"We looked flat in our first match against American," said Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling, "but we did look better in our second match today against George Mason."
Trailing 16-15 entering the heavyweight bout, Flores needed just 1:17 to pin Mike Peterson and clinch the win for the Lions, 21-16. The pin was the second of the day for the sophomore and his 11th this season.
Columbia took a 3-0 lead to start the dual when Kyle Gilchrist decisioned Brian Wright, 4-1, at 125 pounds. The Patriots won the next two matches with a decision of their own at 133 and a forfeit at 141.
However, Columbia responded with three consecutive wins by Matt Dunn, Sickles, and Civan.
Dunn defeated Brandon Bucher, 12-5, after exploding for nine points in the final period, cutting George Masons lead to three. Columbia evened the score with a 4-3 decision by Sickles over Frankie McLaughlin IV, before reclaiming the lead when Civan defeated Jimmy Kaden, 6-2.
But Columbia's lead was short lived, as George Mason regained a one point advantage on a major decision by Mendbagana Tovuujav over Mike Wolfer at 174 pounds. Tovuujav is currently ranked 19th in the country according to Amateur Wrestling News.
Porter put Columbia ahead by defeating Jimmy Webb, 1-0, but the lead changed hands once again as #8 Cayle Byers narrowly edged Lou Miller 3-2 at 197 pounds to give the Patriots a 16-15 advantage entering the final bout.
Earlier in the day Columbia dropped its first match against American in Washington, D.C. Sickles, Civan, Porter and Flores all picked up wins for the Lions.
The Eagles won the first four matches of the dual, including a forfeit at 141 pounds, to take an early lead. The Lions clawed their way back but were unable to overcome the early deficit.
Columbia used back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 pounds to cut the Eagles' lead to 12. Sickles got the Lions on the board with a 4-1 decision over Patrick Graham before Civan earned a major decision at 165 pounds, defeating Christopher Stout, 15-6.
American's Mike Cannon, currently ranked third in the country, improved to 20-0 this season by pinning Mike Wolfer at 174 pounds. Porter then faced Andy Semple at 184 pounds, picking up a 6-1 victory.
Next to the mat for the Lions was Lou Miller who fought hard against Andrew Silber. After a scoreless first period, Silber chose to start down in the second period and managed to escape to take a 1-0 lead. Miller scored a takedown to lead 2-1, but Silber was able to escape once again to even the score at 2-2. Miller reclaimed the lead once again by escaping early in the third, but with just under 20 seconds remaining, Miller was hit with a stalling call, tying the match at three and forcing overtime. Silber used a takedown midway through the extra period to defeat Miller, 5-3.
Columbia won the final bout as #14 Flores pinned Quinton Pruett in 3:34, bringing the final score to 28-16.
"We still have more work to do," explained Buckley. "We need to step up and elevate our game if we are going to beat the better teams on our schedule."
Columbia (2-8) returns to the mat on January 25 when it travels to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell at 1 p.m.
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