ARMY WRESTLING PLACES THIRD AT CORNELL INVITATIONAL

Phillip Simpson and Luke Calvert Claim Individual Titles

ITHACA, N.Y. – Led by individual titles from Phillip Simpson and Luke Calvert the Army wrestling team finished third at the Cornell Invitational Saturday. Nationally-ranked Cornell and Edinboro were the only teams to edge the Black Knights.

Simpson, ranked No. 4 nationally at 157 pounds, upped his season record to 8-0 after winning all four of his bouts on his way to his second consecutive tournament trophy. Simpson opened the day by pinning Steve Lucchesi of Millersville in 1 minute, 39 seconds. He followed that with an 8-2 decision over Virginia’s Paul Dunstan. In his final two matches Simpson had to face nationally-ranked wrestlers from Edinboro and Cornell. First up was No. 20 Ryan Yates of Edinboro, who Simpson dispatched of with a 12-2 decision. Then, in the finals, Simpson won by an 8-4 margin over No. 15 Scott Roth of host Cornell.

With the four victories Saturday, Simpson improved his career record to 82-11.

Calvert, ranked No. 20 nationally in the 184-pound weight class, won his first individual title of the season. Listed as the top seed in the tournament, Calvert notched four decisions in a row with the closest being a 5-2 victory over Cornell’s Jerry Rinaldi in the semifinals. His first two wins came by a combined 24-7 margin. In the finals Calvert battled Virginia’s Zach Freday and prevailed by an 11-5 margin. Calvert is now 7-1 on the young season.

Bo Reynolds was the third Black Knight to reach the finals of his weight class before falling to top-seeded Joe Hennis of Edinboro, 9-1. The third-seeded Reynolds advanced to the finals with a 5-0 shutout of Cornell’s Jim March. Reynolds began his day with a 6-2 decision over Drexel’s Chris Cowen and then downed Binghamton’s Jeff Parker 8-2 to advance to the semifinals.

“Bo wrestled a great tournament,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “He made it to the finals and lost to a tough wrestler from Edinboro.”

The Black Knights advanced a total of five other wrestlers to the semifinals of their respective weight classes. Joe Forsman at 197 pounds and Anthony Dunkin at 149 both came out with third-place finishes. Frank Baughan (125 pounds), Bernard Gardner (133) and Gabriel Lucero (174) each recorded fourth-place finishes.

Forsman, the third seed at 197 pounds, advanced to the semifinals before he ran into No. 7 Matt Greenberg of Cornell. Greenberg came away with a 16-4 decision. Forsman then battled back in the consolation bracket and Ryan Gruver of Cornell 5-1 to win the third-place trophy.

Dunkin, also a third seed, reached the semifinals of the 149-pound weight class with a win by pinfall (1:55) over Edinboro’s Matt Hill. In the semifinals Drexel’s Matt Cartella edged Dunkin, 6-3. Dunkin then edged Deante Penn of Edinboro, 6-5, to take home the third-place showing.

“I was pleased with the intensity of everybody,” said Barbee. “We wrestled well and had an outstanding day.”

Army opens its dual meet schedule against Binghamton Tuesday night against Binghamton. The match will be contested at Valley Central High School in Montgomery, N.Y., at 7 p.m.

Team               Score

No. 10           Cornell              162.0

No. 24            Edinboro          147.0

           Army                125.5

           Drexel              112.5

           Virginia            87.0

           Sacred Heart    54.0

           Millersville        52.0

           Binghamton     38.0

           Maryland         31.5

           Ithaca               21.0

           Davidson          11.0

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