With the 23-point rout, Navy improves its stronghold over Army on the mat to 41-5-5, including an 18-4-2 advantage in matches held at West Point. Meanwhile, for the second-straight year, the win by Navy's wrestling team clinches the annual Star Series for the Midshipmen, as Navy claims bragging rights for the 11th-consecutive year. The Midshipmen own a 14-7 record against the Black Knights this season, including a 12-5 advantage in Star Games with five remaining contests (men's lacrosse, men's and women's outdoor track, tennis and baseball).
"Our guys really did a good job of picking up the pace and wrestling the Navy way," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett, who owns a 7-0 record against Army. "We had several strong performances today including a huge win by Brad Canterbury. I thought Ed Prendergast really stepped up and it was good to see Joe Baker back in the form that he should be in.
"I'm really pleased with how our guys competed and the preparation that was put forth. I also want to publicly thank Scott Owen and Brian Antonelli for the job that they did while I was taking care of some family issues. They did a great job and the guys were ready to wrestle. I feel really good about Scott and Brian and the effort they put in to make sure we were ready to go. I'm just so proud of our performance today."
With half the Navy line-up made up of seniors, team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) gave the Midshipmen an early 3-0 with a thrilling 6-4 win over 157-pound Army junior Christian Snook. Jarred scored the early takedown in the opening period, but Snook was able to escape just seconds later. Jarred chose the down position to start the second period only to have Snook take him to his back and take a 3-2 lead. With just 35 seconds remaining in the match, Jarred was awarded a stalling point to knot the match. Jarred scored the win by earning a takedown with just five seconds remaining in the match.
Down, but certainly not out, yet, Army battled back in the following match. In a rematch of the championship bout of the All-Academy Championship two weeks ago, tournament winner Brian Rowan faced Navy junior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.). After a scoreless first period, Rowan rode Jacobs for 1:15 before Jacobs scored a reversal. Rowan, however, battled his way back with an escape with just eight seconds left to make it 2-1. Starting the final period down, Rowan let just eight seconds expire before scoring the escape to tie the score and eventually win the match, 3-2, with his 1:07 advantage in riding time.
Navy went on to win four-straight matches, including a pair of bonus-point wins to take the lead for good. Junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) had little trouble in winning his 10th-consecutive match, as he recorded an 11-3 major decision over Army senior Brent Smith. Ranked 12th in the country at 174 pounds, Stolpinski turned in four takedowns, a reversal and an escape in the match. Stolpinski, who is 2-1 against Army in the annual dual, moved into a tie with Mike Bigrigg (1998-02) for 15th on Navy's career wins list with 89 victories. Meanwhile, he is also ranked 15th on the Mids' single-season wins chart with 34 wins this year.
Senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) captured his first Army-Navy dual meet win by defeating Scott Ferguson, 4-3, at 184 pounds. The two wrestlers entered the second period deadlocked after each was awarded a point for stalling. Miranda took the lead with an escape, but Ferguson knotted the match as he was able to escape Miranda's hold to start the third. With just 30 seconds remaining in the match, Miranda scored a takedown to take the lead for good, despite Ferguson being able to break his hold in the final 10 seconds.
Two weeks ago Navy junior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) won his first individual title of his career after pinning Army senior Connor Sanders at the All-Academy Championship. The two wrestlers met again, and though the means to end was different, Parsons still remained the victor as he earned a 5-2 victory over Sanders at 197 pounds. Parsons scored first with a takedown in the opening period, followed by a Sanders escape. Parsons added to his lead in the second period with an escape, and owned a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period. Sanders escaped six seconds into the final period to get within one, but Parsons scored a takedown late in the period for the final margin.
Following a brief break in the action, eighth-ranked Navy heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up his 13th-straight win by pinning Nathan Thobaben at 6:38. Prendergast, who moves into a three-way tie for 21st on the Mids' single-season wins list with 32, has not lost a match since Dec. 30 at the Southern Scuffle where he lost in the third-place match to then eighth-ranked Andy Patrick of Boise State. Meanwhile, Prendergast's pin was his 16th of the season, the third most in program history and the most since John Reich turned in 24 pins during the 1982-83 season. He stands tied for 14th on the career falls list with 22.
Army briefly interrupted Navy's momentum with a win at 125 pounds. In another rematch of the championship bout at the All-Academy Championship, Army's Fernando Martinez got the best of Navy senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) for the second-straight time, today a 10-5 win. Though Martinez trailed early in the match, he used three takedowns, including one with just 12 seconds remaining, and riding time to claim the win and narrow, if you will, the gap to 19-6.
The Mids earned wins in the final three matches, including an 11-4 victory by 16th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) at 133 pounds. Baker, who missed the All-Academy Championship with an injury, squared off against second-year standout William Simpson. Baker entered the match with an undefeated streak on the line, winning all three matches a year ago against Army's Frankie Baughan. He kept his streak intact by beating down Simpson with four takedowns, a reversal and riding time, and just missed out on the bonus-point victory as Simpson was able to escape at the final buzzer.
Navy senior 141-pounder Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) avenged his loss to Matt Kyler in the championship match of the All-Academy Championship by defeating the Army rookie, 3-1. Canterbury started the second period with an escape to take the 1-0 lead. Kyler chose down to start the third period and needed just 10 seconds to tie the match. Canterbury, though, scored a takedown with 45 seconds remaining to earn the win and push Navy's lead to 25-6.
Senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.), who also missed the All-Academy Championship due to injury, scored a 15-3 major decision over Army senior Austin Milster to end his dual career against the Black Knights with a 2-1 record. Cox, who produced a pair of three-point near falls in the match, now owns a 107-career wins, just three shy of becoming only the seventh wrestler in Naval Academy history to reach 110 wins in their career.
The Midshipmen will use the next two weeks to prepare for the EIWA Championship held March 2-3 at East Stroudsburg University.
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