Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Navy
Wrestling Captures Fourth-Straight Star-Meet
February 22, 2020 | Wrestling
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - In a thriller that came down to a total match point tiebreaker, the Army West Point wrestling team made it four straight wins over service-academy rival Navy Saturday night, edging out a 16-15 Star-Meet victory.
"Just really proud of our guys for finding a way in a really hard fought match," said head coach Kevin Ward. "It was anything but pretty but our guys found a way. That's what championship programs do. They find a way and tonight we found a way to grit one out."
The Black Knights' (10-3, 4-1 EIWA) four straight wins over Navy (8-6, 3-2 EIWA) are the most in the series history for Army, surpassing the Cadets' three in-a-row run from 1960-62. The win also moves head coach Kevin Ward's career record against the Mids to 5-1, the most victories by any Army wrestling coach.
The dual was split five matches apiece after Ben Sullivan won a 1-0 decision over Riley Smith in the heavyweight bout to move the team score to 15-15. That's when the judges dove into the tiebreak scenarios, by way of criteria c (total match points scored only from decisions, major decisions and technical falls), which went Army's favor, 29-26.
Senior Trey Chalifoux got Army on the board first with a 5-2 decision over Logan Treaster to make it 3-0. The teams would split the next four matches, with the Black Knights holding on to an 8-6 lead heading into the 165 pound bout. In a high-profile match between two nationally ranked wrestlers, Tanner Skidgel narrowly defeated Cael McCormick 1-0 to push Navy ahead 9-6.
After exchanging wins at 174 and 184 pounds, Navy went ahead 15-12 after Jacob Koser defeated J.T. Brown 6-1, leaving it all up to Sullivan to get Army the win.
Army's 10 dual wins are the most since 2008-09, as the Black Knights now set their sights on postseason competition.
"So happy for our seniors to go undefeated against Navy," said Ward. "They've brought this program to a new level and we are fired up for the post season."
Check out the highlights from our dual and the inside look at Coach Ward's locker room talk! Our senior class capped off four in a row against Navy, which has never been done before...and we're not done yet. #BHAW #BeatEveryone #ChasingGreatness pic.twitter.com/ETlX9uMw4m
— Army Wrestling (@ArmyWP_Wres) February 26, 2020
RESULTS
Army 16, Navy 15 | 2,012 attendance
125 | #17 Trey Chalifoux dec Logan Treaster (NAVY), 5-2 // Army 3, Navy 0
133 | Lane Peters dec Casey Cobb (NAVY), 3-1 // Army 6, Navy 0
141 | Cody Trybus (NAVY) def Corey Shie, 3-1 SV // Army 6, Navy 3
149 | Jared Prince (NAVY) dec P.J. Ogunsanya, 7-2 // Army 5, Navy 6
157 | Lucas Weiland dec Val Park (NAVY), 4-0 // Army 8, Navy 6
165 | #9 Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) dec Cael McCormick, 1-0 // Army 8, Navy 9
174 | Spencer Carey (NAVY) dec #11 Ben Harvey dec, 3-1 // Army 8, Navy 12
184 | #18 Noah Stewart dec Dean Caravela (NAVY), 11-3 // Army 12, Navy 12
197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec J.T. Brown, 6-1 // Army 12, Navy 15
285 | #20 Ben Sullivan dec Riley Smith (NAVY), 1-0 // Army 15, Navy 15
* Army was deducted a team point following the 149-pound match for unsportsmanlike conduct
* Army wins tie-breaker by way of criteria c: total match points, 29-26
UP NEXT
Army will compete at the EIWA Championships March 6-7 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Players Mentioned
