By Betsy Veysman

They say that good things come to those that wait, but Maciej Jochym wasn’t so sure.

As a freshman in 2008, he came tantalizingly close to an NCAA tournament appearance, losing in the fifth place match at EIWAs in overtime.  The five grapplers that placed ahead of him were rewarded with bids to nationals.

With his 21-13 record as a rookie, Jochym seemed destined to compete at college wrestling’s biggest event multiple times.

But years later, on the morning of March 3 at the 2012 EIWA championships, Jochym took the mat knowing he needed two more victories to assure himself of his first trip to NCAAs.  He took at 2-1 lead early in his first match of the day against Navy’s Daniel Miller but gave up a five-point move in the second period and dropped his consolation semifinal bout.

He rebounded to pin Penn’s Steven Graziano in the fifth place match, but with only three automatic qualifying slots at 285 pounds, Jochym knew his fate was completely out of his hands.  And it would be several days until the announcement of the wildcard selections.

“It was very difficult to wait,” Jochym said.  “I prepared for the worst.  I thought I was finished.  I really didn’t think it was possible.”

Early in the week, the Cornell coaches didn’t feel overly optimistic about Jochym’s chances, either.  However, they did note that his 16-13 record came against a challenging schedule and featured some solid victories.

“I didn’t think it was a good bet,” said head coach Rob Koll. “His win-loss record wasn’t that great but I did know his RPI was pretty high and that could help him.  I just wasn’t sure who else was out there.  Had [Navy’s] Miller been an automatic qualifier, I would have felt good about it since they split this year, but I was preparing for bad news.”

At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the complete heavyweight field for St. Louis was published and for Jochym, the news was good.

“I think what made the difference was that I had three quality wins over guys going to the tournament,” he said. “When I found out, I was ecstatic to finally get the chance to go to nationals.”

The path he took to get his NCAA opportunity was not a typical one.

Jochym’s first season at Cornell was successful, with victories over Cameron Wade and Ryan Flores.  But it wasn’t a completely smooth ride.

“At times, Maciej absolutely would not listen to what we said,” Koll said. “If I told him to shoot a single leg, he hit a headlock.  When you’re a small heavyweight, you have to be careful not to get stuck underneath much bigger guys.  But Maciej wanted to go, go, go and attack all the time, regardless of the opponent.  Not shooting a lot wasn’t in his nature.  He was impatient and it cost him at least a couple of matches.”

“I was young and maybe a little naïve,” Jochym said. “I was a little too aggressive in my style.  I know the coaches felt I needed to wrestle smarter and take more calculated risks.  But I came from 215 [pounds] in high school and it was a difficult switch to the heavyweight style.”

The following year, Jochym went 4-2 at the Binghamton Open but then withdrew from Cornell for personal reasons.  When he returned to Ithaca as a sophomore, Jochym decided that wrestling was not going to be a part of his life.

“It came to a point where I felt the need to work to be able to better support myself,” he said. “I had to prioritize, and I felt I needed the extra money, so I focused on school and working.”

But early in the second semester, he started to miss the sport and felt that he had made strides financially.  He asked to be accepted back onto the squad and rejoined the Big Red for the 2010-11 campaign.

“I realized I really wanted to return,” he said.  “I realized how much wrestling meant to me.  There were a lot of aspects that I missed – the team, the camaraderie.  There also was something to be said about going out and working on my goals.  I also knew the team was in the hunt for the national title and I wanted to help however I could.”

Returning All-American Cam Simaz was the starter at 197, and the 285 position was open for competition. However, Jochym chose the lighter class.

“Maciej decided to go to 197 even though he knew he was guaranteeing himself second string,” Koll said. “He wanted to be lean and didn’t like the pushing and shoving that goes on at heavyweight. He wanted to mix it up.”

“I didn’t like the heavyweight style of wrestling,” Jochym agreed. “I thought it was boring; a game of who could be the biggest.  I felt that at around 220 pounds, it didn’t suit my style very well.  I saw an opportunity to help the team by backing up Cam [Simaz].”

