ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell remained unbeaten in dual meet competition with a strong 29-9 victory against Rutgers in front of more than 2,800 fans on Sunday afternoon at Newman Arena. The Big Red improved to 7-0 on the season, while the Scarlet Knights fell to 9-4.
The Big Red scored two pins and a couple major decision victories while losing two of its three matches in overtime by a total of four points. The dual win was Cornell's 31st in a row against EIWA opponents and its 47th consecutive against unranked teams.
Sophomore Nahshon Garrett opened the dual with a dominant fall against Sean McCabe of Rutgers. Garrett's 13th consecutive win was locked down with Garrett leading 15-3 late in the third as he was able to take McCabe down to his back and secure the pin to give the home team an early 6-0 team lead.
With a 10-3 Big Red lead, Rutgers brought the match as close as it would get with its second win, a toss-up match at 149 lbs. between Conner David and Ken Theobald. Theobald's early first period takedown was the difference, and though David was able to ride out the Rutgers' wrestler in the third, he couldn't turn him to even the match as the Scarlet Knights took a 3-1 victory to get within 10-6 in the dual.
The Big Red ran away with the dual after halftime, winning the first four matches after the break starting with Dylan Palacio's 10-4 victory against Nick Visicaro at 165 lbs. The freshman registered the only four takedowns in the match and used 2:27 of ride time for the decision.
In arguably the most exciting match of the day, Duke Pickett won a 4-2 overtime thriller against Phillip Bakuckas. Going into the third period scoreless, Pickett escaped 10 seconds into the third to take a 1-0 lead. Bakuckas was able to earn a takedown with two seconds left in regulation, but Pickett was able to kick his way out for an escape at the buzzer to send it to overtime as the crowd went crazy. Both wrestlers took shots in the sudden victory session, but it was Pickett who earned a takedown 18 seconds before the ride-outs began for the 4-2 decision.
No. 10 Nebraska 28, No. 21 Purdue 9
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Nebraska (10-1, 4-1 Big Ten) won eight matches against No. 21 Purdue on Sunday afternoon to post a 28-9 victory against the Boilermakers.
Senior 133 lb. Shawn Nagel pinned No. 14 Cashe Quiroga in the fifth match of the night, as he was one of two Huskers to earn bonus points against Purdue. Robert Kokesh (174) added a major decision in the final bout of the afternoon. Nagel’s fall came in 3:53 as he improves to 9-5 on the season.
The dual started at 184 lbs., where redshirt freshman TJ Dudley notched a 5-1 decision against Purdue’s Tanner Lynde. Dudley earned a takedown in the opening stanza before riding out Lynde in the second period. Dudley started the third period in the down position and earned a reversal before tacking on a point for riding time.
At heavyweight, Collin Jensen battled Alex White to a scoreless first period before the Husker redshirt freshman escaped in the second and added a takedown. He gave up an escape in the final period but earned a riding time point to cap the match.
At 165 lbs., sophomore Austin Wilson earned a 6-0 triumph against Chad Welch. After a scoreless first period between the pair, Wilson earned near fall points in the second period. In the third period, Wilson earned an escape, takedown and riding time point for the final margin. He completed a perfect 2-0 weekend without giving up any points.
Reigning All-American Kokesh (174) capped the Husker victory with 12-3 triumph against Patrick Kissel. Kokesh is 26-1 this season and improves to 11-0 in duals.
