Grapple at the Garden Recap: Cornell & Hofstra shine

This article is from 12/01/13

Cornell and Hofstra both went 2-0 at the second annual Grapple at the Garden in New York City on Sunday, with one dual coming to down to the wire for each squad.

In the spotlight meet of the day, the #6 Big Red took on #7 Illinois.  While more than 10 ranked wrestlers took the mat in the dual, it came down to the only bout not featuring at least one nationally-ranked grappler -- heavyweight.  Entering the 285 pound contest, the score was deadlocked at 15.  And after two periods, Stryker Lane and Chris Lopez were tied at 2, with riding time at over a minute and a half for the Illini competitor.  Lane rode out the third to send it to overtime, where in the second set of tiebreakers, the Cornell senior got the early escape during his turn on bottom and then hung tough on top to earn the victory and an 18-15 triumph for the Big Red.

Both teams won five matches, with only one bonus point contest - a pin for Gabe Dean at 184 pounds over Nikko Reyes.  In that pivotal bout, Dean trailed 4-2 entering the third, but quickly escaped and kept pushing the pace.  He notched a takedown with less than 30 seconds to go and then turned Reyes for back points and the fall with just five seconds remaining.

Cornell dropped into a 6-0 hole early, with #1 Jesse Delgado topping #2 Nahshon Garrett 6-2 and Zane Richards winning the battle of super freshmen at 133 over Mark Grey.  Cornell rebounded by taking three decisions in a row, by Mike Nevinger (141), Chris Villlaonga (149) and Brian Realbuto (157) to go ahead 9-6.  The first two got out to early leads and controlled their matches, while Realbuto came from behind with a dominant third stanza to win 8-3 over #15 Zach Brunson.

The Illini pulled ahead 12-9 with wins at 165 (Jackson Morse) and 174 (Tony Dallago) before the previously mentioned Gabe Dean pin made it 15-12 Cornell.  The win by Mario Gonzalez at 197 over Jace Bennett set up the 15-15 tie and Lane's heroics.

The first dual of the day had a lot less drama, as the Big Red captured a 31-9 victory over Maryland. Nahshon Garrett got the Big Red off to a strong start with a fall and Mark Grey followed up with a decision in which he controlled the bout throughout.  At 141, Mike Nevinger's season debut was spoiled by Shyheim Brown, who used solid mat wrestling to get the Terps on the board with a decision.  However, the Big Red responded with four consecutive victories, beginning with Chris Villalonga's 5-0 win at 149.  It was then bonus point time as Brian Realbuto majored Danny Orem at 157, Dylan Palacio held a commanding lead at 165 before his opponent injury defaulted and Duke Pickett came out on top by double digits at 174.

Then, at 184, freshman Gabe Dean faced #2 Jimmy Sheptock.  In a hard fought bout, the Maryland All-American picked up a 5-3 decision.  Jace Bennett collected Cornell's seventh win of the morning with a technical fall at 197 before #7 Spencer Myers edged Stryker Lane at heavyweight, 2-1.

Hofstra Takes Two

New York teams Hofstra and Army squared off in Round 1 on Sunday in a dual that came down to the final match.  It was Pride freshman Mike Hughes picking up a 6-4 win at 285 over the Army's starting 197-pounder Bryce Barnes to make the final score 23-16.

The Pride began well, capturing the first four contests via decisions by Jamie Franco at 125 and Cody Ruggirello at 149 as well as bonus victories by Jamel Hudson and Luke Vaith at 133 and 141, respectively.  Hudson majored Logan Everett 11-3, while Vaith pinned Tyler Rauenzahn.

Army got things rolling after that, taking four of the last six.  Paul Hancock avenged a loss at the last weekend's New York State Intercollegiates when he majored Nick Terdick at 157. Alex Smith (174) and Austin Wilding (197) grabbed decisions for Army, with Ryan Tompkins adding valuable points with a fall at 184.  That set up the big finish at heavyweight.

Hofstra's next dual didn't come down to the wire.  In fact, the Pride nabbed eight victories, including falls by Jamie Franco (125) and Jamel Hudson (133) to give the squad an immediate 12-0 advantage.  Also winning by bonus were Luke Vaith (141), Frank Affronti (174) and Zeal McGrew (197) while Cody Ruggirello (149), Joe Booth (165) and Dwight Howes (184) also were victorious.

And More New York Action . . .