When Simaz was injured during the Southern Scuffle, having the Herricks High School standout in the wings paid dividends during the Big Red’s run to the National Duals title.

“I was at home with my family and I thought I would have a few weeks off,” he said. “I saw Cam was hurt while watching the finals of the Southern Scuffle.  I got the call from [Koll] soon afterwards.  I wasn’t prepared weight wise and I didn’t realize how tough the cut would be.  I also wasn’t mentally prepared right away for something like National Duals. But I was happy in the end that I was able to help the team win.”

While Jochym went 1-3 at the competition, he saved key team points.  In a close dual with Missouri, he held heavily favored Brett Haynes to a 4-2 decision.  In the finals against Virginia Tech, Jochym finished strong, defeating Chris Penny.

“I am of course thankful for what Maciej did at National Duals,” Koll said.  “He played an important role for us.”

He wanted to play an important role in his senior campaign as well.  For Jochym, that meant a move back to 285.

“The decision was made early in the preseason,” he said.  “I was doing well with the other heavyweights in practice.  I was winning the live wrestling and I thought I would give it a try again.”

“I think Maciej realized you always look better with your hand raised,” Koll added.  “He knew that was going to happen a lot more at heavyweight.”

There was an adjustment period as he got accustomed to wrestling at the highest weight class again.  But he showed steady improvement throughout the campaign.

“Who knows where Maciej would be today if he had stayed the course from his freshman year, or if he had wrestled at heavyweight last year?” Koll asked. “It took him most of this season to effectively wrestle the heavyweight style.  It’s basically a different sport.  He has clearly gotten better and better as the year progressed.  Now, we’re really excited to see what he can do this week.”

Jochym’s first opponent in St. Louis will be a familiar one — sort of.  He has never faced Nebraska’s Tucker Lane, but he works out with his younger brother, teammate Stryker Lane, frequently.

“Stryker says he beats up on Tucker every time he goes home,” Koll said with a laugh. “So either Maciej will beat him by the transitive property or Stryker is a liar.  We’ll find out in a few days.”

On a more serious note, Koll stated that it is a match he and the Big Red coaching staff feel Jochym is capable of winning.

“Tucker Lane is a very good heavyweight, but he isn’t a huge heavyweight,” he said. “There are no easy draws at this level but at 285, one mistake either way determines the match since there aren’t a lot of points scored.  Maciej can do it.  I feel funny about it because I know Tucker and his family.  If Maciej were wrestling any of the other 31 guys in the weight class, I’d be cheering for Tucker.  But in this case, the Lane family will have to forgive me for cheering against him.”

Koll believes that Jochym is worth cheering for, regardless of the number of points he scores this weekend.

“Maciej has really grown up,” Koll said. “He was typical of a lot of freshmen who think they know everything.  But he has made an incredible transformation.  Everyone loves him.  He went through ups and downs and came out on top.  I can’t say enough about him.  You wouldn’t believe how hard he works. He wasn’t only rewarded with a trip to St. Louis but also with the respect and friendship of his teammates.  He has turned into one of my favorites.”

Jochym’s journey as a grappler will come to an end this weekend, where he’s always wanted to be – the NCAA tournament.

“I came close to nationals as a freshman,” he said.  “To get this NCAA berth means so much to me.  It means I have a chance to help the team by scratching and clawing for any points I can get. It’s also a second chance to achieve my goal of being an All-American.”

For Maciej Jochym, the wait has been worth it.

By Betsy Veysman

During his internships with the campus and state police, future law enforcement agent Justin Lister has learned quite a bit about protecting and serving the public.

For the next week, however, he is far more interested in putting people in danger.

“To me, Justin Lister is one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the country because he can pin you from any position,” Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio said. “You make a mistake with him and he will capitalize.”

“It’s the name of the game in this sport,” Lister, who has 38 career pins, added. “I have a great time thinking of ways to put people on their backs and once they’re there, I keep them there.  I think I have a natural killer instinct.  Once I smell blood, I get after it.”

Fittingly, it was a pair of falls at the 2010 NCAA tournament that helped introduce wrestling fans around the country to Lister.

