The AU wrestling team opened conference play with a 26-10 loss to the U.S. Military Academy Jan.18 in Bender Arena.
The third bout marked an upset as AU’s No. 9 senior 197-pounder Daniel Mitchell was narrowly defeated 2-1 by Army’s Bryce Barnes. Going into this meet, Mitchell was ranked No. 9 in the nation for the 197-pound weight class.
Army took a 9-0 lead to begin the meet as they won their first three bouts. The first bout was at 174 pounds with Army’s Brian Harvey defeating AU’s senior Keithen Cast 4-0. The second bout also ended in a similar fashion as Army’s 184-pounder Ryan Tompkins defeated AU freshman Jason Grimes 7-2.
AU began to cut into the Army lead following the Mitchell bout as the Eagles finally picked up their first win in the fourth bout with senior heavyweight Blake Herrin defeating Army’s Stephen Snyder in a 11-1 major decision, making the score 9-4.
The fifth bout would also be won by AU as sophomore 125-pounder No. 11 David Terao defeated Army’s Hunter Wood 12-5, bringing AU within two points with the score 9-7.
Despite the two victories, Army took the next five bouts. Sophomore 133-pounder Esteban Gomez-Rivera lost in a narrow 5-4 decision to Army’s Logan Everett. The seventh bout all but ended AU’s hopes of winning the meet as Army’s 141-pounder Tyler Rauenzahn pinned down AU’s Spencer Slishman 1:38 into the bout, giving Army six points and a commanding 18-7 overall lead.
The seventh bout would be AU’s final win of the meet as junior 149-pounder Mark Cirello defeated Army’s Mark Marchetti 6-0, making the score 18-10.
Army’s 157-pounder Paul Hancock defeated AU’s sophomore John Boyle by a major decision 8-0 in the eighth bout. The ninth and final bout would also end in major decision with Army’s Chandler Smith defeating AU’s sophomore Christian Masaya 12-4 making the final score for the meet 26-10 in favor of Army.
The Eagles have a quick turnout with a match Jan. 19 at Bender Arena against Columbia University and Gardner-Webb University.
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