Takedown Report

Dual Season Finales

TDR Editor’s Notes ; The last set of dual meet results for the season are included in the dozen stories below.
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1 } – Hofstra Downs California Baptist In Regular Season Finale
Hempstead, NY – Hofstra won six of 10 weight classes and had three major decisions in a 21-15 victory over visiting California Baptist Saturday at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. The win came in Hofstra’s regular season and home finale.

The Pride moved to 5-6 overall with the victory, their second win in a row. California Baptist dropped to 3-12 on the season.

Joe McGinty got the Pride started with a 6-1 decision over Joseph Mora of California Baptist at 157 pounds to give Hofstra a 3-0 lead. The Lancers came right back with a major decision from Frank Almaguer over Eric Shindel at 165 to take a 4-3 lead. Ross McFarland picked up a decision at 174 over Louis Rojas to give Hofstra the 6-4 lead before Peter Acciardi scored another major, an 11-2 victory over Ericson Velasquez, that made it  8-6 in favor of the Lancers.

No. 28 Trey Rogers and Zachary Knighton-Ward posted major decisions at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively to put the Pride back on top for good, 14-8. Rogers had a 13-3 win over Caden Gerlach, while Knighton-Ward scored a takedown in the final seconds and then got two back points at the horn to earn the bonus point win over Chris Island. Jacob Moon extended the Pride’s streak to three wins in a row with a 7-2 decision over Devin Garcia at 125 pounds. … rest of story at GOhofstra.com/news/2023/2/18/wrestling-hofstra-downs-california-baptist-in-regular-season-finale

2 } – Robbie Sagaris, Devin Matthews Earn Tech Falls as Wrestling Tops Sacred Heart
By: Adam Rubin
FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The LIU wrestling team headed into Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships on a high note.

The Sharks defeated host Sacred Heart, 32-9, on Saturday night. The biggest wins included Robbie Sagaris earning five points for the Sharks with a technical fall over Mike Manta at 125 pounds and Devin Matthews producing the same result against Dakota Asuncion at 141 pounds. Blake Bahna pinned Aidan Zarrella at 165 pounds.

Drew Witham (149), Joe Lopresti (184) and John Dusza (197) also were victorious, while Sacred Heart forfeited at heavyweight.

The Sharks next compete at the EIWA Championships March 3-5 at the Palestra in Philadelphia. … rest of story at Liuathletics.com/newsrobbie-sagaris-devin-matthews-earn-tech-falls-as-wrestling-tops-sacred-heart

3 } – American University Closes Dual Season With a Comeback Win at Drexel and Loss at #24 Penn
PHILADELPHIA – The second dual win of the day for redshirt freshman Lucas White started a five-bout run of wins for American University wrestling at Drexel, allowing the Eagles to overcome an 11-0 deficit and go on to win 19-17 in their final dual of the season. American lost 25-9 at #24 Penn earlier in the day but finished the season at 8-12 with the split. That ties the current Eagles with three other teams in the last 12 years for the most dual victories.
Notable

• White had an outstanding day at 174 pounds with a pair of wins including his first-ever win over a ranked opponent when he beat #19 Nick Incontrera of Penn.
• After two periods, White led Incontrera 6-2 and ending up taking the 9-5 decision with over four minutes of riding time in a dominant performance.
• White took the mat in match number four at Drexel with the Eagles trailing 11-0, but shut out Cody Walsh by 8-0 major decision to start a huge run for AU.
• Also going 2-0 on the day was sophomore Maximilian Leete at 125 pounds. He beat Penn’s Brady Pruett 8-5 and had a wild match against Drexel’s Antonio Mannino.
• Leete was down 1-0 before appearing to pin Mannino midway through the second period, but Mannino had just called for injury time during the takedown. … rest of story at AUeagles.com/news/wrestling-closes-dual-season-with-a-comeback-win-at-drexel-and-loss-at-24-penn