He entered nationals with a solid 28-8 record and a CAA title, but was unseeded and a relative unknown.  His first round opponent, Oklahoma State’s Neil Erisman, had beaten Lister in their only two meetings.

The Rodman, NY native came out determined to get revenge and he did, earning a 3-0 decision.  In his second match, he avenged another earlier setback against Thomas Scotton of North Carolina.

“I couldn’t accept losing to the same guys again,” he said. “I controlled those matches from the beginning and won handily.”

That set up a quarterfinal meeting with the number three seed, Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech.

“Going into the match, I thought to myself that Jesse Dong and I were the two youngest people in the weight class,” Lister said.  “There was no way he did more work than me and I didn’t care where he was ranked.  I felt like I deserved it every bit as much as he did.”

With that attitude, Lister made quick work of the Hokie, getting the fall in just over a minute.

“That win was a great relief,” he said. “Going into college, my main goal was to be an All-American.  That sealed the deal.  I was ecstatic.  But then, I came back to wrestle the semis and got my doors blown in by [Cal Poly’s] Chase Pami.”

After the semifinal loss by major decision to Pami, Lister felt once again that he had something to prove when he faced Penn State’s Cyler Sanderson.

“I wanted to show that it wasn’t a fluke.  I wanted to show that I deserved to be an All-American,” he said.  “There was no one better to prove that against than the brother of a legend.  I tore him up, slapped the cradle on him and pinned him.  That was the most memorable match for me because I felt like I did it with authority.  I truly believed that I belonged.”

After a loss in his final match of the tournament, Lister took fourth place, an outcome that shocked many around the country.  But Popolizio wasn’t one of them.

“Justin caught a lot of people off guard,” the coach said. “I knew he had it in him.  He had the ability and the work ethic, but it takes a special person to make a run at NCAAs.  He’s a gamer who rose to the occasion.”

After his postseason run, Lister came into the 2010-11 season near the top of the rankings at 157 pounds.  But some changes were on the way.

“Justin struggled a little bit mentally and physically early on,” he said.  “Going to 165 pounds recharged his battery.”

“It wasn’t easy making 157 so when my coach told me I could eat more, I was happy to make the change,” Lister added. “I wrestled halfway decent throughout the year.”

He did better than “halfway decent” in the second part of the season, when he seemed to find his rhythm at his new weight.  He registered quality victories over wrestlers such as Iowa State’s Andrew Sorenson and despite entering the CAA tournament as the fourth seed, captured his second consecutive conference title, including a triumph over future All-American PJ Gillespie of Hofstra.

It appeared he was ready for another magical postseason.  Again unseeded, Lister began with a 2-1 win over Appalachian State’s Kyle Blevins in round one.  But he then ran into Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs.  The future World Champion had his way with Lister early and, to add injury to insult, Lister severely hurt his ankle and had to default.

“I was just outmanned by Burroughs,” he said. “He grabbed me and threw me wherever he wanted.”  During the match, Lister suffered what was later diagnosed as a high ankle sprain with a crack above the joint.

He said walking was a challenge, but he was determined to compete in his consolation match anyway.  Iowa’s Aaron Janssen eliminated Lister from nationals by technical fall.

“Taking an injury default would have been the easy way out,” he said. “There were lots of eyes on me, people expecting me to do great things.  I gave it my all.  I think I gained respect from my coach and my teammates. I proved my mental toughness to myself even though it didn’t go the way I wanted.”

It took several months for Lister to recover.  He said he finally was back to about 90% by mid-summer.  As soon as he was ready, he got back to working in the room with some of the partners who have contributed to his success, Donnie Vinson (the fourth seed at 149 pounds) and former NCAA qualifier Matt Kaylor.

“The three of us get after it so hard, we wind up hurting each other,” he said.  “We have to work earlier in the week so we’re ok by the time the competition comes.   Let’s just say, it gets pretty heated quickly.”

Lister, Kaylor and the coaches determined that the team was best served with Lister back at 157 and Kaylor at 165 for the 2011-12 campaign.

