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Third State Champ Set to Join LU Next Year
May 5, 2008

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty University Head Wrestling Coach Jesse Castro has announced his third signee of the recent signing period, inking two-time Virginia state champion Joe Pantaleo to a national letter of intent for the 2008-09 academic year.

All three of Castro's signees this year have been state champions in their respective weight classes. Pantaleo is a two-time Virginia State AAA champion at 130 pounds, posting a combined 56-2 record as a junior and senior against in-state opponents.

Pantaleo will be joining Sam Rakes, a three-time Virginia state champion at 152 pounds, and Andrew Wilson, an AAAA Alaska state champion at 215 pounds as a senior, on the Flames roster next year.

"What a blessing to have Joe come and join us here at Liberty," remarked Castro about his newest signee. "We have been looking at him for a couple of years, hoping that he would be wrestling for us. The Pantaleo name is associated with a rich tradition in the world of wrestling. Joe's father and uncle are former All-American wrestlers. We look forward to having Joe be a part of the Liberty squad."

Pantaleo, who will be graduating in June from Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, Va., posted a 171-37 record during his time with the Eagles (82.2 winning percentage). The two-time team captain helped Colonial Forge garner a No. 11 national ranking this past season and its second-consecutive state team championship.

A three-time Virginia freestyle state champion, Pantaleo finished his senior year with the Eagles individually ranked No. 7 nationally by WUSA Magazine, No. 11 by WIN Magazine and No. 14 by Intermat.

This past year, Pantaleo, who is slated to wrestle at 125 or 133 pounds for Liberty, finished fourth at both the prestigious Beast of the East (Del.) and Powerade (Pa.) tournaments. As a senior, the grappler was undefeated against Virginia opponents and posted a 55-6 record overall.

Amateur Wrestling News Names Two Monarchs to All-Rookie Squad
James Nicholson is first ever ODU First Team All-Rookie
May 2, 2008

NORFOLK, Va. -- James Nicholson became the first Monarch in program history to be named to the Amateur Wrestling News (AWN) First Team All-Rookie squad as he was only one of five first year grapplers to place in the national tournament. He beat out two nationally ranked opponents at 125 pounds for the CAA Championship in his first year and became an All-American with an 8th place finish at the NCAA Tournament. Teammate Andy Totusek was also named to the AWN's Sixth Team All-Rookie squad.

Nicholson was one of only five Division I wrestlers to earn All-American status in 2008. He finished the season with a 35-10 record and was the 10 seed in St. Louis as a redshirt freshman from Des Moines, Iowa. He dropped nationally ranked conference rival Dave Tomasette (Hofstra) three times in the season and dropped No. 7 seed Mike Sees (Bloomsburg) in the second round of the national tournament. He also finished third at the Southern Scuffle, behind national runner-up Jayson Ness (Minnesota).

Totusek was named to the Sixth Team All-Rookie Team by AWN. He was one of the six NCAA Qualifiers for ODU with his true-second victory at the CAA's over George Mason's Harry Zander. He piled up 27 wins as a true freshman and won the heavyweight class at the Virginia Intercollegiate Tournament, as well as adding two more place-winning tournaments.

The pair of Monarchs will be two of the nine starters returning to the lineup for Coach Steve Martin in 2008-09. Old Dominion had a historic season in Martin's fourth year, going 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the CAA.

Two Wrestlers Earn All-America Honors at FILA Junior Nationals
May 2, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia's Chris Henrich (Fr., Lansdale, Pa.) and Shawn Harris (Fr., Cleveland, Ohio) each earned All-America honors at the FILA Junior National Championships, held last weekend in Las Vegas. Henrich placed third in the 79 KG/174-pound weight class, while Harris took fourth at 66 KG/145.5 pounds. Read More..

Old Dominion Takes 2nd Place at CAA Wrestling Championships
Junior Ryan Williams named Most Outstanding Wrestler
March 8, 2008

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - It's been a season of breaking historical marks for the Monarchs in 2007-08 and they aren't finished making history just yet. For the first time in ODU history, the team qualified six wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament with their third consecutive second place effort at the CAA Tournament. Read More..

Josh Wine Tabbed VMI Athlete of the Week
Freshman Wrestler Goes 2-0 on Week

LEXINGTON, Va.- Freshman wrestler Josh Wine posted a 2-0 record this past week, including wins over competitors from Delaware State and Appalachian State. For those efforts, Wine has been named the VMI Athlete of the Week, it was announced on Thursday. Read More..

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