Army Rallies Past Navy on Senior Day

Sunday, February 19

West Point, N.Y.

2 PM

Army West Point

Navy

Army Rallies Past Navy on Senior Day

February 19, 2017 | Wrestling

Highlights

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point wrestling team used a pair of decisions at 197 pounds and heavyweight to secure a 19-14 victory over the Navy Midshipmen in Sunday's Star Match at Christl Arena.

The Black Knights improved to 7-5 on the season and 5-3 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), while Navy falls to 8-3 and 1-2, respectively.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army improves to 7-49-5 all-time against the Midshipmen.
This was the first time the Black Knights defeated Navy in two out of three years since taking three-straight victories from 1960-62.
Head Coach Kevin Ward becomes the second coach in program history with multiple wins over Navy, joining LeRoy Alitz.
With the win, Ward became the only coach in program history to win two out of his first three star matches.
The win was Army's 10th EIWA victory under Ward.
Sophomore Austin Harry added his fourth major decision of the season.
Senior co-captain Russ Parsons closed out his duals career with a 9-2 decision to bring his record to 23-5.
Parsons' 9-1 record in duals this season marks a single-season personal best.
Freshman Trey Chalifoux, Harry, and sophomore Rocco Caywood all earned their first-career victories over Navy.
Senior heavyweight Trevor Smith notched his third dual win of the season with the dual on the line to clinch the victory for Army.

KEY MOMENT
Smith earned a reverse late in the third period of the final bout to take a 2-0 lead with 30 seconds left. He then turned his opponent to earn two near-fall points to secure the Star for Army.

HOW IT HAPPENED
125: Trey Chalifoux dec. over Brant Leadbeter, 14-8 (Army leads, 3-0)
133: Austin Harry maj. dec. over Cody Lambert, 18-6 (Army leads, 7-0)
141: #15 Jared Prince dec. over #18 Logan Everett, 7-5 (Army leads, 7-3)
149: Corey Wilding maj. dec. over Nick Noel, 14-2 (Tied, 7-7)
157: #16 Russ Parsons dec. over Zack Davis, 9-2 (Army leads, 10-7)
165: Andrew Mendel dec. Drew Daniels, 7-4 (Army leads, 13-7)
174: #15 Jadaen Bernstein dec. over Ben Harvey, 3-1 (Army leads, 13-10)
184: Michael Coleman maj. dec. over Samson Imonode, 10-0 (Navy leads, 14-13)
197: Rocco Caywood dec. over Steban Cervantes, 7-4 (Army leads, 16-14)
285: Trevor Smith dec. over Joshua Roetman, 5-0 (Army leads, 19-14)

COACHES CORNER

Head Coach Kevin Ward – "It was a hard-fought dual meet from both sides. Give credit to their guys. We knew coming in that matches were going to come down to the last 30 seconds or minute, and whoever was able to win those tough situations has a chance to win the dual meet for their team. I'm really proud of our guys for digging deep and fighting hard through matches. We have 10 seniors that we get to recognize today and send them out with a win over their rival in their final home match."
"Here's the most important thing: we have 10 seniors on the team and there is not a single coach on the staff who was here when they were recruited. It's about their leadership and embracing a new coaching staff who does thing in a bit of a different way. It wasn't always easy, but they embraced us and bought into what we are trying to accomplish. When you want to see things change, that's what has to happen. Guys have to buy in to the coaches and the seniors need to lead the way. We're fortunate we have some guys who have done that."
"Wrestling heavyweight in a dual meet can be a tough and lonely spot. He's had several dual meets that came down to him this year, and he's won most of them for us. It wasn't always that way. Talk about someone with incredible growth. His maturity and learning how to be tough and how to win has been fun to be a part of. They tried to throw a little curve ball at him there at the end, and he stayed focused and got the job done. I'm so happy for him and the rest of the seniors."

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