The American University wrestling team (8-12) beat the Lindenwood Lions (2-9) on Feb. 18 by a score of 44-9. Earlier in the day, American defeated Queens University 34-14.
Lindenwood began the dual ahead thanks to a forfeit by American at 125-pounds. Austin Kegley recorded a win for the Lions because the Eagles had no one to compete. Typical starter junior Jack Maida did not weigh in and junior Shamil Kalmatov was out with an injury.
“Continuing to get healthy is on my mind, we just have been so injured,” head coach Jason Borrelli said after the dual.
The dual got going at 133 pounds with American sophomore Raymond Lopez against Lindenwood’s Caiden Pelc. The two were aggressive right from the start, and Lopez racked up points quickly with a 3-point takedown and a 2-point near fall. Pelc got on the board with a 1-point escape, but it hardly made a dent as Lopez added another 3-point takedown and a 4-point near fall. Lopez kept pushing for the pin, and Pelc had to give it his all to keep one shoulder off the mat. Then, in the second period, Pelc received an early stalling warning before Lopez added on yet another 3-point takedown.
Lopez had worked up to a 12-1 score before finally pinning Pelc in 4:06. Lopez’s pin added 6 points to American’s overall score and tied the dual up after Lindenwood earned 6 points from the forfeit.
At 141-pounds, it was American’s turn for the easy win, and freshman Cael McIntyre won the bout by forfeit.
The 149-pound bout saw redshirt junior Ethan Szerencsits take on Cruz Lara. Szerencsits earned a 3-point takedown early and just kept adding on the points. Lara would secure two 1-point escapes, but could not slow down Szerencsits, who proceeded to post another 3-point takedown, a 4-point near fall and finally a third 3-point takedown, before pinning Lara in 3:59.
For the third and final time of the dual, a bout was won by forfeit. Redshirt junior Jack Nies was awarded a victory at 157-pounds and secured another 6 points for his team.
Next, redshirt junior Ryan Zimmerman met Kaleb Valdez-Lemos at 165-pounds. Valdez-Lemos started out on top with a 3-point takedown, but his reign would be short-lived as Zimmerman followed that up with 12 consecutive points, coming from a combination of takedowns and reversals. Zimmerman’s 12-3 major decision brought the overall score to 28-6.
Junior Breon Phifer and Kaden Charboneau took to the mat at 174-pounds. Charboneau took the lead early with a 3-point takedown. Phifer followed that up with two 1-point escapes and earned a penalty point from Charboneau’s illegal hold, and just like that, the bout was tied. However, Charboneau held the advantage thanks to riding time, and that let him put away the 4-3 decision.
The 184-pound bout saw graduate student Connor Bourne face off against Luke Shaver. Bourne scored first with a 3-point takedown, and Shaver answered with a 1-point escape. They repeated that dance before each getting another 1-point escape. Bourne tacked on another 3-point takedown before needing an injury timeout. After 50 seconds down on the mat with his coaches and trainer, Bourne got back up and finished off the bout. Shaver earned one more 1-point escape before Bourne capped off the victory with a final 3-point takedown, earning a 14-4 major decision.
In the penultimate bout, redshirt freshman Liam Volk-Klos took on Ryan Golnick at 197-pounds. Volk-Klos earned an early 3-point takedown and got to work on pinning Golnick. He got close a few times before finally pinning Golnick in 1:23.
Finally, at heavyweight, graduate student Will Jarrell battled David Hernandez. Hernandez took a stalling warning early on, eventually resulting in a penalty point for Jarrell due to continued stalling. Jarrell added on a near fall and had Hernandez in the pin position. Hernandez wound up hurt on the move, through no fault to Jarrell, so no pin was called. The dual would finish with an injury default win for the Eagles in 2:45.
“I think this is the time of year where guys seem to be starting to wrestle with enthusiasm and excitement and you see that,” Borrelli said. “I'm hoping we go into that weekend and we see some guys really excited to wrestle.”
The Eagles will conclude their regular season next Sunday, Feb. 25 at Columbia University at 12 p.m. and at Army at 5 p.m.
This article was edited by Delaney Hoke and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Ariana Kavoossi.
