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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy wrestling team officially kicked off the 2015-16 season on Sunday afternoon at the Wesley Brown Field House, earning dual victories over Delaware Valley and York (Pa.) College.

The Mids split into two squads with dual matches against their foes taking place simultaneously on a pair of mats. The two Navy teams won 33 of the 40 individual matches on the day, with the Navy Blue squad dropping just one match. Navy Blue defeated York (Pa.) College, 39-0, in its opener before scoring a 36-4 win in its final bout. Navy Gold, meanwhile, posted a 27-11 win against Delaware Valley and closed out the afternoon with a 32-12 victory against York (Pa.) College.

"Starting off the 2015-16 season with the Blue-Gold Duals was a new opportunity for our athletes and fans and was well received by both," said second-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "The Naval Academy is a special place and an event like this showcases the commitment to excellence our team, the administration and our student body strive for.

"We brought in two Pennsylvania schools and divided our top 20 athletes to help create some team chemistry amongst our squad. The first two rounds gave us a good look at what we have worked on and what our guys are buying into. I was pleased with the pace our wrestlers set and striving to score points throughout the match. We need to improve our top position in the near future and have a better understanding of the tactics of mat positioning."

The Navy Blue squad posted 13 extra-point victories on the afternoon, including a pair of falls by senior 184-pound Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.), who stands 18th nationally in the preseason rankings. Miller is now an incredible 25-1 in matches decided by fall and is ranked 10th all-time at Navy in falls.

Senior team captain John Keck (Wading River, N.Y.) looks to be the front runner in replacing three-time NCAA qualifier Peyton Walsh at 165 pounds. Keck was in command of both of his matches, posting major decisions over York (Pa.) College's Frankie Krauss (12-4) and Delaware Valley's Nick Della Fera (14-4).

Another new face in the lineup was freshman 141-pound Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) who walked away with a pair of wins. He earned a win in his first collegiate match, taking an 8-3 decision over Greg Warner from York (Pa.) College and closed out the day with an 11-2 major decision against Tim Ambacher of Delaware Valley.

Also earning a pair of wins for the Navy Blue team were sophomore Brant Leadbeter (Owings, Md.) at 125 pounds, sophomore Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.) at 133 pounds, sophomore Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) at 149 pounds, sophomore Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.) at 157 pounds, nationally-ranked sophomore Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.) at 174 pounds and sophomore Steban Cervantes (Chula Vista, Calif.) at 197 pounds.

The Navy Gold squad, meanwhile showcased a number of new faces vying for a starting job. Sophomore 157-pound Rodney Hahn (Winfield, Mo.) stalked both of his foes and earned a pair of victories by way of fall. Hahn did not see any action a year ago for the Mids. Also looking stout was freshman Adam Connell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at 141 pounds. Connell picked up a 7-0 win against Delaware Valley's Tim Ambacher in his first career appearance and finished off the day with a 15-0 tech fall against Greg Warner from York (Pa.) College.

The other Navy Gold members who went on to post 2-0 marks Sunday included sophomore Casey Cowan (Houston, Texas) at 149 pounds, sophomore Michael Coleman (Hudson, Ohio) at 165 pounds, junior Ryan Harman (West Linn, Ore.) at 174 pounds, sophomore Robert Mannier (Troy, Ohio) at 184 pounds and senior Luke Schaeffer (Carmel, Ind.) at 197 pounds.

The Mids return to the mat next Sunday when they travel to Vestal, N.Y. to take part in the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open hosted by Binghamton.

Navy (Blue) 39, York (Pa.) College 0
125 - Brant Leadbeter (N) major Tom Gattinella (Y) 10-2
133 - Zack Davis (N) dec Ryan Flynn (Y) 6-0
141 - Nicholas Gil (N) dec Greg Warner (Y) 8-3
149 - Corey Wilding (N) major Jonathan Buhagiar (Y) 17-7
157 - Drew Daniels (N) dec Cory Rank (Y) 6-2
165 - John Keck (N) major Frankie Krauss (Y) 12-4
174 - Jadaen Bernstein (N) t-fall Joe Sindoni (Y) 20-5
184 - Mathew Miller (N) fall Jesse Huber (Y) 3:42
197 - Steban Cervantes (N) major John Shorter (Y) 16-6
285 - Carter Shipley (N) dec Mike Spencer (Y) 3-1 (sv)

Navy (Gold) 27, Delaware Valley 11
125 - Brenden Velez (DV) t-fall Jordan Denslow (N) 16-0
133 - Conor Kirkegard (DV) dec Dane Lemmon (N) 7-1
141 - Adam Connell (N) dec Tim Ambacher (DV) 7-0
149 - Casey Cowan (N) dec Michael Caldwell (DV) 9-4
157 - Rodney Hahn (N) fall Sekou Harris (DV) 1:18
165 - Michael Coleman (N) major Nick Della Fera (DV) 9-0
174 - Ryan Harman (N) dec Ben Schweiger (DV) 17-10
184 - Robert Mannier (N) dec Chris Jastrzebski (DV) 5-1
197 - Luke Schaeffer (N) t-fall Alex Price (DV) 15-0
285 - Zach Roseberry (DV) dec Thomas Ott (N) 8-1

Navy (Blue) 36, Delaware Valley 4
125 - Brant Leadbeter (N) dec Brenden Velez (DV) 7-4
133 - Zack Davis (N) major Conor Kirkegard (DV) 11-1
141 - Nicholas Gil (N) major Tim Ambacher (DV) 11-2
149 - Corey Wilding (N) major Michael Caldwell (DV) 17-4
157 - Drew Daniels (N) dec Sekou Harris (DV) 2-0
165 - John Keck (N) major Nick Della Fera (DV) 14-4
174 - Jadaen Bernstein (N) dec Ben Schweiger (DV) 12-5
184 - Mathew Miller (N) fall Chris Jastrzebski (DV) 2:10
197 - Steban Cervantes (N) t-fall Alex Prince (DV) 18-3
285 - Zach Roseberry (DV) major Carter Shipley (N) 11-2

Navy (Gold) 32, York (Pa.) College 12
125 - Tom Gattinella (Y) t-fall Jordan Denslow (N) 16-0
133 - Ryan Flynn (Y) major Dane Lemmon (N) 9-0
141 - Adam Connell (N) t-fall Greg Warner (Y) 15-0
149 - Casey Cowan (N)dec Isaiah McGowan (Y) 12-5
157 - Rodney Hahn (N) fall David Keith (Y) 4:07
165 - Michael Coleman (N) fall Austin Barley (Y) 2:58
174 - Ryan Harman (N) dec Mitchell Ramsey (Y) 9-2
184 - Robert Mannier (N) fall Jesse Huber (Y) 6:49
197 - Luke Schaeffer (N) dec John Shorter (Y) 5-1
285 - Mike Spencer (Y) dec Thomas Ott (N) 3-1


### Go Navy ###