2008 Woodie Awards
Zarrinpour's pulse drives Heart
Dario Melendez
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Sports
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Cornell University's Body Bar Invitational hosted some of the top NCAA wrestling programs in the nation on Nov. 21, including Oregon State, Purdue, Pittsburg, and Maryland.
But it was Payam Zarrinpour, a junior heavyweight from Shiraz, Iran, who gave the Heart wrestling team a pulse.
Going into last week's tournament, Zarrinpour was nationally ranked, as high as seventh in some polls, and after his outstanding individual performance, he provided himself an opportunity to advance higher in the polls.
"I just want to bring a championship back to Sacred Heart," Zarrinpour said. "And the competition was extremely difficult, but I was able to pull through the matches and defeat all of my opponents."
Zarrinpour was able to pin the number two wrestler in the nation, Ty Watterson of Oregon State, in only 2:20. In total, he pinned two of his opponents and recorded a decision and a technical fall, finishing the tournament 4-0 to become the heavyweight champion of the Cornell Body Bar Invitational.
But even though Zarrinpour was able to sweep his weigh class, fourth year head coach Andy Seras was not pleased with his team's overall performance.
"At first, I was a little disappointed with the results of some of the matches and performances," Seras said. "But after looking back, we were able to crown our first champion in only our fifth appearance in the tournament, and the team was able to move from ninth to eighth place in the team standings."
Even though Zarrinpour was the only Sacred Heart wrestler to be crowned champion, the effort displayed by his teammates was enough to advance the team in the tournament rankings.
Chris Davis, a 141-pound sophomore from Mohawk, N.Y., was able to record four wins and two losses in his tournament matches, giving Davis his highest collegiate placing yet.
"Chris will be one of the keys to our success this year," Seras said. "His gradual improvement and dynamic abilities will be things to look out for this year and in the future."
But it was Payam Zarrinpour, a junior heavyweight from Shiraz, Iran, who gave the Heart wrestling team a pulse.
Going into last week's tournament, Zarrinpour was nationally ranked, as high as seventh in some polls, and after his outstanding individual performance, he provided himself an opportunity to advance higher in the polls.
"I just want to bring a championship back to Sacred Heart," Zarrinpour said. "And the competition was extremely difficult, but I was able to pull through the matches and defeat all of my opponents."
Zarrinpour was able to pin the number two wrestler in the nation, Ty Watterson of Oregon State, in only 2:20. In total, he pinned two of his opponents and recorded a decision and a technical fall, finishing the tournament 4-0 to become the heavyweight champion of the Cornell Body Bar Invitational.
But even though Zarrinpour was able to sweep his weigh class, fourth year head coach Andy Seras was not pleased with his team's overall performance.
"At first, I was a little disappointed with the results of some of the matches and performances," Seras said. "But after looking back, we were able to crown our first champion in only our fifth appearance in the tournament, and the team was able to move from ninth to eighth place in the team standings."
Even though Zarrinpour was the only Sacred Heart wrestler to be crowned champion, the effort displayed by his teammates was enough to advance the team in the tournament rankings.
Chris Davis, a 141-pound sophomore from Mohawk, N.Y., was able to record four wins and two losses in his tournament matches, giving Davis his highest collegiate placing yet.
"Chris will be one of the keys to our success this year," Seras said. "His gradual improvement and dynamic abilities will be things to look out for this year and in the future."