"Tonight we found ourselves behind at the halfway point and it was a good way for these guys to learn valuable lessons about how important bonus points can be," said second-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "We are still working to find the right combination at a couple of weights, but 174 through 197 is becoming an Iron Curatin that is exciting to watch."
American jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage over the Midshipmen as eighth-ranked and three-time NCAA qualifier David Terao earned an 18-5 major decision over Navy sophomore Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md.), while AU redshirt junior Esteban Gomez-Rivera picked up an 8-6 win over Navy sophomore Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.). Davis trailed 6-1 heading into the final period, but Gomez-Rivera surrendered three points to a pair of stalls and locked hands. Gomez-Rivera scored what would be the match-winning points on a takedown on the edge near the Navy bench with 45 seconds to go in the match for an 8-4 lead. Davis got the escape with 28 seconds to go and was awarded a stall point with seven seconds to go, but could not get a shot for the win.
The Mids got on the scoreboard following a 3-0 victory by rookie 141-pound Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) over redshirt senior Tyler Scotton, who transfered to American after Boston U. dropped its wrestling program. Navy trimmed the deficit to just one when sophomore Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) used a strong second half of his match to pull out a 6-3 win over Cole Moseley. Wilding trailed 2-1 heading into the second period, but earned the reversal to open the third, gave way to the optional upright position and then scored an escape to take a 5-3 lead with under 30 seconds to go in the period. He went on to ride Moseley the entire third period to get riding time and the 6-3 victory.
The Eagles, however, would win the next two bouts to push their lead to 14-6, the largest of the match. Tenth-ranked John Boyle posted a 10-2 major decision over Navy sophomore 157-pound Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.), while Mitchell Wightman, another Boston U. transfer, edged out Navy team captain John Keck (Wading River, N.Y.). Keck, who missed Friday night's home match due to illness, held a 3-1 advantage with under a minute left in the bout, but gave up the escape with 45 seconds to go. Wightman scored the match-winning takedown with 25 seconds left. There was some controversy, however, as the referee signaled a locked hands violation against Wightman with roughly 10 seconds remaining which would have tied the match. The referee then waved off the point and raised Wightman's hand as the winner.
Navy made its move at 174 pounds where 18th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.) outscored American's Jason Grimes 3-1 over the final four minutes and tacked on better than three minutes of riding time for a 7-3 decision.
Ranked 15th nationally at 184 pounds, senior Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.) wasted little time in taking advantage of an inexperienced Joe Salvi, a redshirt freshman who is winless in dual action this season. Miller built a 4-1 advantage in the first minute and 20 seconds of the match before putting Salvi's shoulders to the mat for the fall at 1:47 and giving the Mids their first lead of the evening at 15-14. Miller, who also won by fall on Friday night, has won 11 matches this season by fall and 34 over his career. The 34 pins are the fifth most in school history, trailing fourth-place Scott Kelly (1984-88) by just one and third-place Karl Haywood (1995-99) by just two. Meanwhile, 11 single-season pins sits just outside of the top 10.
Senior 197-pound Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) was denied a pin at the buzzer in Friday night's match against Drexel, but he refused to give up in Saturday's bout against AU sophomore Jeric Kasunic. Kasunic jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the match, but was dinged for his second stall warning in the opening period to give Woulfe a point. The two continued to battle as Woulfe was able score the reversal and get Kasunic on his back for the pin at 2:40. Woulfe has also had a knack of getting wins by fall this season, earning his 12th of the year and 19 over his career. Woulfe's win, meanwhile, secured the Navy victory for the second straight match.
American took the final bout of the night as freshman Jake Scanlan used his weight advantage to post a 5-2 win over second-year standout Nick Mabry (New Braunfels, Texas).
The Midshipmen will return to home next Friday night when they play host to Maryland. The match will be held at Wesley Brown Field House and is on tap for a 7:30 pm start.
Results:
125 - #8 David Terao (A) major Brant Leadbeter (N), 18-5 0-4
133 - Esteban Gomez-Rivera (A) dec Zack Davis (N), 8-6 0-7
141 - Nicholas Gil (N) dec Tyler Scotton (A), 3-0 3-7
149 - Corey Wilding (N) dec Cole Moseley (A), 6-3 6-7
157 - #10 John Boyle (A) major Drew Daniels (N), 10-2 6-11
165 - Mitchell Wightman (A) dec John Keck (N), 4-3 6-14
174 - #18 Jadaen Bernstein (N) dec Jason Grimes (A), 7-3 9-14
184 - #15 Mathew Miller (N) fall Joe Salvi (A), 1:47 15-14
197 - Michael Woulfe (N) fall Jeric Kasunic (A), 2:40 21-14
285 - Jake Scanlan (A) dec Nick Mabry (N), 5-2 21-17
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