Winning a dual meet in Division I while giving away a forfeit is a difficult task. Injuries have forced the AU wrestling team to give away forfeits in the first three weights this year. And Wednesday night, the Eagles traveled to Lock Haven where the 18-point deficit put AU's back against the mat.
Against the Bald Eagles, Josh Glenn also found his back against the mat quickly. In his 184-pound bout, Glenn took a bad shot early in the match and was pancaked by Lock Haven senior Justin Johnson.
Down 5-0, Glenn turned the tide by the second period with a five-point headlock of his own. Glenn then provided the ultimate comeback by pinning his opponent with three seconds left in the match.
"It was a wake-up call for me," said Glenn, the nation's 16th-ranked 184-pound wrestler, of the early deficit. "I wanted to come back and get the pin."
Glenn, who is in his freshman year of eligibility, already has a tournament victory this year at Penn's Keystone Classic.
Another young star for the Eagles, heavyweight Adam LoPiccolo, also secured a late victory. With the match close at the start of the third period, the well-conditioned LoPiccolo tore away to take a 6-1 victory.
"I listened to [head coach Mark Cody], who depicted a tactical plan that I used to help secure victory," said the Eagles' heavyweight." He had a specialized attack plan for the third period that I executed to a T."
AU senior Daniel Waters won a tough 6-5 decision at 174. Despite the close score, Waters wore down on his Lock Haven opponent early, making a comeback impossible.
Waters, who dropped a weight from 184 this season, is already ranked in the top 20 by Amateur Wrestling News at 174.
One of the most exciting wrestlers in the nation this year has been the Eagles' Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov. Ranked seventh in the nation, Abdurakhmanov has already had an impressive win against last year's national runner-up, Jake Percival of Ohio.
Wednesday night Abdurakhmanov continued his dominance against Lock Haven, winning by the score of 23-8 and a technical fall.
Also wrestling on the night were Dwayne Hash-Barberis at 165, Tom Kniezewski at 149 and Adam Montgomery at 197. All three lost by narrow margins, keeping the score close. But in the end, the forfeits were too much to overcome, with AU losing 28-16.
The Eagles also competed this weekend in the Northeast Collegiate Duals. AU struggled, losing all three duals, but witnessed a few inspiring individual efforts. Glenn defeated conference foe Luke Calvert of Army, who was previously ranked ahead of him. The 11-7 victory will be an asset when seeding the 184 bracket in March.
