A crowd of over 4,200 came out to Newman Arena this past Sunday to wave their foam bear claws in support of the Cornell wrestling team. The Red and its fans were also given a chance to remember former teammate Adam Frey, who died of cancer on Dec. 26. A halftime presentation was given in his honor, and fundraising for the match amounted to $8,000 for the Adam Frey Fund.

Senior captain Jordan Leen is confident about tonight’s season opener match against Penn St. Head coach Rob Koll said he feels confident, too. No. 4 Cornell (0-0) hasn’t beaten No. 8 Penn St. (0-1) in its last five tries in dual-meet play and the Nittany Lions lead the two clubs’ 97-year rivalry 56-10-2.

The Red, however, have good reason to feel like this year is finally the year.

“This year we probably have one of our best teams ever,” said assistant coach Damion Hahn. “We’re really looking forward to [the match].”

Leen, one of the team’s six returning All-Americans and the current National champion at 157 pounds, understands the history between the two teams, but thinks the Nittany Lions’ streak is ready to be broken.

I started to cry. I haven’t cried in a long time.

I don’t know why it happened, but something about his story leveled me. It made me horrified, saddened, inspired and reflective, all at the same time. Maybe you’ll feel the same way.

Adam Frey, a junior and Cornell wrestler, has always been a man of incredible physical and mental strength. On March 25, only a few days after competing in the NCAA championships, Adam was in a car crash. A car came at him in the wrong lane, and going 55 mph his car fishtailed, rolled, hit a tree and sent him flying to the back of the vehicle.

The first time I read the words describing this, I was sitting in my chair at my desk, unaware of what I would learn next. It was Thursday, two days after the accident.