4 } – JACKS RETAIN BORDER BELL WITH WIN AT NDSU
FARGO, N.D. — The final dual meet of the season for the South Dakota State wrestling team came down to the final match. When all was said and done Sunday afternoon at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, heavyweight A.J. Nevills came out victorious to lift the 17^th-ranked Jackrabbits to a 19-17, back-and-forth victory over rival and No. 15 North Dakota State.
In retaining the Border Bell traveling trophy, the Jackrabbits completed the dual slate with a 12-4 overall record, including a 6-2 mark against Big 12 Conference opponents. NDSU dropped to 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12.
While Nevills’ victory was the eventual match-winner, 133-pounder Derrick Cardinal came up with perhaps the biggest win for the Jackrabbits on the day. A redshirt freshman from Forest Lake, Minnesota, Cardinal recorded a takedown early in overtime for a 5-3 sudden victory over 33^rd-ranked McGwire Midkiff.
Cardinal’s victory was part of a 10-0 advantage the Jackrabbits built up through the first three matches. Tanner Jordan opened the dual with a 9-0 major decision over Ryan Henningson in the opening bout at 125 pounds and 11^th-ranked Clay Carlson followed Cardinal’s win with a 7-4 decision over Gavin Drexler in the 141-pound matchup.
SDSU weathered the storm presented by the Bison in the middle weights … rest of story at GOjacks.com/news/2023/2/19/wrestling-jacks-retain-border-bell-with-win-at-ndsu

5 } – Cerniglia Clinches Navy’s Third Straight Star Match With Come From Behind Victory In Final Bout
The junior tallied seven points in the third period to win his match 7-2 and secure an 18-13 Navy victory

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Despite not wrestling since Jan. 21, Andrew Cerniglia (157-pounds) came from behind to defeat Nathan Lukez by a 7-2 decision and clinch the Star Match for Navy (5-6, 4-1) over rival Army (6-7, 4-4) by a score of 18-13 Sunday afternoon in West Point, N.Y. Lukez held a 1-0 lead heading into the third period, but Cernigilia scored seven points in the third to win Navy’s straight Star Match. The Mids improve to 52-10-5 all-time versus Army and 22-7-2 in West Point. Navy won six of the 10 matches with wins at 184, 197, 285, 133, 141 and 157 pounds.
“This was one of those duals where it was a total team effort. We knew there was the possibility of it ending the way it did,” said head coach Cary Kolat. “We had a few very important scrambles during the dual that looking back made the difference. Army had a game plan for each of our athletes but we talk to our guys about how we would coach against them if we were on the opposing team. The difference tonight was none of our guys got shocked by anything unexpected. Both teams brought a lot to the Star Match today and both wrestled tough.”
The dual began with the 165-pound bout between Val Park and Dalton Harkins. Harkins gained a 3-0 cushion in the first period, but Park got on the board with an escape with 1:29 remaining in the second. … rest of story at Navysports.com/wrestling-cerniglia-clinches-navys-third-straight-star-match-with-come-from-behind-victory-in-final-bout

6 } – Columbia Caps Off Regular Season With Win Over No. 29 Maryland
Lions finish the season 6-7 overall in dual matches and 5-3 in EIWA matches
NEW YORK – The Lions won six bouts Sunday afternoon in Levien Gym to fight off No. 29 Maryland in a thrilling 18-16 win. Columbia completes the regular season with a 6-7 overall record and a 5-3 mark in EIWA action as the Lions prepare to head to the EIWA Championships at the beginning of March.
“The reality is, we already started our transition into postseason, and that is how it has to be, Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli said. “We used this as our last tune-up before the EIWA tournament. We focused more individually on what we needed than the team, so we are ready to go.”
The festivities got started before the match Sunday as the team’s six seniors were recognized before the match. Chimenum Tasie-Amadi, Gunnar Fuss, Sam Wustefeld, Danny Conley, Danny
Fongaro, and Matt Kazimir are all part of the class of 2023.
“This is a really special group,” Tanelli said about the senior class. “Every class is special, but these guys are the ones that started with me. I recruited each one of these guys. We have always had a good tradition here, but they have been the ones that really made it what it is today and what it is going forward. It is emotional for me seeing these guys wrestle their last dual meet at home.”
The match started at 125, where No. 27 Nick Babin toughed out an 8-5 decision … rest of story at GOcolumbialions.com/news/wrestling-caps-off-regular-season-with-win-over-no-29-maryland

7 } – Huskies Win Regular Season Finale Against SIUE, 25-12
NIU builds momentum heading into MAC Championship
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Three bonus-point wins helped the Northern Illinois University wrestling team defeat SIUE 25-12 in the Huskies’ regular season finale Sunday afternoon at First Community Arena. NIU improved to 8-5 overall and now co-leads the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division as the conference championships are just 12 days away (March 3-4).

