Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Rutgers
Army Wrestling Battles at Grapple at the Garden
December 21, 2014 | Wrestling
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Army wrestling team nearly upset No. 23 Rutgers and couldn’t hang on to an eight-point lead against Princeton as the Black Knights fell twice in heartbreaking fashion at the third annual Grapple at the Garden on Sunday. Rutgers used a fall in the final bout to put away Army, 24-13, before Princeton ended the second match with 10 straight points to take a 19-17 victory over the Black Knights.
Sophomore Russell Parsons, ranked 13th by The Open Mat (TOM), earned two wins, as did junior Brian Harvey while fellow junior Bryce Barnes made a splash in his first dual action of the season. Army had to forfeit at the 133-pound weight class in both matches.
"I think today was a day of lost opportunities," explained head coach Kevin Ward. "We had some guys really wrestle well and do some good things, but as a team we weren't all on the same page. I hate that the team couldn't get a win today, but we had our chances. When it came down to it, we flat out didn't get it done."
Rutgers 24, Army 13
Freshman Sean Badua dropped an 8-2 decision to Sean McCabe as Rutgers jumped on top 3-0. The Black Knights were then put in an immediate hole with six points awarded to the Scarlet Knights due to forfeit at 133.
Anthony Ashnault, seventh in The Open Mat rankings, extended Rutgers’ lead to 12 with an 11-5 decision over sophomore Logan Everett at 141. Freshman Andrew Mendel suffered a close loss to Ken Theobold, who is ranked 18th by WIN Magazine, at the 149-pound weight class, 3-1.
Parsons squared off against a fellow nationally ranked opponent at 157, Anthony Perrotti, who is No. 8 by InterMat. He gave the Black Knights their first three points of the day with a 3-2 decision.
Senior Chandler Smith came up just short against Nicholas Gravina at 165, dropping a tough 6-5 decision as Rutgers took an 18-3 lead. Harvey kept Army alive with a 4-2 win over Phil Bakuckas, who is No. 14 at 174 by TOM. Junior Austin Wilding then tallied another three points for Army with a 3-1 decision over Hayden Hrymack at 184.
Barnes came out ready to go in his dual match debut, picking up an 11-3 major decision over Ralph Normandia. Army trailed the nationally-ranked Scarlet Knights by only five heading into the heavyweight class, but InterMat’s No. 9 heavyeight wrestler Billy Smith pinned sophomore Mason Kumashiro to put it away, 24-13.
Princeton 19, Army 17
Badua (125) got Army going early with a 6-4 victory against Ryan Clash to give the Black Knights a 3-0 lead, which turned into a 6-3 deficit due to the forfeit at 133. Everett (141) then tied up the match at six apiece with a 3-2 win over Jordan Laster.
Mendel put the Black Knights back on top, 10-6, with a 9-0 major decision against Max Rogers at 149. Parsons followed that up with a 6-4 win over Chris Perez to put Army up by seven. Smith (165) suffered another close loss against Princeton, this time a 9-6 decision to Jonathan Schleifer. Harvey then gave Army its biggest lead of the day, 17-9, with a 14-2 major decision against Judd Ziegler in the 174-weight class.
Through four dual matches, Mendel, Parsons and Harvey each boast 3-1 dual records.
Things started to turn Princeton’s way when Brett Harner topped Wilding in a 12-3 major decision. Army led by four as Barnes and Abram Ayala, who is ranked No. 9 by WIN, took to the mat at 197. The two battled back-and-forth for all three periods, but Ayala ultimately came away with an 8-6 win.
Army held a 17-16 lead heading into the heavyweight dual as it came down to senior Stephen Snyder and Ray O’Donnell. Snyder just couldn’t get any momentum and dropped a 7-0 decision and Princeton pulled off the comeback win, 19-17.
"These losses will burn for a while until we have a chance to compete again," added Ward. "I'm looking forward to getting back to training and competing at the Scuffle."
The pair of losses dropped the Black Knights to 1-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Army will head to the Southern Scuffle next on Jan. 1-2.
Players Mentioned
