Cornell Edges Bald Eagles, 20-18
LOCK HAVEN – The No. 23 Lock Haven University wrestling team (11-4) looked poised for another big upset at home, but No. 10 Cornell (9-2) rallied down the stretch and hung on for a narrow 20-18 win an absolute thrilling non-conference dual.
Lock Haven and Cornell each won five bouts on the day and the Bald Eagles got bonus points from Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and No. 8 Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale), but the Big Red rallied late. Cornell won three of the last five bouts including a pin at 197 pounds. The pin pushed Cornell ahead, 20-15 and despite a hard-fought win for No. 13 Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) over a nationally-ranked opponent in the dual’s final bout, the Big Red hung on for the victory.
Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco), the only Bald Eagle senior in the lineup today won 5-3 at 149 pounds. Perry, ranked No. 16, moved closer to the 100-win mark. Today’s win marked the 97th of his career as he looks to become the 20th member of LHU’s 100-win club.
Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) rounded out Lock Haven’s winners today as he turned in a sensational performance at 157, which led to a 5-2 win over a tough Fredy Stroker.
For Marsteller, he moved to 35-1 on the season. The 35 wins move him into a tie for ninth all-time on LHU’s single-season win list.
Prior to today’s match, the Bald Eagles honored their seniors: Ronnie Perry, Tristan Sponseller and student-coach Dom Lincalis. The trio has played a huge part in the Bald Eagles rise.
Werner quickly put the packed Thomas Fieldhouse crowd to its feet as he opened the dual with a clinical 17-1 (5:38) tech fall over Noah Baughman. The tech fall put Lock Haven up 5-0.
That aggressive start from Werner fueled tremendous individual efforts from Lock Haven’s entire lineup. In the end, LHU held an 18-12 advantage in takedowns.
Cornell posted a narrow-win at 133 and earned bonus points at 141, and led 8-3 after three bouts. Perry tied the dual at 8-8 with his win at 149. He downed Will Koll, 5-3.
Klucker put the Bald Eagles back on top with a hard-fought 5-2 win at 157. Marsteller marked LHU’s third straight victory and his major put Lock Haven up 15-8.
Cornell’s nationally-ranked trio posted wins at 174, 184 and 197 and led 20-15 heading into the final bout. No. 18 Brandon Womack edged Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Central) 5-4 at 174 and No. 10 Max Dean edged No. 31 Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) 5-2 as both Siegrist and Hazel pushed the pace throughout in solid efforts with upsets in mind.
In the final bout of the dual, Haines rolled by No. 22 Jeramy Sweany. 9-3. Haines returned to the lineup yesterday after a month-long layoff. Despite the Haines’ victory, Cornell won the dual.
UP NEXT:
The Bald Eagles will return to the mats on Sunday, Feb. 11 at Clarion (2 p.m.). The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) clash will mark Lock Haven’s final dual meet of the 2017-18 season.
BOUT-BY-BOUT RESULTS
No. 10 Cornell, 20 – No. 23 Lock Haven, 18
125: Luke Werner (Lock Haven) tech fall Noah Baughman (Cornell) 17-1 (5:38) | LHU, 5-0
133: Chaz Tucker (Cornell) dec. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) 6-4 | LHU, 5-3
141: #5 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) tech fall #24 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) 19-3 (3:25) | Cornell, 8-5 149: #16 Ronnie Perry (Lock Haven) dec. Will Koll (Cornell) 5-3 | TIED, 8-8
157: Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) dec. Fredy Stroker (Cornell) 5-2 | LHU, 11-8
165: #8 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) major dec. Kyle Simaz (Cornell) 17-6 | LHU, 15-8
174: #18 Brandon Womack (Cornell) dec. Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) 5-4 | | LHU, 15-11
184: #10 Max Dean (Cornell) dec. #31 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) 5-2 | LHU, 15-14
197: #5 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) pinned Trey Hartsock (Lock Haven) 1:07 | Cornell, 20-15
285: #13 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) dec. #22 Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) 9-3 | FINAL, Cornell 20-18
*individual rankings = NCAA coaches’ panel rankings (Jan. 18) *team rankings = USA Today/NWCA rankings (Jan. 30)
