Harold Nichols Open Results | Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open Results

AMES, Iowa - Navy junior Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won the 149-pound title at the 2016 Harold Nichols Open Sunday, while seven of his Navy wrestling teammates also placed in what was the Mids' first tournament appearance of the 2016-17 campaign. The victory by Wilding marked his second collegiate tournament victory and his first in a completely open event (2015 Michigan State Open Fr/So Div.).

"Today the team was tested for the first time this season and the 'team' answered," said third-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "Everyone on the team felt the support and expectations of their teammates and the pushed themselves beyond comfort for personal accolades and team standards.

"We have some areas that need to be addressed, but we have come a long way in riding and expecting bonus points."

Along with his teammates, Wilding opened the season a week ago, picking up a pair of victories against Div. III foes Johns Hopkins and Delaware Valley. His path to a major tournament championship on Sunday, however, would prove to be a more difficult path. The third-year Navy starter opened up with a pin against Central College's Matt Pool before stringing back-to-back 6-2 decisions over Minnesota's Ben Brancale and Northern Iowa's Hunter Washburn. Wilding cruised to a 4-0 decision over Grand View College's Walker Marshall to punch his ticket into the finals where he would not be denied, pinning Wisconsin's Zander Wick in 5:28.

"Corey came out in every match ready to compete line-to-line, whistle-to-whistle. He has been a constant in the room since March and he demonstrated his ability to reach for his goals today in a dominant way."

Placing second for the Midshipmen was two-time NCAA qualifier and 11th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein (Jr / Glen Gardner, N.J.) at 174 pounds. He opened up with back-to-back tech falls over Iowa State's Max Krieger (17-2) and Central College's Lane Rummelhart (15-0) before scoring a 9-3 victory against Jordan Gundrum of Ellsworth College in the quarters. Bernstein took a 12-4 major decision over Nebraska's Micah Barnes in the semis, setting up a finals matchup against 10th-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State in the finals. Weatherspoon got the best of Bernstein, pinning him in just over two minutes.

"Bernstein is a true warrior who, when set back in the finals, responded the NAVY way. He shook hands, found a private area and put himself through a barrage of physical activity to leave an indelible mark in his mind that his finals match was not the best of his ability."

Michael Coleman's move from 165 to 184 pounds in the off-season has proven to be a positive mood for the junior. The Hudson, Ohio product rebounded after an 8-6 sudden victory defeat against South Dakota State's Brady Ayers in the second round to rattle off five consecutive to wins to place third. Coleman defeated Ayers in the third-place bout by a 12-3 major decision.

Meanwhile, also placing at 184 pounds was team captain Ryan Harman (Sr / West Linn, Ore.), who finished fifth. Harman was pinned in his opening match by Nebraska's Timothy Dudley (2:54), but came back to win four in a row to find himself in the consolation semis. Ayers knocked off Harman by a 7-4 count, sending Harman to the fifth-place match where he would win by medical forfeit over Ellsworth College's Anthony Collins.

Returning NCAA qualifier Nicholas Gil (So / Crystal Lake, Ill.) wrestling nine matches on the afternoon en route to a fourth-place finish at 141 pounds. Gil easily won his first two bouts by way of a tech fall and a pin, but suffered a 5-3 setback in the third round against Nebraska's Collin Purinton. Gil won five in a row to advance to the third-place bout where he was tripped up by Iowa State's Kanen Storr, 6-4.

Sixteenth-ranked Jared Prince (Safety Harbor, Fla.) also placed at 141 pounds despite not being able to wrestle in his final two matches due to injury. The Navy newcomer won his first four matches of the day, including pinning Nebraska's Aris Shino (4:16) and Wisconsin's JJ McClelland (1:59), to springboard into the semifinals. Prince, however, would not only lose his match to Nebraska's Colton McCrystal, he would be forced to watch the remainder of the competition from the sidelines after sustaining an injury. Prince ended his day in fifth.

After sitting our nearly the entire 2015-16 season with a shoulder injury, 197-pound Steban Cervantes (Chula Vista, Calif.) has returned with a clean bill of health. The junior put together a 3-2 mark that featured a 15-4 major decision over Grand View College's Jonathen Dennis to place fifth.

Rounding out placewinners for the Mids was freshman heavyweight Andrew Piehl, who finished sixth. A native of Rogers, Minn., Piehl produced a 3-3 mark that included a pair of wins over Nebraska-Kearney's Jarrod Hinrichs (4-1, 7-2). Piehl went on to fall short in his fifth-place bout, dropping a 12-7 decision to Nebraska's David Jensen.

Navy also sent eight wrestlers to compete at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open held at Binghamton on Sunday, however, none of the eight placed.

Navy returns home next Saturday to play host to the 39th annual Navy Classic at Wesley Brown Field House beginning at 10:00 am. Joining the Midshipmen in this year's tournament will be Binghamton, Brown, Bucknell, Campbell, The Citadel, Delaware Valley, George Mason, Indiana, Johns Hopkins, Kent State and Ohio.


### Go Navy ###