"I thought we did a really good job of keeping the pressure up throughout the match tonight," said seventh-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We were doing all the little things that make a big difference.
"Miranda and Stolpinski keep paving the way for us, while Ed (Prendergast) stayed consistent. I thought Usztics looked solid tonight and Brad Canterbury got a good win. If you look, we won all the close matches with Joel (Ahern) and Justin (Jacobs) coming away with good wins for us. That's an important step for us."
Senior 141-pounder Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) was one of three Navy wrestlers to earn a win by way of major decision, as he held junior Sean Carr without a point in his 8-0 victory.
Sophomore Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) gave the Mids a 7-0 lead in the match, earning a 5-4 sudden victory over junior 149-pounder Scott Heckman. Ahern scored a takedown with 47 seconds remaining in the second period to take his first lead of the match at 4-2. Less than 10 seconds later, Heckman narrowed the lead to one as he escaped Ahern's hold. Heckman opened the third period by choosing the down position where he knotted the score at 4-4 on an escape with 1:01 left. With just 23 seconds remaining in overtime, Ahern received the match-winning point as the referee called Heckman for an illegal hold (figure four to the head).
Team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) earned a major decision over Ben Bishop at 157 pounds, while junior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) posted a win at 165 pounds by a 3-0 count against Leif Ruschmeyer. After a scoreless opening period, Jacobs put the first point on the board with 51 seconds left in the second period when he finally fought free of Ruschmeyer's grasp. Jacobs sealed the win with a takedown with 44 seconds to go in the match and gave Navy a 14-0 lead.
The next five matches were all bonus-point wins for the Midshipmen. Tenth-ranked Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) sparked the run with a 16-1 technical fall over redshirt freshman Shane Mallory at 174 pounds, while senior 184-pounder Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) produced his fourth-consecutive major decision with a 23-9 win against junior David Williams.
The Mids scored a combined 12 points in their next two matches as Navy's Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) won the 197-pound match by way of forfeit and eighth-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) pinned Charles Deightion with just five seconds remaining in the match. For Prendergast, it was his 12th pin of the season, which is tied as the seventh most in a season by a Navy wrestler. It's the most since Steve Kovach recorded 12 falls during the 2001-02 campaign.
Senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) recorded the Mids' second technical fall of the evening with a 17-2 decision at 5:45 against second-year standout Stephen Gambino.
The final match of the evening ended on a scary note for the Midshipmen, as 10th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) was knocked unconscious early in the match. East Stroudsburg's John Stout wasted little time in taking down Baker and followed up with a three-point near fall. In the process, Stout's knee made contact with Baker's head, knocking out Baker. The match was called and Stout won the match by medical forfeit.
Navy will have the next week to prepare for the All-Academy Championship held Saturday, Feb. 3 at Air Force. The Mids won last year's All-Academy Championship with Usztics, Baker and Stolpinski back to defend their individual titles.
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