On Friday night, Cornell wrestling breezed past Binghamton at the Friedman Center. The Red won eight out of ten total matches to beat the Bearcats, 30-7.The dual between the two teams opened with the 125 lbs. weight class where freshman Nahshon Garrett took down Binghamton’s Patrick Hunter and won the matchup with a 14-1 major decision. Sophomore Bricker Dixon followed for the Red and won with a 6-2 decision, giving the Red three points. In the 149 lbs. class, junior Ryan Dunphy fell against No. 4 Bearcat Donnie Vinson due to a 10-2 major decision. For 157, freshman Chris Dowdy came out on top against Binghamton’s Joe Chamish with 4:12 left in riding, winning a 5-0 decision.One of the day’s highlights came from senior No. 1 three-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake who took on Adam Lepkowski in the 165 lbs. class. To start it off, Dake shot off the whistle with a single leg takedown. He was able to turn Lepkowski for back points and take a 9-0 lead. Lepkowski chose to start the second at neutral and once again Dake shot off right at the whistle and took him down. He racked up two more back points before pinning Lepkowski.Freshman Duke Pickett also won the 174 bout thanks to a 13-3 major decision. Freshman Craig Scott took on Cody Reed at 184 and narrowly won, 6-4, in a back-and-forth battle. Sophomore Billy George fell to No. 8 Bearcat Nate Schiedel in 6-3 decision. For the heavyweights, senior Stryker Lane won in 4-0 decision.Cornell then continued a jam-packed weekend as it hosted the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships and eventually won the title as a team thanks to four individual champions and 10 place winners for the Red.In his rookie season, Garrett was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament after taking the individual win at 125 lbs. He went 5-0 for the weekend in the tournament and also came out victorious in the Binghamton matchup. This week he was also named the EIWA Co- Wrestler of the Week, sharing the honor with Lehigh’s Joey Napoli at 157 lbs. Garrett has started the season with a 10-0 record that includes six bonus wins so far. He also won the crown at the Binghamton Open last weekend.Junior Mike Nevinger, sophomore Jace Bennett and Scott all won their respective weight classes as well in the tournament. Dowdy took second at 157 lbs. as well.In the B bracket for the tournament, Dunphy, junior Michael Alexander and sophomore Jacob Aiken-Phillips all won their respective weight classes for the Red. Junior Josh Kennedy at 133 lbs. made history with the fastest fall in Cornell history by pinning Yeshiva’s Michael Baruch in 10 seconds. The record was formerly held by Troy Nickerson ’10, who pinned an opponent in 13 seconds on Jan. 17, 2009.The Red will return on Sunday when the team heads to the Journeymen Northeast Duals where it will face up against Drexel, Oklahoma University and Central Michigan University in Albany.
Original Author: Haley Velasco