“157 is where Justin has his best shot at a national title,” Popolizio said. “His style of wrestling fits best with guys that are a little smaller, where he can use his height for leverage.”

The senior captain compiled a 26-5 record during the season while working through some injuries.  After a tight win over returning All-American Walter Peppelman of Harvard at the Binghamton Open in November, Lister sustained his first loss against Cornell’s Kyle Dake, 6-2.  He then went on a winning streak before dropping 3 of 4 in late January/early February.   Afterwards, he recovered to win the remainder of his matches, including his third CAA crown.

“I think he’s had a very successful season,” Popolizio said.  “He’s had a few letdowns and a couple of losses that could have gone his way.  Actually, every match he’s lost except one, he was leading into the third and had a mental lapse and was taken down at the end to lose. Sometimes the best way to learn is to be defeated and readjust.  The good thing is, he understands the mistakes he made and those losses motivated him.”

Another big motivator for Lister is contributing to the rise of the Bearcat program.  When he arrived on campus, things were very different than they are today.

“There wasn’t much respect for wrestlers when I first got here,” he said. “Now, the professors work with us and our schedule.  Now, we go into a local Subway or Walmart, and people know us.  Binghamton is becoming a wrestling community. It’s only been a few years and so much has changed.  We used to have 20 or 30 people at duals and now we get around 1000.”

The crowd was that large when a pair of top notch teams, Oklahoma and Cornell, came to town for dual meets in January.  Both meets came down to the wire, and although the Bearcats came out on the short end, they demonstrated that they have entered the upper echelon of college wrestling.  Binghamton sported an impressive 15-4 dual record overall.

“It is such a joy to see our season come together the way it did,” Lister said.  “We proved our worth as a Division I program.  I feel more pride about being the captain of this team for the past three years than about my individual success.”

According to Popolizio, Lister has been an integral part of Binghamton’s emergence.

“Justin has elevated this program with his attitude, work ethic and confidence,” Popolizio said. “He didn’t have guys before him to show the way.  We’re not the same program without him, no question about it. Others can follow his footsteps.”

This week, he will try to follow the footsteps he made back in Omaha in the 2010 NCAAs.

“Hopefully, there will be another Cinderella story this year,” he said.  “I definitely want to pin some more people.  I’m not looking past anyone, but I would really like a rematch with Kyle Dake.  I’d like to take his #1 seed and run it to the finals.  I’ve been dreaming of running out for the finals in the green corner for months now.  I want it for myself, everyone in the program, the community and my family.  There would be nothing sweeter than ending on such a high note.”

By Betsy Veysman

Very few people were surprised to see top seeds Kyle Dake of Cornell and Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh stand on top of the podium at 157 and 165 pounds at the 2012 EIWA Championships on Sunday afternoon.

The same could not be said in the 174-pound class.  Brown’s Dave Foxen, who came into the weekend with a 13-12 record, earned the championship by a 3-2 margin with a takedown late in the third period against Navy’s Oscar Huntley.  The senior, one of three native New Yorkers to capture titles, along with Dake and American’s Matt Mariacher, became the first unseeded grappler to take the conference crown since 1963.

“It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” Foxen said.  “It‘s hard to describe. I guess sometimes I still can’t believe it happened.  It’s really cool.  Winning EIWAs was a huge goal of mine since I got to college and there were many points during this year and my career I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

The Long Island product compiled a 138-21 record at Garden City High with a school record 90 pins, but never qualified for the New York State tournament after taking fourth, second and third at the Sectionals.   In his final season, he finished on a heartbreaking note when he gave up a takedown with three seconds to go in the Section 8 semifinals to lose a match he had been winning.

“I had a very good high school career,” he said. “But in the end, it was unfulfilled.  I wanted to win the Section and get to states.  I think those shortcomings motivated me to work harder to have success at the next level.”

Foxen found out soon, as most freshmen do, that collegiate success is a completely different animal.  He spent much of the campaign as a backup at 141 pounds.

