Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Drexel
Black Knights Upset Drexel with 20-12 Win
February 11, 2023 | Wrestling
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Army West Point Wrestling team defeated Drexel 20-12 Saturday night. Army won six of their ten matches, #16 Ben Pasiuk defeated #5 Mickey O'Malley and senior Sahm Abdulrazzaq bested #25 Brian Bonino.
How it Happened
Army came out strong throughout the evening in their EIWA Conference dual against the Dragons. For their seventh EIWA dual of the season, Army's Nate Lukez, Ben Pasiuk, Sahm Abdulrazzaq, Ethan Berginc, Julian Sanchez, and Trae McDaniel each put points on the board for the Black Knights.
Army started competition off with the 157-weight class. Junior Nate Lukez competed against Drexel's Tyler Williams. In the first period, Lukez took a 3-2 lead with a takedown. Continuing to expand his lead. In the second period, Lukez expanded his lead with another takedown making it a 6-2 match. With 15 seconds left in the second period, Lukez took down Williams giving him an 8-3 lead. With a 9-5 lead in the third, Lukez had a takedown with 30 seconds left in the match, giving himself an eight-point lead. With riding time, Lukez defeated Williams by a 14-5 major decision.
Nate Lukez ??#GoArmy @EIWAwrestling @NCAAWrestling @FloWrestling pic.twitter.com/q8x8hpOypQ
— Army Wrestling (@ArmyWP_Wres) February 11, 2023
In the 165-weight class, Army's Dalton Harkins faced #16 (in the country) Evan Barczak. Harkins was bested by Barczack by a decision (4-0). In the 174-class, #16 Ben Pasiuk competed against #5 Mickey O'Malley, upsetting O'Malley by a 5-3 decision. With 45 seconds left in the first period, Pasiuk got on the board first, taking an early 2-0 with a takedown. Immediately in the second period, Pasiuk took a 3-1 lead with an escape. Extending his lead, Pasiuk earned a takedown with 1:22 left on the clock, making it a 5-3 match.
??????????#GoArmy @EIWAwrestling @NCAAWrestling @FloWrestling pic.twitter.com/TnwYK51Jzg
— Army Wrestling (@ArmyWP_Wres) February 11, 2023
Senior Sahm Abdulrazzaq went up against Drexel's #25 Brian Bonino. After a scoreless first period, Abdulrazzaq got on the board first with an escape. In the third period, Bonino tied everything up earning an escape. After a scoreless overtime round, Abdulrazzaq and Bonino entered the first overtime round. Sahm Abdulrazzaq defeated Bonino by a 2-1 tiebreaker, giving the Black Knights a 10-3 lead.
In his collegiate dual debut, Army's Wolfgang Frable competed against Sean O'Malley in the 197-class. O'Malley bested Frable by a decision. Freshman Austin Kohlhofer also made his collegiate dual debut in the heavyweight. After a scoreless first period, Kohlhofer took a 1-0 lead with an escape. The Dragons tied everything up in the third period, forcing overtime. O'Malley bested Kohlhofer by a 3-1 sudden victory.
#14 Ethan Berginc faced Drexel's Gabe Giampietro in the 125-weight class. In the first period, Berginc got on the board first with a takedown, taking a 2-0 lead. With a minute left in the second period, Berginc had another takedown earning a 4-0 lead over Giampietro. In the second period, Berginc took a commanding 6-1 lead entering the third period after having a takedown with six seconds left in the second period.
In the 133-weight class, Ryan Franco faced Jaxon Maroney. Maroney bested Franco by a decision (3-0). Julian Sanchez faced Drexel's Jordan Soriano in the 141-class. Sanchez got on the board first with a takedown. Sanchez extended his lead with a 4-1 with another takedown. In the second with 1:28 left in the second period, Sanchez took an 8-3 lead. Sanchez bested Soriano with an 11-8 decision.
Sanchez with the ????????????????#GoArmy @EIWAwrestling @NCAAWrestling @FloWrestling pic.twitter.com/pL7tH5TGCQ
— Army Wrestling (@ArmyWP_Wres) February 12, 2023
Trae McDaniel closed things out for the Black Knights in the 149-class. McDaniel faced #30 Luke Nichter. After two scoreless periods, McDaniel took a 2-0 lead with a takedown with 1:45 left in the period. With riding time, McDaniel defeated Nichter by a 3-0 decision.
Trae McDaniel with the mat return ??#GoArmy @EIWAwrestling @NCAAWrestling @FloWrestling pic.twitter.com/779dS7RCAo
— Army Wrestling (@ArmyWP_Wres) February 12, 2023
RESULTS
157: Nate Lukez (Army) major dec. Tyler Williams (Drex) 14-5
165: Evan Barczak (Drex) dec. Dalton Harkins (Army) 4-0
174: Ben Pasiuk (Drex) dec. Mickey O'Malley (Drex) 5-3
184: Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army) TB-1 Brian Bonino (Drex) 2-1
197: Sean O'Malley (Drex) dec. Wolfgang Frable (Army) 6-1
285: Santino Morina (Drex) dec. Austin Kohlhofer (Army) 3-1, SV
125: Ethan Berginc (Army) major dec. Gabe Giampietro (Drex) 9-1
133: Jaxon Maroney (Drex) dec. Ryan Franco (Army) 3-0
141: Julian Sanchez (Army) dec. Jordan Soriano (Drex) 11-8
149: Trae McDaniel (Army) dec. Luke Nichter (Drex) 3-0
Coach's Corner
"We knew Drexel was going to be a tough opponent. They are a good team that has been wrestling really well. We knew we were gonna have to bring it if we wanted to get the W. The energy we competed with tonight was the difference. We started matches with energy, chased bonuses when we were in striking distance, and stayed in the fight in some tough battles.
Some key individual wins and a total team effort. Excited for what's ahead!" –Head Coach Kevin Ward
Cadet's Corner
"The team stayed composed throughout the dual. The coaches told us there were going to be 10 dog fight matches and I am happy that we came out on top of that. We stay scheming and working." – Sahm Abdulrazzaq
"I thought this weekend was a great demonstration of who we are as a program. As a team, we went out there and battled with aggression, fought for every point, and finished strong with the victory. We have full trust in the coaching staff and ourselves to be at our best as we get closer to the postseason." – Ben Pasiuk
Up Next
Army will return to Christl Arena for Firstie Night and the annual Star Match against Navy on Sunday, February 19 at 2 p.m.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Wrestling, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Wres and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com
Players Mentioned
