Steven Graziano named EIWA Wrestler of the Week

Sophomore Steven Graziano had a shaky start to the season, going 8-6 in his first 14 matches. It’s not difficult to guess why — he missed a month of mat time from November to December, a period he could have used to get in top shape for the first tournament.

But now, apparently, he’s back at full strength. The heavyweigh grappler is having one mammoth second half of a season and was awarded with a much-deserved EIWA Wrestler of the Week. He’s 11-1 in the EIWA conference and has won each of his last seven matches, including two victories over the weekend against Columbia and Bucknell.

In the Columbia match, Graziano demonstrated his increased prowess at a crucial moment. Penn was down, 18-16, and Graziano had to match up against heavily favored Kevin Lester. Throughout the first two periods, neither scored. Then, Graziano dug deep, taking down Lester with 48 seconds to go. With 5 seconds left, he clinched a 5-2 victory, securing a 19-18 win for the Quakers.

But his wins have been no fluke. Graziano has recently avenged his losses against past rivals: Harvard’s David Ng, Hofstra’s Paul Snyder and Rider’s Evan Craig.