After the close dual with Hofstra, Army had another tight clash with Princeton in the afternoon, with the Tigers winning 21-15. The Black Knights picked up three decisions - by Tyler Rauenzahn (141), Coleman Gracey (165) and Ryan Tompkins (184).  In addition, Hunter Wood got the fall at 125 over 2013 NYS champion Trey Aslanian of Edgemont.

In a NCWA showcase, two local teams, Stony Brook and Westchester took the mat at 10 a.m. After Westchester's Charles Gonzalez earned a 14-6 major at 125, Stony Brook won the next eight contests, including three falls (by Michael LaNasa at 141, Michael Shimer at 149 and Jon Campenelli at 197).  Matt Frey and Kris Martin both picked up majors, at 165 and 184, respectively, while Jonathan Crespo (133), Joe Jackson (157) and Scott Dunkirk (174) also got their hand raised. Obum Anayiche of Westchester brought a positive ending for his squad with a fall at heavyweight.

Additional nearby squads, NYU and Stevens Tech competed in the second session in a Division III meeting.  All-American Brandon Jones won by major at 141 for NYU, while Patrick Sheehan also got his hand raised at 184, however the New Jersey team grabbed a 25-7 decision.

Seeing action in freestyle matches were a number of New Yorkers, including former Cornell All-American Frank Perrelli and Long Island native Jenna Burkert. In addition, assistant coaches Hudson Taylor of Columbia and Enock Francois of Army both won their bouts, with Francois blanking Austin Trotman 7-0 at 185 pounds and Taylor besting Rustam Ghsiev, 10-2 at 220.  Former Buffalo star Kyle Cerminara also came out on top, beating Ryan Martinez in a 285-pound bout.

The box scores for the Grapple at the Garden college matches involving New York teams are below (courtesy of Track Wrestling):

Cornell defeated Illinois 18-15
125 - Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) Dec 6-2
133 - Zane Richards (Illinois) over Mark Grey (Cornell) Dec 4-2
141 - Michael Nevinger (Cornell) over Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) Dec 7-2
149 - Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) over John Fahy (Illinois) Dec 8-3
157 - Brian Realbuto (Cornell) over Zach Brunson (Illinois) Dec 8-3
165 - Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Dylan Palacio (Cornell) Dec 8-4
174 - Tony Dallago (Illinois) over George Pickett (Cornell) Dec 9-4
184 - Gabriel Dean (Cornell) over Nico Reyes (Illinois) Fall 6:55
197 - Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) over Jace Bennett (Cornell) Dec 7-1
285 - Stryker Lane (Cornell) over Chris Lopez (Illinois) TB-2 4-3

Cornell defeated Maryland 31-9
125 - Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over Paul O`Neill (Maryland) Fall 3:00
133 - Mark Grey (Cornell) over Tyler Goodwin (Maryland) Dec 4-1
141 - Shyhiem Brown (Maryland) over Michael Nevinger (Cornell) Dec 5-0
149 - Christopher Villalonga (Cornell) over Derrick Evanovich (Maryland) Dec 5-0
157 - Brian Realbuto (Cornell) over Danny Orem (Maryland) Maj 16-5
165 - Dylan Palacio (Cornell) over Tyler Manion (Maryland) Inj 3:23
174 - George Pickett (Cornell) over Anthony Gardner (Maryland) Maj 12-2
184 - Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) over Gabriel Dean (Cornell) Dec 5-3
197 - Jace Bennett (Cornell) over Chris Jastrzebski (Maryland) TF 19-1
285 - Spencer Myers (Maryland) over Stryker Lane (Cornell) Dec 2-0

Hofstra defeated Army 23-16
125 - Jamie Franco (Hofstra) over Hunter Wood (Army) Dec 3-1
133 - Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) over Logan Everett (Army) Maj 11-3
141 - Luke Vaith (Hofstra) over Tyler Rauenzahn (Army) Fall 5:15
149 - Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) over Mark Marchetti (Army) Dec 4-0
157 - Paul Hancock (Army) over Nick Terdick (Hofstra) Maj 15-6
165 - Joseph Booth (Hofstra) over Coleman Gracey (Army) Maj 14-4
174 - Alex Smith (Army) over Frank Affronti (Hofstra) Dec 3-1
184 - Ryan Tompkins (Army) over Victor Pozsonyi (Hofstra) Fall 0:50
197 - Austin Wilding (Army) over David Heitman (Hofstra) Dec 8-4
285 - Michael Hughes (Hofstra) over Bryce Barnes (Army) Dec 6-4

