The event featured six matches and was the first time the wrestlers were able to compete with a referee and in front of a crowd.
"The coaching staff was very impressed with the quality of wrestling we saw tonight," noted Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "Wrestle-offs tend to be very conservative with little action, but that's not what we saw tonight."
The second match of the evening featured an exciting battle between first-years Kyle Gilchrist and Kevin Tao. Gilchrist held a narrow 2-0 lead after the first period. The only point awarded in the second period came off an escape, extending Gilchrist's lead to three. Tao started down in the final period but was unable to escape, while Gilchrist accumulated 1:36 of riding time.
Perhaps the most exciting bout of the evening featured two more first-years, Andrew Grabfelder and Shane Strumwasser. Grabfelder will wrestle at 133 this season while Strumwasser will compete at 141.
Strumwasser took an early 2-0 lead on a takedown, but Grabfelder was able to knot the score at 2-2 with a reversal in the first period. After a scoreless second, Grabfelder took a 3-2 lead on an escape to begin the third period. With just seconds remaining in the match, Strumwasser went ahead 4-3 on a takedown, but the match was forced into overtime as Grabfelder was awarded a point for 2:13 of riding time. In the sudden death overtime, Strumwasser managed a takedown, defeating Grabfelder, 6-4.
Senior Derek Sickles (157) defeated first-year Jonathan Weibel (165), 15-8. The two fought hard back and forth, and found themselves tied at 4-4 after the first period. Sickles scored the next three points on an escape and takedown, but Weibel pulled within two on an escape of his own. Sickles would go on to outscore Weibel 7-3 in the final period for the victory.
Co-captains Kenji Porter and Cary Aldrich battled each other at 184. Porter, a senior, held a slim 2-1 advantage after the first period, but Aldrich was able to tie the match at 2-2 with an escape in the second. Porter started down to begin the final period and scored a reversal, defeating Aldrich, 4-2.
The final match of the evening featured 149 pounders Matt Dunn and Nick Standish. The match was the second of the night for Standish, who defeated Spencer Almen 10-2 earlier in the evening. Dunn held a 2-1 lead through the first two periods. The junior picked up two additional points for an escape and 1:46 of riding time to defeat Standish, 4-1.
Overall, Coach Buckley was very pleased with what he saw. "I thought our conditioning looked really good, and we saw the guys trying new things and incorporating a lot of the techniques that we've been working on in practice."
The Lions travel to Binghamton, N.Y. on Saturday, November 15 for the Bearcat Open.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now