Outside the hotbed of the Bloomsburg Fair it's rare that this Pa. town is ever a hotbed of anything.
But even though you couldn't pet a pig this weekend, Bloomsburg was once again a hotbed of activity-this time for college wrestling.
The Bloomsburg Invitational Wrestling Tournament kicked off the Blue Devils' season Saturday under the guidance of first-year coach Clar Anderson. Even though Duke finished a lackluster sixth in a seven-team field, Anderson sees a great deal of potential in this year's squad.
"This was our first tournament, and for a lot of the teams up there this was their third tournament of the season," Anderson said. "But I felt our guys, though we weren't quite ready, responded very well and came back and won matches."
Seniors Jon Seeber and Chris Heckel, wrestling in the 145- and 129-lb. classes, respectively,produced stellar results. After dropping his first match, Seeber rallied to take his next four matches and finish fifth. His run was highlighted by a pin at the five-minute mark against Willie Barquero and a 9-3 thumping of Stuart Patterson, the same competitor who dropped Seeber in the first round.
Heckel provided the bright spot of the tournament for the Blue Devils with his third-place finish. He slipped only once in the tournament, in the semifinals of the main draw to runner-up Chad Caros. Heckel then finished off the first tournament of his final season by ripping through VMI's Robbie Magruder and Boston's Gary Rute en route to the championship of the consolation bracket.
Duke amassed 51.5 points in the tournament, but Anderson feels that this mediocre finish is not truly reflective of the ability of his squad.
"This tournament was tougher this year than in years past," Anderson said. "Drexel and Bloomsburg were very strong teams. They placed very high in their conferences. Those teams had a lot of upperclassmen. I was impressed with the fact that our guys fought back. They made mistakes early, but they fought back, but as far as athletic skills, they're there."
Another addition to the Blue Devil wrestlers will be junior Matt Mapes. Mapes, a place kicker on the football team, missed this tournament for Saturday's football game, but he should return soon to help solidify Duke's lineup, wrestling in the 158-lb. class.
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