“I was pretty much a boy wrestling a bunch of men at that time,” he said.  “There’s definitely a steep learning curve to say the least.  I took my share of beatings.  The transition wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.”

He broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore and compiled a 10-17 record at 149 pounds for the Bears, including an 0-2 EIWA appearance.

“I spent a lot of time in the weight room and spent the whole summer at Brown, training as much as I could before my second year,” he said. “I definitely made overall improvements, but I wasn’t happy with my results at Easterns.”

To get to the next level, he felt that he needed time to focus on improving all aspects of his wrestling.  Since Ivy League athletes cannot take official redshirt years, Foxen decided to withdraw from school and move to a place he could eat, drink and sleep the sport.  What better place than Iowa?

“I didn’t have any prior connections there,” he said. “But they were the defending NCAA champions and I was looking for the best training environment possible.  I was looking for the toughest guys who would push me everyday.  It was a shot in the dark, but I got in touch with Terry Brands and trained with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club for a year.”

Foxen felt that the time spent in the Midwest was extremely worthwhile.

“It’s just a different type of place,” he said. “The intensity of that room was so high.  There were so many high caliber wrestlers who were so accomplished.  I had to change what I did just to survive.  I got beat on day after day but I became much better on my feet and became much more physical. I got a lot of personal help from Terry Brands, Randy Lewis and other club members and coaches.  It was a great experience.”

When he returned to Providence, he felt that he was a new and improved wrestler. He came into the campaign looking to win EIWAs and earn All-American honors at nationals in Philadelphia. However, he had trouble with weight, competing at 157 pounds, where the cut was too much.  He felt he gained momentum when he bumped up to 165, but then sustained a severe ankle injury, which sidelined him for an extended time.  When he returned toward the end of the season, he won just a single bout at EIWAs.

“After Iowa, I felt my level of wrestling had gone up substantially,” he said.  “My goals were very high and I fell very short of those goals.  It was disappointing that I didn’t accomplish anything I set out to do.  I knew I had to make the most of my last year.”

As a senior, Foxen moved up to 174 pounds and got off to a slow start, beginning 3-7.  However, things began to turn around after the Christmas break.

“One of my biggest problems has always been getting out on bottom,” he said. “In the first part of the year, I couldn’t get out to save my life.  But the coaches worked with me every single day to tweak little things here and there.  Some technical changes helped me turn things around.  I also got more confident in my shots.”

Foxen pointed to a victory over Cornell’s Billy George in Ithaca as a big confidence builder going into the stretch run of the season.   Still, he suffered a pair of tight conference losses just a few weeks prior to the EIWAs.  On February 11, he lost to Lehigh’s Nathaniel Brown 3-1 in sudden victory and a week later, he dropped a 4-0 decision to Columbia’s Stephen West.

Fast forward to March 3 inside Jadwin Gym in Princeton.  After defeating Stephen McPeek of Bucknell in the first round of EIWAs, Foxen faced third-seeded West for the second time in a month.  This time, he came out on top, 5-2.

“When the brackets came out, Coach [John] Clark said that for an unseeded wrestler, I got the best draw I possibly could have,” Foxen said. “I relished the opportunity to avenge those losses [to West and Brown].”

In their previous meeting, Foxen recalled giving up an early takedown to West and being ridden out for the rest of the first period.  He knew in the rematch, being effective off bottom was key.

“This time, at the beginning of the second period I got out in less than 10 seconds,” he said.  “I also was able to get to my underhook much better.  He won the handfighting the first time but I was able to get to much better positions this time around.”

Foxen next met another familiar challenge in number two seed Brown of the Mountain Hawks.  Once again, he got revenge for an earlier setback, winning on a takedown in sudden victory to earn a spot in the finals.

“Against Brown, I just executed much better this time,” he said.  “The match was almost the exact same match as the first time, but with a different outcome.  Both matches were basically seven minutes of handfighting on feet with a few shots but no one close to scoring in regulation.  The first time, he got me on the edge in overtime for a takedown.  This time in overtime, I got an ankle pick to win.”

Besides putting him in the title match, the victory ensured an NCAA slot for Foxen, a dream he had been chasing.

