SPORTS STORIES:
SPORTS INFORMATION—2009
YOUNG SQUAD LOOKS TO BLOSSOM ON THE MATS...
CLEVELAND, OH (November 3, 2009) - New wrestlers come and go through the Case Western Reserve University wrestling program every four years. However one thing has remained constant for the program for nearly a half-century - the guidance of 48th-year head coach Bob Del Rosa.
This year will be largely about new and young wrestlers for the Spartans as the squad features just four upperclassmen.
“Right now we have a very young team, but hopefully some of the young guys will gel and get a little better,” said Del Rosa (pictured below). “We will only be starting one senior on our team and the rest will be freshman, sophomores, and a couple of juniors.”
One reason for having such a young team is the strong senior class the Spartans graduated last season. That class was led by 149-lb Drew Gardella, who became the eighth All-American in Case Western Reserve wrestling history by finishing sixth at the National Championships.
“Our graduating class was very strong,” said Del Rosa. “When you lose 3 or 4 starters it’s tough to replace them. These are guys that started for us for four years, which means you lose a significant part of your lineup and we have to replace them with some young people.”
By no means is the cupboard bare this year at Horsburgh Gymnasium. The wrestler who replaces Gardella at the 149-lb weight class, sophomore Issac Dukes (Ravenna, OH-pictured below), is in position to take over as the team’s top wrestler. As a freshman, Dukes earned UAA Rookie of the Year honors and qualified for the National Championship in the 157-lb class. Dukes drew the defending national champion, Aaron Wernimont [Wartburg], in the first round and took the match to the wire in a 7-6 loss. Wernimont went undefeated on the season and would repeat as national champion.
“I think Issac will be our top guy,” said Del Rosa. “I think this year going from where he wrestled at 157lbs down to 149lbs that he should be a dominant force in that weight class.”
Other top returning wrestlers should include sophomore Kyle Weaver (Delaware, OH), who is expected to wrestle at 157-lbs and junior Clay Criss (Beloit, OH-pictured below), who could grapple at 165-lbs.
The Spartans have a couple of intriguing non-freshman newcomers in senior Jonathan Stone (Cleveland, OH) and sophomore Dale English (Middleburg Heights., OH). Stone is a 125-lb senior, who is new to the Spartans program after a strong high school career at University School. English will wrestle heavyweight during the second semester after completing his second season as a defensive lineman for the Case Western Reserve football team. English currently has 14 career sacks and was named first-team All-University Athletic Association last season. Senior Jacob Kornblatt (Madison, WI) also returns to the team after missing last season while studying abroad in Brazil.
“Jonathan is a very talented wrestler and I’m excited to see him at one of the tournaments to see how he can do,” said Del Rosa. If Dale shows on the mat what he does on the football field, he is going to be a very, very good wrestler for us.”
Peter Heggs (Shaker Heights, OH) and Evan McDowell (Bellaire, TX) should be among the top freshman on the squad.
Leadership can be a problem for some teams this young. Coach Del Rosa is not worried about that with this team. 
“I have never really said anybody is a captain or not, I’ve always depended on my seniors and juniors to take charge and lead the team,” said Del Rosa. “Right now I have a senior (Kornblatt-pictured on page one) that is stepping up as a leader and a sophomore (Dukes) who is showing teammates how and what to do and encouraging some of our young wrestlers.
The grappling season starts this weekend as the Spartans partake in the Messiah College Tournament. The most important matches for the season don’t come until February with the UAA Championships and Midwest Regional. Coach Del Rosa is well aware of this and will spend the early season building his team to peak late in the year.
“Early in the year we will probably have to forfeit some weight classes until we can find out what weight they can make, but second semester we should be a pretty good wrestling team,” explained Del Rosa.
“You try to get your guys as much exposure to college wrestling as possible, especially if they are freshman, sophomores, or juniors,” Del Rosa continued. At the same time Coach (Chris) Nader, Coach (Russ) Tischer, and myself start looking at it and say ‘hey, this kid is going to be real good.’ We're excited to figure that out as we go along and see how our wrestlers do at the tournaments. We should have five, maybe six, wrestlers who are capable of becoming All-UAA and if you can have that many it pretty much guarantees you a conference championship.”
ABOUT CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY … Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826 and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research, service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering, Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.