ARMY OPENS QUAD MEET WITH WIN OVER KING'S POINT
Black Knights Win Nine of 10 Matches
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army won nine of 10 matches, including falls by Ryan Cook and Casey Thome and a technical fall from Matt Kyler as the Black Knights opened their quad meet at Christl Arena with a 38-4 win over the Merchant Marine Academy.
Army benefitted from a forfeit at 133 pounds and Lance Penhale, Daniel Young, Jacob Vetter, Collin Wittmeyer and Richard Starks all posted decisions as the Black Knights improved to 2-2 and won their second consecutive match.
In the other match at 2 p.m., Rutgers dominated Boston, 39-0.
Cook capped the match with his second fall of the season and Thome posted his third bonus point win of the season to spark the Black Knights.
Army started off its afternoon strong. Penhale battled to a 2-0 win at 125 pounds. A second period escape and a third-period ride was all Penhale needed.
Following a forfeit win by Travis Coffey at 133, Thome decked Garrick Skubon in 1:10. Thome picked up a pair of takedowns before earning the fall and giving Army a 14-0 lead.
Kyler, ranked eighth in the latest Intermat rankings, added to the Army advantage with a systematic technical fall at 149. Kyler was actually taken to his back early but rallied for a 21-6 victory in seven minutes, his first technical fall of the season after accumulating more than five minutes of riding time.
Young extended the Army lead to 23-0 with a 3-1 win at 157 pounds. Young scored a takedown and escape in the first and second periods and despite allowing an escape in the third period, won a two-point victory.
King's Point got on the board at 165 pounds as Vincent Renaut posted a 15-6 major decision against Eric Gobin.
Vetter needed overtime but secured a 7-5 win at 174 pounds. Vetter scored a takedown and two near fall points early but a locking hands penalty point and an escape for Justin Diesel sent the match to overtime. Thirty seconds into the one minute session, Vetter got behind Diesel to extend the Army lead to 26-4.
Wittmeyer used a strong third period for a 5-2 win at 184 pounds. Wittmeyer and Erik Schott were tied at two after the second period before Wittmeyer secured a reversal and more than two minutes of riding time to give Army a 29-4 lead.
Starks, ranked #17 in the Intermat poll, was trailing early in his match but took control in the second period. Down by a point, 3-2, Starks chose neutral, secured a takedown and picked up three back points. Following an escape, Starks posted another takedown and led 9-4 after two periods. Starks added another takedown in the third period, after an escape for the 11-5 win.
Cook ended the 2 p.m. matches with his second pin of the season, decking Judd
Connell in 4:32 for the final margin.
ARMY WINS THIRD STRAIGHT, DOWNS BOSTON
Black Knights Win First Five Matches
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army won the first five matches, three with bonus points, as the Black Knights posted a 31-9 victory over Boston University, Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena.
Thirty minutes after beating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 38-4, Army continued its winning ways by dispatching the Terries in the second of three matches scheduled for Sunday.
Daniel Young earned a major decision, Matt Kyler and Casey Thome registered falls and Lance Penhale, Connor Hanafee and Collin Wittmeyer won decisions as Army improved to 3-2 on the season.
In the other match at 4 p.m., Rutgers dominated the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 39-3.
Penhale, for the second straight match, got Army off to a good start. After a scoreless first period, Penhale accumulated riding time in the second period and then secured an escape, two takedowns and a riding time point for a 6-2 victory.
Hanafee made it 6-0 Army with a 4-2 decision at 133 pounds. Hanafee trailed 2-1 early but scored a takedown with 13 seconds left in the second period at the edge of the mat. A stalling point in the last period gave Hanafee a 4-2 win.
Thome picked up his second pin of the day to push the Army leads to 12-0. Thome had an early takedown and earned the fall in 2:18.
Kyler rolled to an impressive win at 149 pounds. The eighth-ranked wrestler in the country, Kyler collected four takedowns and two back points in the first period, a reversal early in the second period and then posted the fall at 4:29 to give Army an 18-0 lead.
Young scored in a variety of ways, collecting three reversals, three sets of near fall points, two takedowns and an escape on the way to a 20-10 major decision win at 157 pounds that pushed the Army leads to 22-0.
Boston scored its first points at 165 pounds when Kyle Czarnecki used a second-period reversal and final period takedown for a 4-0 win over Patrick Marchetti.
Hunter Meyers helped the Terries close the gap with a 7-2 decision at 174 pounds opposite Jacob Vetter. Meyers posted a takedown before Vetter escaped. Meyers escaped in the second and collected back points in the third to trim Army's lead to 22-6.
