LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Navy wrestling team (5-3, 4-0 EIWA) stays hot winning its fourth-straight dual when it knocked off Bucknell (5-7, 3-2 EIWA) on Friday night at Davis Gym in Lewisburg, Pa., 27-9. The Mids never trailed in the dual winning seven of the 10 bouts and earned bonus points in three matches.
"We talked tonight about repeat performances each week and we did that tonight. Nick Treaster got us off to a solid start with a bonus point win," remarked head coach Cary Kolat. "[Josh] Koderhandt, [Kaemen] Smith and [Jonathan] Ley earned points at the end of periods, they never stopped wrestling. Those points lead to a bonus point victory."
Freshman Nick Treaster kicked the dual off at 125 pounds with a shutout tech fall victory over Chris Nucifora, 15-0. Treaster got out to a 7-0 lead with a takedown and a full set of back points in the opening period. The Newton, Kan., native added eight more points with a pair of takedowns, an escape and over a minute of riding time for his second dual victory this season.
The Bison would get on the scoreboard with a low scoring 2-0 victory at 133 pounds. Midshipmen Brendan Ferretti battled against 29th-ranked Kurt Phipps. Neither wrestler could generate much offense with the only point coming from an escape by Phipps. Phipps rode out Ferretti in the top position the entire third period to earn the riding time point.
Navy went on a run winning five-straight bouts at 141, 149, 157, 165 and 174 pounds.
It was a top 20 showdown at 141 pounds as senior team captain and seventh-ranked Josh Koderhandt went head-to-head against 20th-ranked Dylan Chappell. Followed by a scoreless first stanza, Koderhandt opened the scoring in the second period with an early escape, a takedown and a four point near fall for an 8-0 lead. In the final period Koderhandt added another takedown, three back points and amassed over a minute of riding time to record his first major decision victory this season, 15-1.
Junior Kaemen Smith (149) overcame an early 4-1 deficit against Aiden Davis. A takedown by Smith in the final seconds of the second stanza tied the match 4-4 going into the final two minutes. The Erie, Pa., native escaped the grasp of Davis to leave with a 5-4 victory and extended Navy's lead, 12-3.
Jonathan Ley won his fifth-straight dual match at 157 pounds in a low scoring battle over Caden Wirnsberger, 2-1.
Freshman Dylan Elmore continues his impressive freshman campaign with an upset victory over 21st-ranked Noah Mulvaney, 4-3. A double leg takedown from Elmore in the first period was the only takedown of the bout. Elmore improves to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in dual matches. He joins senior Josh Koderhandt as the only Midshipmen with a perfect record in dual play.
"Dylan looked extremely solid in a big-time match. He is improving each time he steps on the mat and doesn't allow things to rattle him," said Kolat. "He was key for us as that was a momentum changing match. We said it at the start, if we win 165 it would keep us going."
Thirteenth-ranked Danny Wask kept Navy's hot streak going when he knocked off 18th-ranked Myles Takats, 4-2. Wask recorded a much-needed takedown in the third period to secure the match and added to his team leading seventh ranked victory.
Bucknell would win the next two bouts at 184 and 197 pounds to make the score 21-9.
Junior Jacob Lucas made his season debut at 285 pounds as he squared off against Nolan Springer. Lucas was awarded the victory due to an injury suffered by Springer in the second period.
The Midshipmen will enjoy a week off before they shift their focus to rival Army in the annual Army-Navy Star Match, as part of the overall Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA in West Point, N.Y., on Feb. 16.
Navy 27, Bucknell 9
125: Nick Treaster (NAVY) tech fall Chris Nucifora, 15-0 // Navy 5, Bucknell 0
133: No. 29 Kurt Phipps dec Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 2-0 // Navy 5, Bucknell 3
141: No. 7 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) major No. 20 Dylan Chappell, 15-1 // Navy 9, Bucknell 3
149: Kaemen Smith (NAVY) dec Aiden Davis, 5-4 // Navy 12, Bucknell 3
157: Jonathan Ley (NAVY) dec Cade Wirnsberger, 2-1 // Navy 15, Bucknell 3
165: Dylan Elmore (NAVY) dec No. 21 Noah Mulvaney, 4-3 // Navy 18, Bucknell 3
174: No. 13 Danny Wask (NAVY) dec No. 18 Myles Takats, 4-2 // Navy 21, Bucknell 3
184: Logan Deacetis dec Daniel Williams (NAVY), 6-2 // Navy 21, Bucknell 6
197: No. 24 Dillon Bechtold dec No. 32 Payton Thomas (NAVY), 4-2 // Navy 21, Bucknell 9
285: Jacob Lucas (NAVY) injury default Nolan Springer // Navy 27, Bucknell 9
