Columbia Dual
jan 14 -
Bonus points won the dual
meet for the Dutchmen as they picked up four falls and had a couple
of "crucial losses" against Columbia Wednesday night. The
final score was 36 - 31, in what could be considered Guilderland's
closest dual meet win of the season.
Wrestling began at 112 lbs, where Kevin Bates looked solid on top
with a 5-0 decision to get the Dutchmen ahead early. Travis
Wolanski followed him with another decision win, 8-6 over Columbia's
Evan Wallace.
Ben Moon lost a close, yet important match to 2008 Section II
place-winner Adam Hulett. Hulett scored the only points of the
match late in the third period with a reversal. The narrow
margin would be a crucial factor in the final team score outcome.
Matt Cubillos made short work of his opponent by scoring a fall in
47 seconds of the first period. It was his 5th consecutive
first period pin. Fellow senior Matt Hart faced Columbia
Captain and 2008 Section II place-winner Brian Latham in perhaps the
most exciting match of the evening. Hart took an early lead by
scoring the first takedown, but was behind 3-2 at the end of the
period following an escape and a takedown by Latham. Going
into the third period, Hart looked to be the less fatigued of the
two wrestlers, but a slight mistake cost him 3 back points, and
ultimately a 7-4 decision.
Greg Reinhart blanked his opponent 3-0 at 140 to put the Dutchmen up
15-6. The Blue Devils scored their only pinfalls of the night
back-to-back at 145 and 152 lbs to put them ahead for the first time
at 18-15. Eugene Sellie tied the match at 18 following a win
at 160. Junior Matt Miller wrestled hard for 6 minutes in the
other crucial matchup of the evening. Miller lost the match
8-4, but gave up nothing to his opponent, and battled for team
points until the buzzer. The narrow loss put the Dutchmen in
good position heading into the final third of the dual.
Brendan Ruddy continued his winning ways at 189, as he gave up no
points and scored a third period fall to put Guilderland back on top
in the team score. Freshman Jesse Mesick picked up a fall at
215 and Devan Van Auken clinched the match late for the Dutchmen,
with a fall at 285 in the second period. A forfeit at 96 and a
major decision at 103 narrowed the team score for Columbia, but the
final showed Guilderland on top, 36-31.
Had one match gone the other way, Columbia would have finished the
night with the "W." This match was certainly a 14-man effort
and was decided by bonus points. The coaches awarded Matt
Miller and Ben Moon the co-Dutchmen Award for their team-first
mentality, giving up nothing to higher ranked opponents.
Congratulations to the team on a well-earned win.
