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Navy Blue-Gold
By Staci Michaud
Navy Sports Information
The Navy Blue team won eight of the 10 bouts at the annual preseason Blue-Gold Challenge Matches to defeat the Navy Gold squad, 27-6, Friday night at Halsey Field House
"It's still just October and all of these early matches are just practice for us," said eighth-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett who watched from afar with wife Karen, while assistant coaches Scott Owen and Brian Antonelli coached the blue and gold squads, respectively. "Without a doubt it let's us know we've got a lot of practice left to do before we reach the level at which we need to be at to succeed. This is the first time we've wrestled at flat weight and I think it showed in our performance tonight. Points don't just materialize, you have to create more scoring opportunities. I think there were some interesting results and I'm looking forward to getting back into the room and improving upon what you saw tonight."
The evening got off to a somber start when the 149-pound match was stopped halfway through the opening period when junior Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) suffered an injury serious enough for the match to be stopped. It was an especially tough moment as Ahern's father John, a colonel in the Marine Corps, returned from Iraq this week to see his son wrestle in the challenge matches. Senior Spencer Manley (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was awarded the win by default, giving the blue team a quick 6-0 lead.
Senior Joe Butcher (Westwood, N.J.) helped push the blue squad's lead to 9-0 after a mistake by rookie Robby Neill (Brick, N.J.) proved costly. With the match square at 1-1, Neill was called for his second stall warning and a point was awarded to Butcher to give him a 2-1 decision at 157 pounds.
The Navy gold team finally got on the scoreboard thanks to returning 165-pound starter Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) who earned a tough 3-2 decision over junior Jason Coyne (Trafford, Pa.) who looked strong after suffering a season-ending injury a year ago. After a scoreless opening period, Jacobs earned the first point with an escape to open the second period. He followed up with a takedown to take a 3-0 lead in the match before Coyne was able to get away from Jacobs' grasp. Choosing the down position to start the final period, Coyne earned a point for his escape, but could not get a takedown as Jacobs earned the win.
Senior Ben Nichols (Ellicott City, Md.) gave a valiant effort in his match against All-American and nationally-ranked Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) at 174 pounds. Each earned an escape during the match, but neither were able to capitalize on the offensive, sending the match into a 1:00 sudden victory. With 20 seconds remaining in the bout, Stolpinski wrapped Nichols up to collect a 3-1sv win and put the blue team up, 12-3.
The gold turned in its final points of the evening off a 5-1 Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) victory at 184 pounds. After a scoreless first period, junior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) earned a one-point escape. Caldwell's escape was quickly followed up by a Parsons takedown that in turn led to a two-point near fall. With the match well in hand, Parsons earned a one-point escape to start the final period.
The 197-pound match featured Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.), who was Navy's starter for most of the season a year ago, against senior Robert Johnston (Satellite Beach, Fla.), who wrestled last season at 165 pounds. Like the Stolpinski-Nichols match, both wrestlers earned a point off an escape, but needed extra minutes to decide the match. Moyer clinched the decision with 21 seconds remaining in sudden victory by just getting around Johnston for the takedown. Moyer's win was the first of five straight victories by the blue team.
Navy fans were treated to an exciting match between two talented heavyweights in reigning EIWA champion Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Scott Steele (Baltimore, Md.). Like the 157-pound match, Steele was the beneficiary of a lapse of effort by Prendergast who was called for his second stall of the match and Steele was given his second and decisive point to earn the upset over Prendergast for the second straight year. Last year, Steele scored a takedown with just four seconds remaining to take the match, 4-3.
Freshmen Joey Boone (Poway, Calif.) and Allan Stein (Portland, Maine) wrestled an exciting match at 125. Boone jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Stein narrowed the gap with an escape. Stein, who was being cheered on by his company-mates, evened the score by choosing the down position to start period two and got out of Boone's grasp. Stein took his only lead of the match when Boone was penalized for a technical violation, grabbing Stein's singlet, to end the period. With Boone down to start the third, he knotted the score with an escape and took the lead for good on a takedown with a minute remaining in the match. With riding time, Boone captured a 6-3 victory for the blue.
Rookie Joey Breen (Pasadena, Md.) turned in what one might see as an upset at 133 pounds, defeating sophomore Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), up for 125 pounds, 8-6 in overtime. Pagan jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a takedown less than 30 seconds into the match and a two-point near fall a minute later. Breen finally got away from Pagan the narrow the lead to three after the first period. Breen deferred to Pagan in the second and ended up riding out Pagan the entire second period. Breen clipped the lead to two with a quick escape to start the third period. Pagan, however, took a 6-2 lead on a takedown, but Breen scored the reversal to get it back down to a two-point match. After taking his second injury timeout of the match, Pagan was at the mercy of Breen who had the option to choose position with 1:30 remaining. Breen chose the down position and was able to turn the hold to tied the match and force sudden victory. With 29 seconds remaining, Breen scooted around Pagan a!
nd!
with his friends and family in the stands, he earned the 8-6 win.
Second-year standout Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) defeated Caleb Levee (Mandeville, La.), 3-2, in the finale at 141 pounds. Levee took the early lead with an escape to open the second period, but was taken down later in the period by Shober. Levee was able to free himself to even the score by the end of the period. Shober, who was down to start the third, took the go-ahead point on an escape.
Navy will officially open its season next Saturday at the Eastern Michigan Open where last year six Midshipmen placed second in their respective weight classes.
2007 Blue-Gold Challenge Matches:
149 Spencer Manley (B) def. Joel Ahern (G), won by injury default 6-0
157 Joe Butcher (B) dec. Robby Neill (G), 3-2 9-0
165 Justin Jacobs (G) dec. Jason Coyne (B), 3-2 9-3
174 Matt Stolpinski (B) dec. Ben Nichols (G), 3-1 sv 12-3
184 Matt Parsons (G) dec. Casey Caldwell (B), 5-1 12-6
197 Tyler Moyer (B) dec. Robert Johnston (G), 3-1 sv 15-6
Hwt Scott Steele (B) dec. Ed Prendergast (G), 2-1 18-6
125 Joey Boone (B) dec. Allan Stein (G), 6-3 21-6
133 Joey Breen (B) dec. Matt Pagan (G), 8-6 sv 24-6
141 Glenn Shober (B) dec. Caleb Levee (G), 3-2 27-6
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