No. 6 Cornell at Grapple at the Garden
NEW YORK -- Cornell went to Madison Square Garden and put on a show in winning both dual matches at the Grapple at the Garden on Sunday afternoon. The Big Red remained unbeaten with a 32-9 win against Maryland and a thrilling 18-15 triumph against No. 7 Illinois.
Three wrestlers, Mike Nevinger (141), Gabe Dean (184) and Stryker Lane (HWT), each bounced back from losses in the first dual to pull out important, clinching wins less than two hours later.
The win against Illinois came down to the final three matches, as the Illini led 12-9 going into the stretch run. Dean, ranked 12th nationally at 184 pounds, was looking to score bonus points against unranked Nikko Reyes. Instead, he found himself trailing 4-2 heading into the third. A late takedown tied the match and Dean was able to tilt his opponent, pinning him with only five seconds left in the match for six team points.
After Jace Bennett lost at 197 pounds by decision to seventh-ranked Mario Gonzalez, the heavyweight match would determine the dual-meet winner. With the score tied 15-15, Lane rode out Chris Lopez in the third to erase a riding-time advantage and to send the match into sudden victory, then overtime, then another sudden victory and a second overtime. In the second overtime, Lane earned an escape to make it 3-2 and earned the huge 4-3 triumph to give Cornell the dual meet win.
Nevinger, making his 2013-14 debut, picked up a 7-4 decision against Steven Rodrigues at 141 pounds to start a run of three consecutive Big Red victories. Chris Villalonga (149) and Brian Realbuto (157), the lone Cornell wrestlers to win both dual matches, earned back-to-back triumphs to take its first lead after Nahshon Garrett fell to top-ranked Jesse Delgado at 125 pounds and No. 11 Zane Richards topped Mark Grey at 133. Illinois won consecutive matches at 165 and 174 to set up Cornell's late heroics.
The Big Red dominated the earlier match, easily topping Maryland to take a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the teams. Garrett earned a second-period fall against Paul O'Neill and Grey dominated for his 5-1 decision against Tyler Goodwin. The Terps took wins at 141, 184 and heavyweight, but only after Garrett's pin, a major decision by Realbuto at 157, a medical forfeit victory for Dylan Palacio at 165 and a major decision triumph by Duke Pickett at 174. Jace Bennett earned a tech fall at 197 to round out the Big Red's scoring.
No. 4 Iowa 23, Iowa State 9
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa won seven of 10 bouts to top Iowa State (5-1) on Sunday inside Hilton Coliseum 23-9.
Tony Ramos and Mike Evans scored bonus points and No. 8 Nick Moore defeated No. 6 Mike Moreno to help Iowa (4-0) win its 11th in a row in the series and maintain possession of the Dan Gable Trophy.
Evans opened the dual with a major decision at 174. He scored three takedowns, two nearfall points and 2:19 of riding time to top Tanner Weatherspoon 10-1. Ethen Lofthouse extended Iowa's lead to 7-0 with a 4-0 win at 184. Lofthouse scored a takedown in the first, an escape in the second, and added 1:44 of riding time to defeat Leland Weatherspoon.
Cory Clark, Ramos, and Josh Dziewa strung together consecutive wins at 125, 133 and 141 to help Iowa extend its lead to 17-6 after Iowa State had pulled within a point.
Derek St. John earned a 5-1 win against John Nicholson at 157, which meant the team outcome was already decided when Moore met Moreno in the final match of the afternoon.
The Cyclones won at 197, 285 and 149. Kyven Gadson defeated Sammy Brooks 3-2 at 197 and Quean Smith scored a takedown in sudden victory to top Terrance Jean-Jacques 6-4 at 285.
Luke Goettl used a takedown with two seconds on the clock to defeat Michael Evans 4-2 at 149.
No. 5 Oklahoma 16, No. 3 Oklahoma State 15
NORMAN, Okla. -- After trailing 15-3 through six matches, fifth-ranked Oklahoma scored 13 unanswered dual points to take the Bedlam bout against No. 3 Oklahoma State by a score of 16-15 Sunday afternoon inside McCasland Field House.
The win, which occurred in front of a crowd of 3,355 people, marked OU’s first against its in-state rival since Dec. 7, 2008. OU is now 5-0 on the season.
The Sooners started the dual with a victory as No. 5 Jarrod Patterson took the 125-pound match by decision against No. 14 Eddie Kilmara 5-0. Patterson recorded a reversal and a takedown in the match and garnered the riding time point with 1:25. However, Oklahoma State then claimed five consecutive matches by decision. No. 4 Jon Morrison of OSU topped No. 5 Cody Brewer 4-2 at 133 pounds. In the next match, freshman Anthony Collica from OSU defeated No. 16 Nick Lester 5-4.
At 149 pounds, OSU’s Josh Kindig, who is ranked 12th, defeated first-ranked Kendric Maple 4-3. Redshirt junior Justin DeAngelis fell to Alex Dieringer 2-1 at 157, while No. 2 Tyler Caldwell of OSU topped redshirt freshman Clark Glass 4-1 at 165 pounds.
Then the Sooners took control. OU claimed four matches in a row, including one by major decision, to take the win.
The 174-pound bout featured two NCAA national champions in No. 1 Andrew Howe and No. 2 Chris Perry of OSU. Howe won by decision 4-2, after earning a takedown and reversal in the match.
Freshman Danny Chaid took a 7-3 decision against redshirt freshman Kyle Crutchmer. Chaid trailed 3-2 late in the third period but added a takedown and three-point nearfall in the last 25 seconds to win.
Claiming the only bonus points of the dual was redshirt senior and No. 5 Travis Rutt, who topped No. 10 Blake Rosholt by a 12-3 decision, giving the Sooners an opportunity to take the dual with a win in the final match.
With a Bedlam victory on the line, redshirt freshman and 15th-ranked Ross Larson took to the mat against No. 11 Austin Marsden. Larson recorded one takedown and an escape to Marsden’s two escapes to take the match 3-2 and seal the OU victory.
No. 7 Illinois at Grapple at the Garden
NEW YORK -- Before facing off with Cornell, No. 7 Illinois competed in a dual against No. 23 Bloomsburg, Jesse Delgado (125) pinned Sean Boylan, while No. 20 Nick Wilcox pinned Zane Richards (133) to tie the score at six. Steven Rodrigues (141) earned a 16-4 major decision victory and Caleb Ervin (149) won a 9-4 decision against No. 15 Bryce Busler, while Zac Brunson (157) pinned Kevin Hartnett to increase Illinois' lead. Jackson Morse (165) came away with an 11-0 major decision victory against No. 6 Josh Veltre, handing the reigning Eastern Wrestling League champion his first loss of the season. Tony Dallago (174) was pinned by No. 19 Mike Dessino, while Nikko Reyes (184) pinned Sam Shirey to give the Illini a 29-12 lead. The Huskies won the final two match-ups, as No. 11 Richard Perry (197) defeated Jeff Koepke in a 6-3 decision and No. 17 Justin Grant (HWT) won a 4-0 decision against Christopher Lopez.
