”

When discussing their future in the sport, the freshmen provide the typical one-liners before jokes begin again: Get better. Get ranked nationally. Don’t get arrested.

“I’d like to make it to NCAAs,” Krop said. “I think that’s an obtainable goal. It’s rare, and it’s tough, but it’s not out of the picture. I think a lot of us have a shot at doing it.”

In the 133-pound weight class, Krop won three Maryland high school state championships and was ranked 15th in the nation at one point for junior wrestlers. At Princeton, he was one of two freshman wrestlers to place at the Bearcat Open early in the season and picked up a win in a dual meet against Liberty.

“The best thing I would say for sure is that they’re the most talented group of recruits that we’ve brought in so far,” Ayres said.

Callahan was one of the top five recruits in the nation in his weight class and had an undefeated season during his senior year of high school in New Jersey. Rolnick was also a top recruit and won the USA Cadet National Freestyle and placed third at the USA junior national wrestling Ironman Tournament.

“I would say that they’ve definitely made some big steps, but they’ve still got a ways to go,” senior captain and 174-pounder Travis Erdman said. “So far they’ve done good things.”

Although Rolnick missed most of his senior high school season due to injuries, he still managed to pick up some upsets, including a win against the No. 6 seed at the Keystone Open.

“It doesn’t make our job any easier though, because you expect them to get to a whole higher level, so there are higher expectations. But it’s a little more fun because you look at the this group and you think, ‘Well, some of these kids might have the potential to be a national champion or an All-American,’ ” Ayres said. “They’re not there yet, but it’s pretty exciting for a coach to know that this potential exists in a group.”

Because of the tough transition from high school wrestling to the much larger pool of college wrestling, it is rare for freshmen to place high enough at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament to qualify for the NCAA championships.

“Sometimes I think they get a little frustrated just because they were so good and now they’re doing a transition thing, but they’re doing a good job,” Ayres said. “They come in here, they work really hard, the whole group, and they just keep trying to get better.”

Callahan has been the only freshman to place at every tournament so far within his class.

Outside of an impressive start, however, the most memorable thing about Callahan to his teammates and coaches seems to be his clothing choices.

“The worst thing is the color of Ryan Callahan’s outfits, the plaid and the combinations,” Ayres said. “I have a sneaking suspicion that he might actually be colorblind. He sometimes comes in with a neon green Pokemon shirt.”

Even Erdman’s first thoughts about traits within the freshmen jump to Callahan’s style.

“Callahan always wears tie-dye to all of our lifts, which is pretty ridiculous,” Erdman said.

Callahan will be dressed in his normal wrestling attire this weekend, however, as the Tigers compete in meets against George Mason, Rutgers and Rider, the last of which will take place at Dillon Gymnasium.