After coming out with an Ivy Championship title and a senior day dual win against Bucknell, the Cornell wrestling team advanced to the National Duals’ Finals next weekend thanks to two wins in the regional section of last weekend’s tournament.
The Red defeated both Hofstra and the University of Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. Cornell started the competition by shutting out Hofstra, 42-0, before moving past Nebraska, 19-17.
The Red wracked up five pins on the day, including two by three-time NCAA champion senior co-captain Kyle Dake. In total, Dake has 16 falls this season and is just one short of tying the school record of 17, which is held by Cam Simaz ’12 and Steve Anceravage ’09.
“Our standouts [are] in full force, including Kyle Dake, Steve Bosak, Mike Nevinger, and Nahshon Garret. These guys always step to the line with the “refuse to lose” attitude,” said senior Joe Stanzione.
Freshman No. 6 Nahshon Garrett, at 125 pounds, started off the day by taking on Hofstra’s Steve Bonanno and winning an 11-5 decision with 2:04 left in riding time. At 133 pounds, sophomore Bricker Dixon won a 4-3 decision.
Junior Mike Nevinger also came up big for the Red at 141 pounds and won a 3-0 decision over Luke Vaith and junior Chris Villalonga grabbed the “W” at 149 pounds with a 6-2 decision over Hofstra.
Coming into the 157 pounds weight class, junior Jesse Shanaman went up against Hofstra’s Tyler Banks. In the first period, neither athlete could score, but Banks escaped to open the second. The one-point advantage for Banks was the only time during the entire Cornell v. Hofstra dual that a Hofstra wrestler had the advantage over the Red. However, Shanaman grabbed the lead back and turned out a 2-1 decision.
Then coming in at 165 pounds, Dake pinned Nick Terdick in 1:57 to make his 42nd career pin.Junior Marshall Peppelman beat Hofstra’s Jermain John at 174 pounds in a 3-2 decision before Bosak at 184 took down the Pride wrestler and turned him to win by fall in 1:47. Sophomore Jace Bennett and senior Stryker Lane also dominated in their weight classes. Bennett pinned in 1:51 and Lane won by fall in 1:11.
“I wouldn’t overlook some of our other studs, including Bricker Dixon, Chris Villalonga and Marshall Peppleman,” Stanzione said. “These guys are among the most talented wrestlers that I have ever seen. If they go out with the attitude that Kyle and Steve do, they will be unbeatable. That being said, I think the entire team are standout wrestlers.”
When the Red returned to take on the University of Nebraska, Garrett opened the second dual with an 11-3 major decision against his opponent at 125 pounds. At 133 pounds, Dixon held on to win in a 3-2 decision against Nebraska’s Shawn Nagel.
Nevinger wrestled for the second time against Ridge Kiley at 141 pounds and won a 6-2 decision for Cornell.
At 149 pounds, Villalonga faced No. 10 Jake Sueflohn who defeated the Cornell wrestler for the first Red loss of the day in a 12-3 major decision.
Shanaman took on No. 6 James Green at 157 pounds, who took Shanaman down to win a 5-2 decision.
Dake wrestled Tyler Koehn at 165 pounds. Dake added three back points in the second before winning by fall in 3:57.
At 174, Peppelman faced off against No. 4 Robert Kokesh and lost the match due to a 14-3 major decision.
Bosak took on No. 8 Josh Ihnen at 184 pounds. Bosak quickly escaped to open the third and with 2:00 in riding time won a 3-0 decision against Nebraska.
At 197 pounds, Bennett wrestled against Caleb Kolb. Bennett held a 4-2 lead after the first with two takedowns. Kolb escaped 30 seconds into the second period, and with one second left on the clock took the lead with a takedown. Bennett escaped to open the third, but Kolb would take him down once again to win a 7-5 decision.
At heavyweight, Lane faced Spencer Johnson and with 1:30 left in riding time, Johnson won a 5-2 decision.Cornell will travel to Minnesota next weekend for the National Dual finals on Friday and Saturday before heading to the EIWA Championships and then the NCAA Championships in mid-March.
“I think the team is looking strong … Kyle Dake and Steve Bosak are the obvious standouts, but everyone is working hard in the room. I think Mike Nevinger, Chris Villalonga and Jace Bennett are just some of the guys ready to have a big weekend,” said senior Cody Hutcheson.
Original Author: Haley Velasco