“I thought our guys competed hard. We went out and we did what we talked about,” said head NIU coach Ryan Ludwig. “We looked to assert our will, we looked to get out and control the ties and score first. And in a lot of those matches that we came out on top, that’s what we did,” HM Blake West, the MAC and NCAA Wrestler of the Week, kicked off the action with a commanding major decision win over Austin Macias. West built a 6-2 lead in the first frame and a 9-2 advantage in the second before winning the bout 11-3 to put the Huskies (8-5, 5-1 MAC) up 4-0 early, his sixth-straight win.

“It was great to see Blake West put together a lot of offense getting the leg attacks. That’s something we want to see more out of him. In his fifth dual start of the season, Lucian Brink helped NIU go back-to-back, edging Aaron Schulist at 133. After leading 6-4 as the second period ended, Brink chose bottom and fended off Schulist’s comeback. Brink held on to earn an 8-7 win and improved to 4-1 in MAC duals this season.

“Brink was really able to grind out a great match, wrestling his position. I thought that was a big win for him. He lost to him earlier in the year at the Cougar Clash,” SIUE (6-8, 2-7 MAC) came within one point (7-6) after two-straight wins at 141 and 149, but Anthony Gibson put an end to the retaliation, pinning Caine Tyus in just :57 seconds, his quickest and fifth fall of the year.   

“I think we lost some real tight battles there that we can turn around for the next tournament. Then things really started to separate, which was fantastic because in those dual settings, you look for bonus-points. So at 157, Anthony Gibson with a first period pin was huge,” At 165, No. 13 Izzak Olejnik beat Cardi Wilson 2-0 before Hayden Pummel built NIU’s lead to 22-6 after pinning … rest of story at NIUhttps://niuhuskies.com/news/2023/2/19/wrestling-huskies-win-regular-season-finale-against-siue-25-12

8 } – Brown University Defeats Sacred Heart to Close Regular Season
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Brown wrestling came away with a dominant, 31-12, win over Sacred Heart Sunday afternoon in the final match before EIWA’s. After the Pioneers won the first two matches to take a 6-0 lead, the Bears won the final seven of eight matches to cruise to the victory.

After falling behind early, sophomore Drew Clearie (174) earned an 11-3 major decision and classmate James Araneo (184) edged out a 7-6 decision to give Brown a 7-6 match lead. Back-to-back pins by senior Aaron Wolk (197) and freshman Alex Semenenko (285) made it a commanding 19-6 advantage for the Bears. Sacred Heart then won at 125 by forfeit, but sophomore Hunter Adrian (133) won by pin, sophomore Ian Oswalt (141) took a 10-4 decision, and senior Ricky Cabanillas secured a 6-1 decision to finish the match. … rest of story at Brownbears.com/news/2023/2/19/wrestling-defeats-sacred-heart-to-close-regular-season

9} – Drexel Wins Against Cleveland State in the Rider Duals
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. –  Drexel collected four falls on the day against Cleveland State and Rider in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon. DU went 1-1 as it defeated CSU 27-15 but fell to the Broncs 26-12. Drexel’s record stands at 10-7 heading into the final dual of the regular season. Luke Nichter, No. 17 Evan Barczak, No. 9 Mickey O’Malley, and Sean O’Malley earned victories by pin against Cleveland State. Additionally, Barczak and Mickey O’Malley were triumphant in both duals. 

