WREST: Four Wrestlers Ranked This Week

12/7/2012 3:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - Four Hofstra wrestlers are ranked in one or several national polls this week. Seniors Steve Bonanno and Paul Snyder, junior Luke Vaith and graduate student Justin Accordino are among the top 30 in the four national weekly rankings.

Senior All-American Steve Bonanno (Wantagh, NY) is ranked in the top 20 in all four polls, coming in at 17th in the Division I Wrestling Report, 18th in the Amateur Wrestling News, 19th in WIN Magazine and 20th by InterMat at 125 pounds. Bonanno, who placed eighth in the NCAA Championships last March, is 7-5 this season.

Junior Luke Vaith (Hastings, MN) is also ranked in all four polls at 141 pounds this week. He is ranked ninth by WIN, 13th by InterMat, 16th by Amateur Wrestling News and 17th by Division I Wrestling Report. Vaith is 9-5 on the season including 5-4 in dual matches.

Graduate-student All-American Justin Accordino (Wilkes-Barre, PA) is ranked in two polls at 149 pounds this week despite not wrestling in a match this season. He is ranked sixth by InterMat and eighth by WIN. Accordino, who placed sixth in the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, was expected to compete at the Northeast Duals on November 24 but tweaked his leg just days before the four-match event. The Pride staff is hoping he can make it back to health for the Grapple in the Garden against #5 Iowa and #4 Ohio State on December 16 at Madison Square Garden.

Senior Paul Snyder (Greensburg, PA), who is off to the best start of his career, is ranked 28th at 285 pounds by the Division I Wrestling Report this week. He leads the Pride starters with a 10-3 record including a 6-3 slate in dual contests.

The Colonial Athletic Association also released their first in-season poll this week and eight Hofstra grapplers are among their top four in their respective weight classes after the first month of the year. The Pride have two number one ranked wrestlers in Bonanno at 125 and Vaith at 141. Hofstra also has five number two competitors in junior Jamie Franco (Monroe, NY), who is 7-7 at 133 pounds; Accordino at 149; senior Tyler Banks (Griswold, CT), who is 1-1 at 157; senior Taras Luzhnyy (Kiev, Ukraine), who is 1-11 at 184 pounds and Snyder, who is 10-3 at 285 pounds. Sophomore Jermaine John (Brooklyn, NY) is ranked fourth at 165 pounds although he is 8-6 at 174 pounds this season.

Hofstra is on top of the CAA team poll this week with 24 points. The Monarchs of Old Dominion are second with 21 points and seven wrestlers ranked. Boston University is third with 14 points and six ranked wrestlers. Rider and Binghamton are tied for fourth with 13 points each. Rider, which will face the Pride at the Mack Sports Center on January 16, has eight wrestlers ranked while Binghamton has four grapplers ranked. Drexel, which upset the Pride last Sunday for the first time since 1997, is sixth with 11 points and five ranked wrestlers while George Mason is seventh with four points and two ranked competitors. The Pride will face Boston U., Old Dominion and George Mason at the CAA Duals in Fairfax, Virginia on January 19 and will travel to Binghamton on February 10.

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