Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Columbia
Columbia Holds Off Army, 20-13
January 08, 2011 | Wrestling
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army wrestling team began the second half of the season by dropping a 20-13 decision to EIWA rival Columbia in a dual match Friday evening at Arvin Gymnasium.
The Lions, who won six of the 10 bouts, even their record at 3-3. The Black Knights, meanwhile, fall to 4-3 on the season.
Junior Travis Coffey got Army off to a good start as the third-year performer took a 5-4 decision from Penn Gottfried in the 125-pound matchup. Coffey used a pair of takedowns and one escape to establish a 5-1 advantage after two periods, but had to hold off Gottfried in the final stanza. Coffey improves to 5-1 in dual matches this season.
Columbia knotted the score at 3-3 as Kyle Gilchrist scored a 3-1 sudden victory decision opposite Army sophomore Jordan Thome in the 133-pound bout. The bout was scoreless following two frames, but Gilchrist earned the first point of the match after Thome was cited for stalling. Thome evened the score with the riding time point as the second-year grappler accrued two minutes of riding time. Gilchrist took control in the first sudden victory period, taking Thome to the mat halfway through the one-minute stanza.
Senior Casey Thome put Army back in front, 7-3, as he cruised to a 10-0 major decision triumph over Matt Bystol at 141 pounds. Thome posted three takedowns during the dominating victory, which improved his dual match record to a team-best 6-1.
Columbia tied the match for a second time (7-7) as Steve Santos secured a 10-1 major decision victory opposite Army senior Nicholas Bundy in the 149-pound bout. Santos, who controlled the contest from the outset, nearly pinned Bundy late in the third period.
Army senior Rudy Chelednik helped the Black Knights reclaim the lead (10-7) as the Blairsville, Pa., native captured a 7-0 decision from Jake O'Hara in the 157-pound bout. Chelednik, who evens his overall record at 11-11 this season, broke open a scoreless match with a three-point near fall early in the second period. He added a two-point takedown and a one-point escape in the third period, before tacking on the riding time point.
Columbia evened the score at 10-all as Eren Civan posted a 6-5 win over Army freshman Alex Smith at 165 pounds. The bout was tied at 5-5 following the third period, but Civan was awarded the deciding point for accumulating more than one minute of riding time.
The Lions took their first lead of the match (13-10) as Stephen West secured a 5-2 decision opposite Army sophomore Collin Wittmeyer in the 174-pound matchup.
Columbia won its third straight bout as Nick Mills scored an 8-2 decision against Army sophomore Robert Doyle at 184 pounds. The win increased the Lions' advantage to 16-10 with just two matches remaining.
Army junior Daniel Mills forged a 10-5 victory over Mike Pushpak in the 197-pound bout to trim Army's deficit to 16-13. Mills used three takedowns and one reversal en route to the win, which gave the Black Knights a shot at the victory heading into the final match of the night.
Columbia's Kevin Lester sealed the victory for the Lions in the heavyweight bout as he posted a 10-1 major decision victory over Army sophomore Christian Botero.
"Regardless of the outcome, we take away a lot from tonight's match, especially when you're dealing with a young, big-hearted team," said first-year Army head coach Joe Heskett. "We are coming together each week and I think our effort and conditioning looked very good tonight.
"I wasn't disappointed with our effort, but the bottom line is that we must pull out the close matches. We weren't able to do that tonight. Columbia has a solid team, and our hats go off to them. They came to wrestle and they got the win."
Army will resume its dual match slate next Saturday, Jan. 15, when the Black Knights travel to New Brunswick, N.J., to face Rutgers, Cleveland State and Merchant Marine Academy in dual matches. The action is set to get under way at 1 p.m.
Notes: Army sees its all-time record versus Columbia fall to 50-7-1 ... Nicholas Bundy was a surprise start at 149 pounds as sophomore Daniel Young was scratched from the lineup due to an injury ... it marked Bundy's first dual match appearance of the season ... Alex Smith received the start at 165 points, marking his first career dual match appearance ... prior to the match, Army and Columbia competed in four exhibition matches.
Columbia 20, Army 13
125: Travis Coffey (A) dec. Penn Gottfried, 5-4
133: Kyle Gilchrist (C) dec. Jordan Thome, 3-1 (sv)
141: Casey Thome (A) maj. dec. Matt Bystol, 10-0
149: Steve Santos (C) maj. dec. Nick Bundy (A) dec., 10-1
157: Rudy Chelednik (A) dec. Jake O'Hara, 7-0
165: Eren Civian (C) dec. Alex Smith, 6-5
174: Stephen West (C) dec. Collin Wittmeyer (A), 5-2
184: Nick Mills (C) dec. Robert Doyle, 8-2
197: Daniel Mills (A) dec. Mike Pushpak, 10-5
285: Kevin Lester (C) maj. dec. Christian Botero, 10-1
Players Mentioned