Against Cleveland St
The Vikings started off the dual with a 5-4 decision at 125. Kyle Waterman defeated Manley at 133 in sudden victory on a takedown to tie the dual at three. CSU broke the tie in a win at 141. Nichter pinned Terry in the first period which gave Drexel its first lead 9-6. Cleveland State was victorious at 157 lbs and evened the bout at nine. Barczak and O’Malley earned back-to-back falls to give DU the advantage 21-9. Josh Stillings dropped a close battle at 184. O’Malley scored the Dragon’s final bonus points of the match in a fall at 3:08. The Vikings were successful in … rest of story at Drexeldragons.com/news/2023/2/18/wrestling-drexel-wins-against-cleveland-state-in-the-rider-duals

10 } – Cal Poly Wraps Up Pac-12 Dual Meet Title, Beats Oregon State 19-15
SCORESHEET | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – For the fourth time this season, Trevor Tinker has provided the points needed in the final match to lead the Cal Poly wrestling team to victory.
Tinker’s 8-2 decision over J.J. Dixon in the 285-pound bout capped the No. 28-ranked Mustangs’ 19-15 triumph over No. 25 Oregon State on Sunday before 1,291 fans inside Mott Athletics Center.
Cal Poly finished 5-0 in Pac-12 dual meets and 8-6 for the year entering the postseason – the Pac-12 Championship on March 5 at Stanford and the 2023 NCAA Division I National Championship on March 16-18 in Tulsa, Okla.

“Grateful for this group,” said Mustang head coach Jon Sioredas. “They have continued to put in a great deal of effort and what we are witnessing is a sheer body of work. I could not be more proud of the collective group for focusing on continued growth and doing so with a great attitude and respect. I cannot wait for the postseason.”
Oregon State won the first bout before Cal Poly claimed the next four weight classes for a 13-3 advantage.

Ethan Rotondo, Dom Demas and Luka Wick all won by decision while Lawrence Saenz earned a major decision to give the Mustangs the 10-point lead. … rest of story at

11 } – #18 University of Pennsylvania Defeats American 25-9 on Senior Day
PHILADELPHIA – The 18th-ranked University of Pennsylvania wrestling team sent its senior’s out with a 25-9 victory over American on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra. #30 Cole Urbas secured the first period pin to give the home team all the points needed for the season finale victory.
Prior to the dual against American on Sunday, Penn honored its Class of 2023. Recognized for their hard work and dedication to Penn Wrestling were Anthony Artalona, Carmen Ferrante, Ben Goldin, Nate Hoaglund, Mikey Kistler, Zakaria Loudini, Gabe Miller, Jesse Quatse, Jeremy Ridge, and Doug Zapf. The Red and Blue also recognized their three senior managers, Kevin Li, Doulton-Lee Ho, and Lily Virbitsky.
#12 Anthony Artalona opened the bout with a pair of first period takedowns to lead 4-1. With an escape in the second period and a point for riding time, the senior gave the Red and Blue an early 3-0 lead with a 6-2 decision win. After a scoreless first period, #32 Lucas Revano tied the bout with a pair of escapes in the second period and with the bout tied 4-4 after the third period, Revano and Caleb Campos went to overtime. Revano needed just 31 seconds of overtime to secure the takedown for the 6-4 win and a 6-0 lead for the Quakers. … rest of story at Pennathletics.com/news/2023/2/19/-18-wrestling-defeats-american-25-9-on-senior-day

12 } – Ohio State wrestling ends regular season with win over No. 4 Cornell, shifts focus to Big Ten Championships
Still missing key contributors due to injury, Tom Ryan’s Buckeyes gutted out a solid top-5 win at the Spartan Combat Duals in Tampa.
Ohio State wrestling ended its regular season in sunny Tampa, Florida this past weekend, defeating Cornell as part of the Spartan Combat Duals. The Big Red presented one final hurdle for Tom Ryan’s Buckeyes, as well as an opportunity for OSU to grab some much-needed momentum heading into the postseason — momentum which was lost or put into question after limping (literally, at times) through the first half of February.

The Scarlet and Gray had dropped two of their previous three duals to Penn State and Nebraska. Both losses occurred at home, with the second also taking place on Senior Night. And to make matters worse, Carson Kharchla, Kaleb Romero, and Gavin Hoffman all missed the Big Ten regular season finale, bringing into question whether or not they will be available for postseason action.
Banged up Buckeye wrestlers lose Big Ten finale on Senior Night, but hopes remain high

However, Saturday’s dual against Cornell showed that Ohio State can still be a very dangerous team. Despite their seemingly waning momentum and legitimately mounting injury issues, the Buckeyes were able to notch a top-5 win, … rest of story at Landgrantholyland.com/ohio-state-wrestling-ends-regular-season-with-win-over-cornell-shifts-focus-to-big-ten-championships

February 27, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized