A CLOSER LOOK: Opposite paths for Nagle and 'Bear'

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Penn's Jason Nagle, owner of a 13-12 record this season, entered the EIWAs as the No. 7 seed at 133 lbs. Bandele Adeniyi-Bada, Penn's heavyweight, entered the EIWAs as the top seed with a 22-3 record. Nagle knocked off the top three seeds in his weight class to win the title. Adeniyi-Bada was ahead 11-3 in his semifinal match when he was pinned with 10 seconds to go. "It's a crazy sport," Penn coach Roger Reina said. Both Nagle and Adeniyi-Bada will be heading to Penn State this weekend but the pair took vastly different paths at the EIWAs to get there. Adeniyi-Bada, ranked No. 10 in the nation, was the clear favorite entering the tournament. He had not lost since December 30 and showed no signs of faltering after posting 13-3 and 7-3 victories in the first two rounds. "Bear," as Penn's heavyweight is known to teammates and fans, had dominated his semifinal opponent, Brown freshman Bronson Lingamfelter, in two previous matches this season. Adeniyi-Bada had posted 19-7 and 14-4 victories and appeared to be on the way to another major decision -- and a spot in the finals -- when disaster struck. Trailing 11-3, Lingamfelter took advantage of an aggressive move by Adeniyi-Bada to score a quick takedown and pin against the native of Kent, Ohio. "I made one mistake," Adeniyi-Bada said. "I was looking for a high-risk move on my part and I paid for my mistake." And in a span of five seconds, Adeniyi-Bada's championship hopes were vanquished. The Penn junior still had a chance to make it to Nationals as a wild card but he would need to take third and have luck on his side. "I've been down before," Adeniyi-Bada said. "I drew strength from my mother, said my prayers. As soon as I lost I thanked God. I knew that He had a plan for me." "Bear" defeated Syracuse's Graham Manley 7-3 in his first match in the consolation bracket but he did not look sharp. He returned to form against Rutgers' Tom Petko, though, winning 12-3 to earn third place. And Adeniyi-Bada impressed the coaches enough to grab one of the six wild card spots. Adeniyi-Bada refused to let the loss rattle his self-confidence. "I think I'm better than any heavyweight out there who's wrestling right now so I'm not watching the match," Adeniyi-Bada said as Lingamfelter and Cornell's Seth Charles wrestled for the heavyweight championship. Nagle, however, could not claim to be the best in his weight class. At least not before Easterns. In fact, Nagle had not even secured a starting spot for Penn until junior James Brennan was injured six weeks ago. Nagle transferred from Penn State, where he compiled a 3-20 record as a freshman two years ago. "I knew that it would take a peak performance to win this," Nagle said. Nagle peaked at the right time. After a first round pin of Lehigh freshman Anthony Shave, the 5'1'' junior defeated the top three seeds in succession to capture the title. First up was the No. 2 seed, Princeton's Juan Venturi, who had beaten Nagle twice this season. "Every match we've had has been a battle so I knew it would be a big one," Nagle said. Nagle disposed of Venturi 4-1 and knocked off Harvard's Matt Picarsic, the No. 3 seed, to reach the finals against Brown's Livio DiRubbo, the No. 1 seed. DiRubbo, one of the few wrestlers shorter than Nagle, took an early lead against the Penn junior, but two takedowns within 20 seconds in the second period gave Nagle a 7-5 lead. He held on for a 10-6 victory and the EIWA title. "I definitely had a gameplan coming into each of these last few matches," Nagle said. "There wasn't too much pressure to handle. I knew that I could wrestle with anybody in my [weight] class." But no one expected him to come out on top. The rags-to-riches story of Jason Nagle served as a rallying point for the Quakers. "It was very inspiring to the whole team to watch Jason battle through," said Reina. "I just think he did a great job and mentally he was very focused throughout the tournament." Now Nagle will try to continue his improbable run at Nationals. He will be joined this weekend by seven other Penn wrestlers, including Adeniyi-Bada. But for Nagle and Adeniyi-Bada, the road to Penn State could not have been more different.