Jan. 26, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - An NC State forfeit in the final bout of the night, the 174-pound weight class, proved to be the deciding factor as the Navy wrestling team scored a 21-15 victory over the Wolfpack Saturday night at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. The forfeit by NC State not only sealed the win for the Midshipmen, it also gave eighth-ranked Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) his 128th career victory, setting a program record for wins. The record was previously held by 1998 All-American Greg Gingeleskie who won 127 bouts at 184 pounds between 1996-99.

Though a lackluster way of earning the program's wins record, Stolpinski was still happy to stand among Navy's greatest wrestlers.

"It's definitely an honor to have my name among the great wrestlers in Navy history," said Stolpinski, who improved to 29-6 this season. "I can only hope to follow in the great footsteps guys like Mark Conley and Greg Gingeleskie have as great naval officers."

Navy opened the match looking strong as the Midshipmen jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first three matches. Less than a minute into the second period of the 184-pound match, Navy junior Casey Caldwell (Liberty, Ind.) took the lead for good on a takedown (5-3). He produced three takedowns in the match and was awarded a point twice because his foe, junior Ryan Goodman, was called for stalling. With nearly four minutes built up in riding time, Caldwell earned an 11-4 win to set the tone for the match.

Senior 197-pounder Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) pushed Navy's lead to 6-0 after earning a 9-4 victory over the Wolfpack's Mark Jahad. Parsons scored the match's first points with a takedown at the 1:26 mark in the opening period, never trailing in the match.

Winning his 15th-straight match was senior heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.), who turned in his 11 fall of the year. After a scoreless opening period, Prendergast forged ahead in the match by escaping and 25 seconds later he threw NC State rookie Bobby Isola to the mat to take a 3-0 lead. Once on the mat, it took just 15 seconds to pin Isola (3:40), giving Navy a comfortable 12-0 lead. Prendergast, who has 34 career pins to his credit, is now just one pin shy of tying Scott Kelly (1984-88) for third on the Mids' all-time falls list, while Karl Haywood (1995-99) is second with 36.

NC State claimed its first win of the night at 125 pounds where sophomore Taylor Cummings earned a 6-1 victory over Navy rookie Allan Stein (Portland, Maine). The two wrestlers went into the second period scoreless, but Cummings went on a run that included a takedown in the final 26 seconds of the second period and a three-point nearfall to open the final stanza.

The ensuing match was one of the strangest of its kind in recent memory. Navy's Matt Pagan appeared to have defeated NC State freshman Darius Little, 9-4, however a scoring error to start the second period was discovered and reported at the end of the match. Navy was inadvertently allowed its choice in the second period in both the 125 and 133-pound bouts. NC State head coach Carter Jordan asked for the third period to be re-wrestled and was granted the request. Pagan held a 4-3 advantage heading into the third period and owned just over a minute of riding time. Instead of his original down position he had in the previously wrestled third period, Little began the final period down and escaped almost immediately. With the match tied at four apiece and Pagan holding riding time, the two battled it out. Little made a last-ditched effort at the buzzer and was awarded the takedown to earn the 6-5 victory.

Instead of Navy holding a 15-3 advantage, NC State closed the gap, trailing 12-6.

The win seemed to change the momentum for the Wolfpack, as it was the first of four straight wins for them. It also happened to feature a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top 10.

Seventh-ranked Joe Caramanica easily defeated Navy's Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) at 141, while No. 7 Darrion Caldwell came just seconds away from suffering defeat against Navy freshman Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) at 149 pounds. Caldwell owned a 6-3 advantage heading into the final period, but an escape by Saddoris with 1:10 remaining in the match gave the Navy newcomer an opportunity to knot up the match. Saddoris made several attempts at Caldwell, but was unable to gain control. Meanwhile, Caldwell looked to be running out the clock when he lunged at Saddoris and was awarded a takedown with 25 seconds to go in the match. With 1:08 riding time, Caldwell clinched the 9-4 win and tied the match at 12-12.

After finding himself down 2-0 in the match, Navy junior 157-pounder Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) quickly turned the tables on NC State rookie Colton Palmer. An escape by Ahern, followed by a takedown with a minute to go in the opening period gave Ahern the lead for good. He tacked on a point for an escape to open the second period and was awarded a fifth point for riding time to give him a 5-2 advantage. It also gave Navy a 15-12 lead in the match.

The 165-pound match had the makings of a sensational bout. Navy rookie Matt DeMichiel (Whitesboro, N.Y.) broke a scoreless tie in the second by escaping the grasp of NC State junior Jalil Dozier. Dozier, though, took the lead by taking down DeMichiel with under a minute to go in the second stanza. But Dozier was penalized a point for locking his hands and heading into the final period, the match was even at 2-2. Dozier, who began the period down, took the one-point advantage with an escape. DeMichiel made a nifty move and brought Dozier to the mat to take a 4-3 advantage with only 56 seconds remaining. But it was Dozier who would get the win as he reversed DeMichiel's hold with just three ticks left on the clock.

With the match tied at 15 all, Stolpinski met the official in the center of the mat where his hand was raised and NC State conceded. Senior Randy Goodman was scheduled to wrestle against Stolpinski, however, he suffered an injury earlier in the day when the Wolfpack competed at Maryland.

The win was Navy's ninth in a row against the Wolfpack and now hold a 23-8 series advantage.

"The frustration of this season just continues," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We really haven't been healthy as a team since Reno (Dec. 18), but for every wrestler who can't compete, it's somebody else's opportunity. We need those guys to take advantage of those opportunities.

"We still have an awful lot of work to do to prepare for Army and the conference championship and time is running out. I'm hoping that our experience pays off and we correct the mistakes while we can."

Navy will take a step away from dual action when it competes in the All-Academy Championship next Saturday at Army. The Mids have won each of the last four team titles, while Stolpinski, Parsons and Prendergast will look to defend their titles from a year ago. Stolpinski, meanwhile, is looking to win his fourth straight All-Academy crown.

Navy 21, NC State 15184 - Casey Caldwell (N) dec Ryan Goodman (NCST), 11-4197 - Matt Parsons (N) dec Mark Jahad (NCST), 9-4HWT - #3 Ed Prendergast (N) fall Bobby Isola (NCST), 3:40125 - Taylor Cummings (NCST) dec Allan Stein (N), 6-1133 - Darius Little (NCST) dec Matt Pagan (N), 6-5141 - #7 Joe Caramanica (NCST) dec Glenn Shober (N), 7-0149 - #10 Darrion Caldwell (NCST) dec Bryce Saddoris (N), 9-4157 - Joel Ahern (N) dec Colton Palmer (NCST), 5-2165 - Jalil Dozier (NCST) dec Matt DeMichiel (N), 5-4174 - #8 Matt Stolpinski (N) forfeit