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The Springfield College wrestling program has been very successful for a long period of time, especially so under current head coach Daryl Arroyo, who is entering his 19th season at Springfield in 2008-09.
In 2008, Springfield College became only the fourth program in the nation to win as many as 900 dual matches, joining Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State (all strong Division I programs) in this very exclusive club. The 900th victory came at the expense of Plymouth State in a quad-meet at Trinity. Springfield had won its 800th overall victory in the year 2000.
In the last 12 seasons, SC has won nine New England College Conference Wrestling Association (NECCWA) Championships, dominating the conference. That includes five of the past seven. SC has also produced 64 All-Americans, including Mike Gaeta '07 who became the school's second four-time All-American in March, 2007, and the first since Springfield went Division III in 1995-96. Mike was fifth in the 149-pound weight class in the 2007 NCAA Division III Nationals. Elliot Smith '08 finished seventh in the 2008 Nationals in his 184-pound weight class to become the latest All-American. The number of All-Americans also includes Jeff Blatnick ’79, who went on to capture the gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Blatnick is one of three SC wrestlers to have competed in the Olympic Games.
The SC wrestling program has finished in the top-10 at 10 NCAA Championships, including five straight from 1996 to 2000. The Pride has also produced over 200 New England or regional champions.
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