“That was a really big win for me,” he said. “Making NCAAs had been a goal of mine for so long.  When you’re in the semis, you don’t want to lose, especially when there are four qualifying spots.  Because if you lose, you’re stuck in an all-or-nothing match.  It was great to win that one and not have to worry about NCAAs. I just had to worry about getting ready for the finals.”

But the win meant more than a chance to participate in college wrestling’s biggest event in St. Louis next week.  It demonstrated that Brown wrestling is still alive and kicking.  After all, the Bears won four total matches as a team at last year’s EIWA tournament, finishing last.  This year, the squad boasted four placers and two NCAA bids. (184 pound freshman Ophir Bernstein will join Foxen in Missouri).

That didn’t seem possible not too long ago.  Foxen remembers being in line for weigh-ins at the University Nationals in Akron, Ohio with teammate Zach Kulczycki in April when they received a call that changed everything.  Clark revealed the news that the recommendation had been made to eliminate the Bears program.

“All of a sudden, we didn’t have a team anymore,” he said.  “Our hearts sunk. But Zach and I told each other to try to block it out and wrestle the tournament.  We would come back to Brown afterwards and reconvene with everyone to figure out what to do next.”

Foxen was part of a collaborative effort among wrestlers, coaches, alumni and others to save the program.  The group put on a pep rally on the main campus green along with the skiing and fencing teams.  They scheduled a number of meetings with University President Ruth Simmons to talk about what the sport meant to them, the school and their families.  They sat down with the Athletic Recommendation committee and were thrilled when Governor Lincoln Chafee appeared to support them.

“It was a team effort,” he said. “I was really proud that everyone came together and stepped up.  When we got the news that we could continue this year, it was a huge relief.  I was thrilled to get my senior year back, but at the same time, we’re not done, not by a longshot.  The main goal is to preserve the program for many years to come.  There’s still a big fight ahead but it was nice to win a small battle.  I think we’re in a good spot, though. We have an alumni base that loves our team and will do everything they can to make sure we keep moving forward.”

The events of the past year made the title especially significant.

“It really means a lot after all our program went through,” he said. “I hope it paves the way for a lot more EIWA champions and national qualifiers here because we have a lot of young talent on the team. I hope it pushes and motivates my teammates to pursue those kinds of goals.”

Foxen isn’t done pursuing his own objectives yet.

“My goals haven’t changed despite where I’ve come from and what I’ve been through,” he said.  “My goal has always been to make the podium.  I definitely think I have the ability and so do my coaches.  It’s about putting together enough matches in a row.”

For the second time this month, Dave Foxen will enter a tournament unseeded.  He looks to put his stamp on NCAAs the same way he did at Easterns.

By Betsy Veysman

According to Vougar Oroudjov, Jules Doliscar was just too nice.

The Holy Trinity High School graduate went 0-2 in his only New York State tournament appearance as a senior and came to Nassau Community College to continue his wrestling career.  Before suiting up for the Lions, Doliscar took a redshirt year during which he spent time training with Oroudjov, the two-time freestyle World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist, at his club in Syosset.

“Jules had some skills but truthfully wasn’t that good at first,” Oroudjov said. “In high school he didn’t see that many tough kids and he wasn’t mean on the mat.  He didn’t want to hurt anyone; he didn’t want to do things like crossface. I had to make him more aggressive with his technique. I told him ‘pretend they’re hurting your family.’ But he’s such a nice kid, always smiling, always laughing. It was hard for him.”

What Doliscar did already have, according to Orodujov, was a commitment to hard work and a desire to succeed in the sport.

“He told me he wanted to win and he showed it,” Orodujov said. “We held practices at 6 a.m. and only one kid showed up. It was Jules. He never missed any practice at any time.”

“Out of high school, I really wasn’t what you would call a great wrestler,” Doliscar added. “But Coach [Paul] Schmidt believed in me at Nassau. Vougar believed in me. Working out with him sharpened my technique, gave me great competition and most important, taught me to really believe in myself.”

