"I was really happy with our performance on the mat tonight," head coach Kyle Borshoff said. "We saw great performances from top to bottom in our lineup, and tonight's win helps our guys realize we just need to keep doing what we're doing. There's always areas you can tweak, but at the end of the day we're going out and wrestling hard right now. We're fighting for those victories in the close matches. It's conditioning us for the end of the year and what we're going to need to do come postseason. If we keep fighting like we did tonight and keep digging for points, we're going to see a lot of success in the weeks to come."
At 184-pounds, Schneider started the Binghamton highlight reel taking the mat against Bryce Gorman. Schneider combined two takedowns with an escape and point for ride for his tenth-straight match win (6-0), while reaching a career milestone only seven other wrestlers in Binghamton history have done. Schneider moves into the record book ranked sixth in Division I history and seventh all-time with his 100th win in tonight's match.
The excitement only continued to grow, as redshirt freshman Alex Melikian earned a come from behind win over Max Ihry at 197 pounds. Ihry, starting on bottom at the beginning of the third, broke a 1-1 with an escape, in which Melikian quickly answered with back to back takedowns. Ihry, with two more escapes and a stall call in his favor, regained a 6-5 lead over Melikian after scrambling for a takedown. As the clock wound down in the third period, Melikian reversed Ihry with just three seconds remaining, as the ref signaled for Melikian's go ahead two points for a 7-6 victory.
With a West Gym crowd and a Binghamton bench fueled with excitement, Sean Dee took the mat against Caleb Gossett at heavyweight. Dee, who was down 6-2 in the third period, threw Gossett on his back at 5:30, bringing fans to their feet as he had his hand raised for his first pin of the season.
At 125 pounds, Joe Nelson won a tough battle over returning national qualifier Brock Hudkins in a 3-1 decision. Hudkins lone point coming from an escape early in the second period, Nelson trailed 1-0 as he started on bottom for the third. Scrambling for an escape, Nelson quickly freed himself of Hudkins grasp and took a double leg shot, earning two points for a reversal and taking the lead. Nelson clinched the 3-1 victory as he rode Hudkins out for the remainder of the match, accumulating 1:48 in ride time to pad his score.
Jake Nicholson followed suit, grinding out a 4-1 decision over Alijah Jeffery at 133 pounds. The redshirt senior combined for a takedown early in the first with an escape in the second and ride time en route to his win.
Redshirt junior Joe Russ got his hand raised for the seventh consecutive match, earning a dominating 11-2 victory over Anthony Rubino at 141 pounds. Russ scored early, putting two on the board within the first 40 seconds of the match. Down to start the second, Russ took a 3-0 lead with an escape as he marked his ground for a major decision. Hungry for more, Russ took a shot at 1:15 in the second, finishing back door to take a 5-0 lead. Adding two more takedowns to the tally in the third, including a shot with 25 seconds on the clock to seal the bonus point win, Russ walked away with over three minutes of ride time in the win over Rubino.
Taking it up a notch, Frankie Garcia stamped a 13-1 major to the board with over four minutes of ride time over Nolan Baker. Garcia scrapped for four points through the first two periods, with a takedown and a reversal to take a 4-0 lead over Baker. Only allowing for a single point in a Baker escape, Garcia controlled the mat for all three minutes of the third period with back to back takedowns and four near fall to get his hand raised.
At 157 pounds, Tristan Rifanburg came away with a hard fought victory over Caden McWhirter to keep the momentum rolling in the Bearcats favor. A stand still through the majority of the first period, Rifanburg scrambled for a takedown late to take a 2-0 lead. Rifanburg chose neutral to start the second, as McWhirter took a shot to tie the score at two's. As time ran out in the third period, Rifanburg earned another takedown and the go ahead lead, winning 4-2 over McWhirter.
At 165 pounds, No. 28 Vincent DePrez took care of business as usual, scoring seven takedowns en route to a 16-9 victory over Andrew Scott. Of the seven, three came early in the first period as DePrez accumulated over two minutes of ride time to take a 6-2 lead. He then added two more in the second, countering two Scott escapes and two penalty calls. Unshook, DePrez took bottom for the start of the third period, escaping quickly to take an 11-6 lead. Adding back to back doubles to the scoresheet, DePrez jumped to a 15-7 lead looking for the bonus point win. Scott capitalized with a reversal late in the third period, though, as DePrez walked away with a 16-9 victory with ride time.
At 174 pounds, Anthony Lombardo continued to work on his tilt game, taking the mat against Quinton Rosser. With a dominating presence on the mat, Lombardo took down Rosser early in the first. Attempting to roll through, Rosser got caught on his back as Lombardo turned him for four near fall at the close of the first period. Rosser was able to score in the second, in which Lombardo quickly escaped for a 7-2 score to start the third period. With over two minutes of ride time and a bonus point win at the finish line, Lombardo took a single leg shot with a minute to go in the third to take a 9-2 lead. Rosser immediately answered, earning his final two points on a reversal as match time ran out. Lombardo earned a 10-4 victory with ride time over Rosser, improving his win streak to six straight matches.
"It was a great day," associate head coach Jasen Borshoff said. "To go out there and win 10 straight matches in a shutout win is really good for our guys. Right now, we're rolling into the postseason feeling really good about where we're at. We're peaking at the right time and I'm excited about the next few weeks ahead of us."
The Bearcats are back on the mats this Sunday, February 11 at 1 p.m. in the West Gym against Bloomsburg for their final home match of the season.
Results:
125: Joe Nelson (Binghamton) over Brock Hudkins (NIU), (Dec. 3-1)
133: Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton) over Alijah Jeffery (NIU), (Dec. 4-1)
141: Joseph Russ (Binghamton) over Anthony Rubino (NIU). (Maj. Dec. 11-2)
149: Frank Garcia (Binghamton) over Nolan Baker (NIU), (Maj. Dec. 13-1)
157: Tristan Rifanburg (Binghamton) over Caden McWhirter (NIU), (Dec. 4-2)
165: Vincenrt DePrez (Binghamton) over Andrew Scott (NIU), (Dec. 16-9)
174: Anthony Lombardo (Binghamton) over Quinton Rosser (NIU), (Dec. 10-4)
184: No. 13 Steven Schneider (Binghamton) over Bryce Gorman (NIU), (Dec. 6-0)
197: Alexander Melikian (Binghamton) over Max Ihry (NIU), (Dec. 7-6)
285: Sean Dee (Binghamton) over Caleb Gossett (NIU), (Fall 5:30)
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