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Discussion Topic: Campbell University. early signings
Joe Boardwine added to this discussion on December 14, 2010
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http://www.intermatwrestle.com/articles/7671
D 1 Campbell University announces early signings
Campbell University Sports Information
BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- First-year head coach Joe Boardwine, an Ohio native, has announced that Josh Fisher, Ryan Krecker, Scotty Hardiman, and Joey Rizzolino have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Campbell University in the fall of 2010 and join the Campbell wrestling program.
The quartet is the first group of wrestlers to sign NLIs during the early signing period for Boardwine at Campbell. Josh Esparza and John Weakley have also joined Campbell's program as transfers from UC-Davis and Oklahoma, respectively.
Fisher and Krecker will join Campbell after being named to InterMat's prestigious list of the nation's top 100 recruits in all weight classes for the class of 2011.
Fisher is the three-time defending West Virginia state champion who is looking for his fourth state title this season at Roane County High School. He has compiled a high school career record of 125-1 through three years of high school wrestling.
Fisher pinned his way through the state tournament in West Virginia last year and has had considerable success nationally. He was the 2009 National Champion at 112 pounds at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia and the National Runner-Up at 119 pounds at the 2010 FloNationals in Akron, Ohio.
Boardwine projects Fisher as a 125 or 133 pound wrestler for the Camels.
"Josh Fisher is possibly the most accomplished recruit, on paper, that Campbell has ever had in the early signing period – in terms of high school state titles," said Boardwine. "He has proven himself on the national level and we think he has huge upside that will be realized once he gets into a college wrestling room and starts on our strength-training program. We expect him to make an immediate impact in the lower weights for us."
Krecker has placed twice in the AAA division at the Pennsylvania State Championships while representing Nazareth High School. He is currently ranked #1 in the state at 160 lbs. by PA PowerRankings.com.
He finished third at the Beast of the East national tournament in 2009 and Boardwine projects him as a 149 or 157-pounder for the Fighting Camels.
"Ryan comes from one of the top high school programs in the nation, and is very explosive and athletic," said Boardwine. "Once we can get him on campus here at Campbell and start working on some specific areas of his training and wrestling he may develop quite quickly and become very tough to beat in the East Regional early in his career."
Hardiman is a defending state champion and three-time state placer for Hibriten H.S. in North Carolina. Hardiman has posted a 100-3 record following his freshman year in high school. Hardiman also won the Freestyle State Championship twice before representing the North Carolina National Team in Fargo.
Boardwine projects Hardiman as a 141 or 149-pounder at CU.
"Scotty is sort of flying under the radar right now, but we think he is very good," said Boardwine. "He trains year-round to take on the best nationally. A lot of his losses to the very top guys nationally are close, where some fine-tuning could make the difference. He has the athleticism and commitment to the sport to become a very good NCAA D1 wrestler.""
Rizzolino placed at in the AAA division at the Pennsylvania State Championships when he made it to the finals two years ago. He is currently ranked #1 in the state at 140 lbs. by PAPowerRankings.com. He has also finished as high as second at the national level, in the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Boardwine projects Rizzolino as a 133 or 141-pounder for Campbell.
"Joey also comes from one of the nation's very best high school programs over the past 10-20 years," said Boardwine. "We like the fact that he understands how important it is to work hard in the room, wrestle a tough schedule and set high expectations for yourself. Joey did not have his best performance at the state tournament last year but he was very close to being in the AAA State Finals in Pennsylvania as a sophomore. We look for him to be a hard-nosed, lower middleweight that will scrap with anybody and can compete for a starting role early in his career."
Esparza transfers to Campbell after the wrestling program at UC-Davis was discontinued. Esparza saw time at 174 pounds for the Aggies and should see mat time there for the Camels.
Esparza placed fourth in the state as a high school senior at the California State High School Championships. Esparza also competed at the NHSCA High School Senior Nationals, compiling a 2-2 record. He wrestled for the storied Clovis High program, where his team won the California State Championships.
"Josh is very passionate about working to become an NCAA All-American," said Boardwine. "He has been a great addition to our program in terms of attitude and work ethic and has started taking a leadership role."
Weakley spent two years at Ohio State wrestling for the Buckeyes before transferring to Oklahoma where he was a member of the wrestling and football teams.
Weakley placed top eight at Big 10 Championships as a true-freshman while starting for the Buckeyes the entire season at 197 pounds. He also was Champion of the Ashland Open and placed third at the Michigan State Open.
Weakley attended Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy where he compiled a 189-8 record in high school. He was a two-time Ohio state champion and a four-time state qualifier. Weakley was named outstanding wrestler at the state tournament his junior and senior year. John was a three-time national finalist for Greco and Freestyle at the USA Wrestling Fargo Nationals - where he was a three-time Fargo All-American.
Weakley also captured the championship at the prestigious Iron Man Tournament at Walsh Jesuit H.S. in Ohio - the nation's toughest high school tournament - as a junior.
"John has been away from the sport for a bit, so there will be a period of readjusting to training and competition," said Boardwine. "But he is still in very good shape and is brutally strong. If he can get his timing back and get into the swing of making weight and competing again week-in and week-out, he could present a major problem for his competition in the East Regional and beyond."
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Discussion Topic: Campbell University. early signings
Patrick Campbell added to this discussion on December 14, 2010
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Keep up the good work Joe!
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Discussion Topic: Campbell University. early signings
Dan Cosimi added to this discussion on December 14, 2010
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Congrats, Joe! The Campbell University program is in good hands.
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Discussion Topic: Campbell University. early signings
Joe Boardwine added to this discussion on December 14, 2010
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Patrick and Dan - thanks for the encouragement!
If you see anyone in Ohio that you think I should be looking at and recruit... let me know at boardwinej@campbell.edu
This is a great site - I know I don't post a lot but I do read it quite a bit and really enjoy everyones perspective. There is a lot of wrestling wisdom and experience involved in this forum
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Discussion Topic: Campbell University. early signings
Mark Niemann added to this discussion on December 15, 2010
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How about that. John Weakley. Good luck to him.
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