Personnel losses, but no talk of rebuilding
Midshipmen down 5 NCAA qualifiers from last season
On paper, this should be a rebuilding year for the Navy wrestling team.
Last season, which was heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Midshipmen went 5-1 in dual meets, were ranked as high as No. 17 and sent nine wrestlers to the NCAA championships for only the third time in program history.
However, four of those grapplers graduated and another, heavyweight John Birchmeier, chose not to return to the program. That has left second-year coach Cary Kolat with six weight classes to fill with first-time starters while building around the four returning NCAA qualifiers: senior captain Jacob Allen, junior Jacob Koser as well as sophomore standouts Andrew Cerniglia and David Key.
Allen competed at 133 pounds last season and is doing something very rare in college wrestling — moving down a weight class to 125. What makes it even more unusual is the fact he is doing it as a senior. Allen’s decision, however, makes the Navy lineup stronger and is part of the reason there is very little talk about the wrestling team being in any kind of rebuilding mode.
“We had nine guys go to nationals last year, so we want to send all 10 this year,” said Allen, who is ranked third academically in a senior class numbering 1,108 midshipmen.
Even though Allen admitted getting 10 NCAA qualifiers was an “ambitious” goal, he has a bold personal goal in mind as well.
“I thought [moving down] gave me a better shot of winning a national title. It was definitely tough moving down at first and it’s a grind to make weight. It takes discipline,” said Allen, who advanced to the second round of the consolation bracket in
the NCAA tournament last year.
Kolat was impressed when Allen approached him several months ago with the plan.
“There was really no conversation to be had. Jacob came up with it on his own. I told him I thought it was an excellent idea, and he’s looking good,” Kolat said.
Replacing Allen at 133 pounds is freshman Josh Koderhandt, the first Navy recruit of the Kolat era. The Illinois native boasts an 8-3 record after capturing the individual title at the Clarion Open and finishing as runner-up at the Navy Classic.
“[Josh] wants to win out of the gate. He doesn’t consider himself a plebe. He came here to win a national title,” Kolat said. “He lost in the finals [of Navy Classic] and he didn’t come off the mat throwing chairs. He came to me and said these are the things I’ve got to work on.”
Allen is also off to a strong start, capturing a championship at the Bearcat Open in building a 7-2 record. Next up for Navy is the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and Kolat said the early-season tournaments give the coaching staff time to evaluate wrestlers while allowing team members to bond on the road.
Senior Jonathan Miranda and sophomore Tyler Hunt have been battling for the starting spot at 141 pounds. Hunt took charge of that competition by taking the individual title at the Navy Classic.
“That was his first competition of the year, and he went out and won the tournament,” said Kolat. “We are looking for the guy who wears the Navy singlet and gets the whole bench fired up, and Tyler is good about doing that.”
At 149 pounds, Kolat is looking for junior PJ Crane to build off his off of his fourthplace finish at the Clarion Open.
Cerniglia remains the starter at 157 pounds and is arguably Navy’s best wrestler. The Nazareth, Pennsylvania, native is 8-0 with championships at the Clarion and Bearcat tournaments. Cerniglia, who is ranked No. 21 in the country, challenges himself by sparring with Navy assistants that are heavier.
“He just keeps going up the weight classes until he can find someone who can beat him up. You stick with that person until you can beat them up,” Kolat said.
Upperclassmen have emerged as slight frontrunners at 165 and 175 pounds based off early-season performances. Junior Val Park (165) and senior Shane Finney (174) are being challenged by a pair of freshmen in Sammy Starr and Cael Crebs.
Next up are a pair of NCAA qualifiers in Key at 184 pounds and Koser at 197. Both returners were individual champs at the Navy Classic.
“David Key is ... I like to call him an ugly wrestler. He does some ugly stuff and it works for him,” Kolat said. “He’s explosive for the weight class and just finds a way to win.”
Meanwhile, Kolat said Koser is getting better on his feet and likes the consistency he brings.
At heavyweight , Navy has three good options in senior Riley Smith, sophomore Grady Griess and freshman Ryan Catka. Smith won the Navy Classic, while Griess placed third in the same bracket. Those three heavyweights have a combined record of 23-7.
After returning from Las Vegas, Navy begins its dual meet campaign against Maryland on Dec. 11. Following a tournament in Illinois, the Midshipmen begin their quest for a conference championship with dual meets against national powers Lehigh, Cornell and archrival Army.
Surprisingly, Allen and Kolat both say the Army match is not circled on the calendar.
“We are not looking past Army, but we are trying to win our conference and beat bigger teams. Army is just another opponent,” Allen said.
“In my mind, there isn’t one bout that is more important than another,” added Kolat. “If you are constantly perfecting you and the craft of wrestling, then you will get the wins. We all know Army is important, but our focus is on this week and how we get better.”
Kolat, one of the most decorated high school and college wrestlers of all time, acknowledges his home state of Pennsylvania is fertile recruiting ground for the Midshipmen. In fact, there are nine freshmen on Navy’s roster from the Keystone State.
“The reality is kids don’t really go [to college] more than three hours from home,” said Kolat. “Being that [Navy] is the number one public academic institution in the country and that it borders Pennsylvania does make it a little easier.”
And as for how he handles the many recruiting battles with West Point in the homes of Pennsylvania high school wrestlers, Kolat has already prepared his best pitch.
“If a kid is an academy kid and visits both schools, I think the Naval Academy sells itself. They are both great institutions, but we do outrank them in academics and in earned income later in life,” Kolat said. “And we sit on the water and are in Annapolis.”
Kolat said Navy cannot have the mindset of recruiting against Army and must compete with such national powers as Penn State and Iowa as well.
Indeed, Allen and Kolat both agree Navy can and should be a Top 10 program that can attract the best recruits in the country. However, there is one thing they don’t agree on, and that’s the coach’s sense of clothing style.
“Some of my friends who aren’t wrestlers, they will see coach, especially during the summer, and he’s always in full sweats and it’s 100 degrees out,” Allen said. “My friends just think he’s [crazy], but I say that’s just how he is. Maybe he is still cutting weight.”
Kolat was familiar with the criticism and blamed it on a decade famous for such wardrobe failures. “I grew up back in the ’80s. We trained in sweats, so that’s what I’m used to. I’m not a big shorts guy.”