By Ana Blickenstaff
The University of Maryland men’s wrestling faced Navy in a battle that resulted in both team’s benches rising to their feet in excitement and agony as Navy won the dual 20-18.
The day began with a tough fought match in the 125-weight class between Maryland’s Josh Polacek and Navy’s Cam Timok. Josh was gritty and wouldn’t let Timok off the hook easy, as the final score was 8-4 in a decision for Navy.
Geoffrey Alexander in the 133-pound match answered Navy with a 12 -2 victory by major decision. This win put the Terps in the lead 4-3.
With the momentum in Maryland’s favor, Terp’s experienced senior Frank Goodwin at the 141-weight class dominated in a major decision, 15-2.
“I needed to conserve and do my stuff,” Goodwin said.
The Terp’s 141-pound match ended in victory as Shyheim Brown conquered Navy’s Cory Wilding in a 7-1 decision. Following was a crowd-pleasing win by the Terps Lou Mascola in the 157-pound match as he pulled out a 12-3 major decision. You could plainly hear coach McCoy yelling over the enthusiastic fans, “Focus right now!”
Energy rose as the dual continued between sophomore Tyler Manion and Navy’s Peyton Walsh. Walsh ended the battle with a final score of 10-2 in the 165-weight class. Both benches were on their feet, and the crowd was electric. Each team could taste victory. The next match was between Maryland’s Josh Snook and Navy’s Jadaen Bernstein. Snook was pinned by Bernstein and the dual continued with the Terps ahead. The next match proved to turn the events around when Fitzgerald was the victim of a take down with mere seconds remaining in the match. Maryland’s senior heavyweight starter, Spencer Myers, snatched a win by a 6-0 decision.
The Terps weren’t finished as another dual was underway. In the midst of a one-sided scoring dual, Alexander had a tremendous match against Lehigh’s Mason Beckman. Maryland’s junior from Pittsburgh turned the match around with a beautiful reversal that ultimately resulted in a 2-1 victory in the 133-pound class. Alexander explained how he had grown up competing against Beckman and knew how he wrestled.
“I haven’t beaten him in a long time. I knew how the match was going to go, I just needed to stay in control. I just wrestled smart,” Alexander said.
Although Lehigh went home with a 35-3 team triumph, the Terrapins never gave up the fight. In the 184-pound class, Tony Gardner kept Lehigh’s Nate Brown battling for his victory and Gardner kept Brown at bay with numerous escapes. Brown, after an intense matchup, overcame Gardner by technical fall.
Arundel native Frank Goodwin explained his philosophy while competing against Lehigh.
“I had to readjust to a few things during the match and work on getting off the bottom,” he said. The team learned valuable lessons that will make them stronger in their upcoming matches.
At each weight class the Terps fought valiantly and head coach, Kerry McCoy seemed to be focused on what lies ahead for the team.
“It may sound cliché, but we just want to get our guys as good as they can be. We want to focus on ourselves, we just have to come out and wrestle,” McCoy said.