Wittmeyer halted Boston's two-match winning streak with a 5-4 win at 184 pounds. Wittmeyer had an early takedown and then a second takedown 30 seconds into the final period. A reversal by Brock Mantella knotted the score at 4 but Wittmeyer escaped with 30 seconds left for the victory and moved the team score to 25-6.
Corey Hedash battled at 197 pounds but Boston's Dan Kennedy held on for a 4-2 win. Kennedy had a takedown late in the first and then secured an escape and stalling point. Hedash picked up two escapes and had a leg for a takedown attempt with seven seconds left but couldn't complete the move.
Army's Ryan Cook accepted a forfeit at 285 pounds for the final points.
Army will wrap up its Sunday quad match with a 6 p.m. contest against Rutgers at Christl Arena.
STARKS WINS BUT BLACK KNIGHTS FALL
Army Moves To 3-3 After Loss To Rutgers
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army's Richard Starks posted a win against a nationally ranked wrestler but Rutgers won seven of 10 bouts on the way to a 28-10 victory over the Black Knights, Sunday at Christl Arena.
Army went 2-1 as the host of Sunday's quad match and is now 3-3 on the season.
Rutgers, which allowed just 13 points in its three matches, improved to 10-4.
Starks, ranked 17th, earned a 3-1 decision against Lamar Brown, Matt Kyler cruised to a major decision and Collin Wittmeyer won a decision but Rutgers won the first three matches and never trailed on the way to its 10th victory.
In the other match, the Merchant Marine Academy defeated Boston 24-18.
“I have been saying since early in the season, we have to work harder and smarter than everyone in the country,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “We wrestled hard just not too smart. Even in losing to a very good Rutgers team, we wrestled hard. We just need to get in better position and continue to work hard.”
Rutgers jumped out to an early lead as Joseph Langel collected three takedowns, an escape and riding time for an 8-0 win against Steven West at 125 pounds.
The Scarlet Knights, who scored 39 points in each of their first two wins on Sunday, extended their lead to 10-0 as #16 Billy Ashnault scored a fall in 1:33 at 133 pounds against Travis Coffey.
Rutgers' Trevor Melde started strong and then held off Casey Thome for a 10-5 win at 141 pounds. Melde has a takedown and five back points in the first period and a reversal in the second. Melde led 9-1 after Thome escaped in the second period. Thome continued to push and scored two takedowns but lost his first match of the day.
Kyler got Army on the scoreboard with an impressive performance at 149 pounds. Ranked eighth in the latest Intermat poll, Kyler collected six takedowns, two near fall points, riding time and a penalty point when David Greenwald applied head scissors for a 16-3 major decision making the team score Rutgers 13, Army 4. Kyler won all three of his matches on Sunday with a fall, technical fall and major decision.
The Scarlet Knights extended their advantage to 16-4 when Daryl Cocozzo posted a 4-0 decision over Daniel Young at 157 pounds. Cocozzo had a first period takedown, a third period escape and two minutes of riding time to give Rutgers a 12-point lead.
Rutgers increased its lead to 19-4 when Greg Zannetti scored a 2-1 win at 165 pounds. Army's Rudy Chelednik was wresting up a weight class and picked up riding time from the top position during a strong second period. Chelednik escaped to start the third period but Zannetti scored a takedown and erased Chelednik's riding time advantage to bump the Rutgers lead.
Daniel Rinaldi won the third straight Rutgers match with a 5-1 decision over Jacob Vetter at 174 pounds. Rinaldi had two takedowns and an escape to give Rutgers a 22-4 lead.
Wittmeyer halted the Rutgers winning streak with a gutsy 3-2 win at 184 pounds. After Daniel Seidenberg escaped, Wittmeyer secured a takedown near the edge of the mat with 15 seconds remaining in the second period. While Seidenberg had a minute of riding time, Wittmeyer escaped in the third period for the 3-2 win that made the team score 22-7 Rutgers. Wittmeyer won all three of his matches via decision on the day.
In one of the marquee matches of the day, Starks, ranked #17 and Brown, ranked #18, felt each other out in the first three minutes with neither wrestler scoring a point. Brown chose down to start the second and needed just 13 seconds to escape for a 1-0 lead. Starks, though, went on top 2-1 with a takedown at the edge of the mat with 16 seconds left in the second period.
Starks chose down in the final period and quickly escaped for the 3-1 lead, though Rutgers led 22-10.
Dominick Russo, ranked #10 in the latest poll, closed the match with a first-period fall. Army's Ryan Cook scored an early takedown but Russo worked a reversal and then the pin to make the final score 28-10.
Army, which wrestled four matches in the last three days, will compete at the New York State Championships, Saturday and Sunday in Ithaca, N.Y.
“Every win builds our confidence,” said Barbee. “As a team, things are slowly coming together. We have a lot of tough matches remaining and need to keep our nose to the grindstone and keep working.