Hofstra defeated Boston Univ. 35-6
125 - Jamie Franco (Hofstra) over Chris McGinley (Boston Univ.) Fall 3:20
133 - Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) over Dane Harlowe (Boston Univ.) Fall 1:27
141 - Luke Vaith (Hofstra) over Tyler Scotton (Boston Univ.) Maj 8-0
149 - Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) over Nick Tourville (Boston Univ.) Dec 7-0
157 - Nestor Taffur (Boston Univ.) over Nick Terdick (Hofstra) Dec 4-2
165 - Joseph Booth (Hofstra) over Mitchell Wightman (Boston Univ.) Dec 4-1
174 - Frank Affronti (Hofstra) over Andrew Maksimovic (Boston Univ.) Maj 9-0
184 - Dwight Howes (Hofstra) over Aaron Conrad (Boston Univ.) Dec 5-2
197 - Zeal McGrew (Hofstra) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
285 - Kevin Innis (Boston Univ.) over Michael Hughes (Hofstra) Dec 3-1

Princeton defeated Army 21-15
125 - Hunter Wood (Army) over John Aslanian (Princeton) Fall 4:28
133 - Jordan Laster (Princeton) over Logan Everett (Army) Dec 5-2
141 - Tyler Rauenzahn (Army) over Christopher Perez (Princeton) Dec 8-4
149 - Kevin Moylan (Princeton) over Mark Marchetti (Army) Dec 7-4
157 - Mathew Gancayco (Princeton) over Paul Hancock (Army) Dec 5-3
165 - Coleman Gracey (Army) over Judson Ziegler (Princeton) Dec 4-1
174 - Brett Harner (Princeton) over Alex Smith (Army) Fall 2:52
184 - Ryan Tompkins (Army) over Scott Gibbons (Princeton) Dec 9-3
197 - Daniel Santoro (Princeton) over Bryce Barnes (Army) Dec 6-4
285 - Cole Lampman (Princeton) over Stephen Snyder (Army) Dec 3-2

Stevens Institute of Technology defeated New York Univ. 25-7
125 - Rob Murray (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Wayne Yuan (New York Univ.) Dec 3-0
133 - Ryan Wilson (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Corbin Lee (New York Univ.) Dec 3-2
141 - Brandon Jones (New York Univ.) over Rick Perrine (Stevens Institute of Technology) Maj 17-6
149 - Mike Polizzi (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Darryl Albonico (New York Univ.) Maj 13-2
157 - Jake Odell (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Matt DiGiovanni (New York Univ.) Dec 4-0
165 - Conner Bass (Stevens Institute of Technology) over John Messinger (New York Univ.) Dec 8-6
174 - Ryan Dormann (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Brian Anderson (New York Univ.) Dec 3-0
184 - Patrick Sheehan (New York Univ.) over Tristan Hollenbaugh (Stevens Institute of Technology) Dec 4-0
197 - Alex Moreno (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Daniel Brereton (New York Univ.) Dec 7-1
285 - Chris Florek (Stevens Institute of Technology) over Anthony Chu (New York Univ.) Dec 3-2

Stony Brook defeated Westchester CC 35-10
125 - Charles Gonzalez (Westchester CC) over Austin Hecher (Stony Brook) Maj 14-6
133 - Jonathan Crespo (Stony Brook) over Frank Lazo (Westchester CC) Dec 8-6
141 - Michael LaNasa (Stony Brook) over Kevin Jiminez (Westchester CC) Fall 1:12
149 - Michael Shimer (Stony Brook) over Mike Figueroa (Westchester CC) Fall 6:58
157 - Joe Jackson (Stony Brook) over David Rivera (Westchester CC) Dec 6-0
165 - Matt Frey (Stony Brook) over Ibrahin Simreen (Westchester CC) Maj 15-2
174 - Scott Dunkirk (Stony Brook) over Ray Ramos (Westchester CC) SV-1 8-6
184 - Kris Martin (Stony Brook) over James Danko (Westchester CC) Maj 13-4
197 - Jon Campenelli (Stony Brook) over Adolphe Lubin (Westchester CC) Fall 2:07
285 - Obum Anayiche (Westchester CC) over Lautaro Epstein (Stony Brook) Fall 1:32