The efforts Doliscar put in over that first year out of high school were apparent on the mat.  He stepped into the lineup for the 2009-10 campaign for Nassau and proved that he could compete at the next level, placing fifth in the NJCAA championships while hampered by a hamstring injury.

The Dix Hills native came into his second season at Nassau as the top ranked 174-pounder in the country, expecting to take home a national title.

“I wound up putting way too much pressure on myself,” he said.  “At the [NJCAAs], I lost in the semis to the eventual champ and gave up on myself.”  He placed sixth in what he called a “debacle” and took some time to reevaluate his future.

“I was so crushed at the results,” he said. “I considered not wrestling anymore. But I realized that I could feel sorry for myself or I could do something about it.  I remembered how badly I wanted to wrestle after high school and I didn’t have a shot at it then.  How could I give up when I was so close and had so many opportunities?”

One of those opportunities was with Division III power Ithaca College.

“Jules had all the things that we look for in a recruit,” said Bomber head coach Marty Nichols. “His coaches talked about his commitment, his coachability, his hard work. Everyone said what a great person he was to be around. It didn’t matter to us whether he won [at NJCAAs] or didn’t place, things happen.  We knew who he was and how good he could be as a wrestler and we knew he was still hungry.”

In addition to the wrestling program in upstate New York, Doliscar was attracted to the academic program in occupational therapy.

“I came to Ithaca College to get my college degree and win two national titles,” Doliscar said. “I think I’m on track to do those things.”

Doliscar, who his current coach calls both “entertaining” and “a born leader” proved that he was a Division III title threat at the National Duals in January.  He went undefeated during Ithaca’s run to fourth place, beating former national champion Mike Schmitz of UW-La Crosse to take over the #1 ranking in the country at 174, which he has kept ever since.

For the season, he has compiled a 33-2 record, with his only losses to Division I wrestlers. He has recorded 19 falls, tied for the most in a season in the Bomber record books.

“He’s really good at taking guys from feet to back,” Nichols said of Doliscar’s prolific pinning this season. “He’s been getting guys out of position and capitalizing.”

Doliscar picked up two falls during the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference championships on February 25 on his way to the title and an automatic bid to NCAAs beginning March 9.  He is the top seed at his weight.

“I know I should have won titles at Nassau, but I didn’t,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of and I’m going to take what I deserve this year.”

Part of that confidence comes from the smooth transition he has made to Division III.

“Vougar taught me so much about the mental part of wrestling and believing in myself and it has continued here,” Doliscar said. “I’ve learned to stay calm and relax and just be who I am on the mat. Being on campus makes things so much easier.  I’m on the meal plan so eating right isn’t a problem.  Getting my workouts is easy since everything is so close. I have my weight under control.  I feel ready. I feel like seven minutes is a long time to be wrestling me.”

Nichols agrees.

“We’re expecting him to win this weekend,” the coach said. “He needs to go out and earn it and the intensity level is up at the national tournament.  But we know what he’s capable of and he is very tuned in to what he needs to do.”

Oroudjov is eagerly awaiting Doliscar’s results in La Crosse, Wisconsin on March 10th as well.  He said he may have felt worse than Doliscar after last year’s postseason ending.

“I was really upset because I thought he was the best wrestler,” he said. “Some kids party and get distracted with things but Jules lived wrestling, kept his mind on wrestling and came up short.”

Back in 2008, Oroudjov may not have believed Doliscar would make it at the college level, but he’s a believer now.

“You don’t have to be the greatest in high school to have success in college,” Doliscar said. “So much of wrestling is mental and so much is about sacrifice.  You can be hanging out with your friends or you could be working towards your goals. You have decide if you want to be great.”

Oroudjov couldn’t agree more, and he sees a great future ahead.

“Wrestling is a few years, then there’s the rest of your life,” he said. “I consider Jules a part of my family. My wife likes him, my kids like him.  He’s an honest kid with a great personality.  He gives back. I consider him a winner and in my years of coaching, I can say that about only a few guys. He will be successful in whatever he does, I am 100% sure of that.”