"Tonight's win was a total team effort - the wrestlers, the Brigade of Midshipmen, our alumni and our senior leadership team," said Navy head coach Joel Sharratt, who won his first Star Match as a head coach. "The atmosphere inside Alumni Hall was electric and the energy and excitement the Brigade brought to the match can't be explained. It was absolutely an amazing experience to be part of."
Army opened up with an early lead as Sean Badua dealt Navy sophomore 125-pound Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md.) a 5-3 loss in the night's first match.
Navy, though, would answer by winning three straight and building a 10-3 advantage. Sophomore Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.) sparked the run, jumping out to a 5-0 advantage in his match against Army West Point 133-pound rookie Austin Harry before taking the match 8-1.
Meanwhile, Navy freshman 141-pound Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) sought sweet revenge after dropping a 6-5 decision to the Cadets' Logan Everett in the finals of the All-Academy Championship. Gil recorded three takedowns to take a 6-4 lead into the final period before Everett trimmed the lead to one with a takedown with uner a minute to go. Everett gave Gil the optional escape with 37 seconds to go, but got the point back with six seconds left after Gil was called for his second stall of the period. Everett's comeback would be too little, too late as Gil hung on for the 8-7 win.
The Mids capped their three-match winning streak with a 10-1 victory by sophomore 149-pound Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Earning his 21st win of the season, Wilding nearly had his foe, Army junior Mark Marchetti, pinned on the edge of the mat, but instead was awarded the takedown and four-point near fall late in the second period. Wilding tacked on an escape and a takedown, along with better than two minutes of riding time for the nine-point major decision to give the Mids a 10-3 lead in the match.
"Our lightweights had a slow start, but a good fight," added Sharratt. "Davis dominated Harry, but I think he left a team point out there and at the EIWA and NCAA Championships, we need those points to be able to climb the ladder.
"Wilding and Gil are like ball-peen hammers. Gil was winded in the final period with the time off from injury the last couple of weeks, but it was a solid win that pushes him back to the place he needs to be for the conference and national championships. I see the improvement in Corey each match he wrestles. He has made incredible strides and now the skill and confidence are lining up with his work ethic."
Army, though, fought its way back into the match thanks to a three-match winning streak of its own, including back-to-back major decisions by Russell Parkson Jr. at 157 pounds (14-2) and Andrew Mendel at 165 pounds (11-3) to give the Cadets a 14-10 lead, their first since the opening bout. The third of the three wins came at perhaps the most anticipated weight class of the evening - 174 pounds. Wrestling along the edge throughout the match, 18th-ranked Brian Harvey of Army West Point held on for a 3-2 win over 19th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.). With a takedown by Harvey and a pair of escapes by Bernstein, the two were knotted up at 2-2 heading into the final period. Harvey earned what would be the go-ahead point just five seconds into the final period. The loss was Bernstein's first blemish in dual action this season (7-1).
The momentum changed in a hurry when senior 184-pound Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.) stepped onto the mat to face Army West Point junior Samson Imonode. Miller, the nation's 12th-ranked wrestler, pinned Imonode in the championship bout of the All-Academy Championship in just over a minute (1:07). It took him 11 seconds longer, but Miller extended his winning streak to 10 in a row by pinning Imonode in 1:18. Sixteen of Miller's 26 wins this season have come by fall which is tied for the fourth most in a single season by a Navy wrestler and the most since Ed Prendergast posted 17 in 2006-07. Meanwhile, he has pinned 39 opponents over his career which stands as the second most in program history behind John Reich's (1979-83) 63. Miller, meanwhile, closed out his dual slate with a flawless 8-0 mark this season and 17-3 for his career.
"The excitement of the Iron Curtain (Bernstein, Miller, Woulfe) was palatable," said Sharratt. "Bernstein constant engagement and stalking of his foe brought the crowd to their feet and into the match.
"And what can I say about Mat Miller? He is a special competitor and he stupped up in front of a full house at Alumni Hall in his final match in front of the hometown crowd."
Senior Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) fed off the energy from the better than 2,500 fans in attendance and pushed the Mids' lead to five (19-14) behind a 6-3 victory over Army West Point senior Bryce Barnes at 197 pounds. Woulfe jumped out on top with a takedown 1:23 into the match and never trailed in the bout as he improved to 27-10 this season and 8-1 in dual action.
"Michael Woulfe's win should push him further up in the coaches rankings and he is poised to have a great postseason run,"
Army West Point junior Trevor Smith earned the 5-0 victory at heavyweight over Navy's Nick Mabry (New Braunfels, Texas), but the decision would not be enough as the Mids clinched the Star, 19-17.
The Midshipmen return to action Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6 when they travel to Princeton to take part in the 2016 EIWA Championship.
Results:
125 - Sean Badua (A) dec Brant Leadbeter (N), 5-3 / 0-3
133 - Zack Davis (N) dec Austin Harry (A), 8-1 / 3-3
141 - Nicholas Gil (N) dec Logan Everett (A), 8-7 / 6-3
149 - Corey Wilding (N) major dec Mark Marchetti (A), 10-1 / 10-3
157 - Russell Parsons Jr. (A) major dec Drew Daniels (N), 14-2 / 10-7
165 - Andrew Mendel (A) major dec John Keck (N), 11-3 / 10-11
174 - #18 Brian Harvey (A) dec #19 Jadaen Bernstein (N), 3-2 / 10-14
184 - #12 Mathew Miller (N) fall Samson Imonode (A), 1:18 / 16-14
197 - Michael Woulfe (N) dec Bryce Barnes (A), 6-3 / 19-14
285 - Trevor Smith (A) dec Nick Mabry (N), 5-0 / 19-17
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