Less 24 hours after being pinned by Bucknell University senior Tyler Lyster, AU senior Brett Dempsey reversed his record and earned Ameritel Corporation Wrestler of the Match honors with a 7-4 decision win over Binghamton University redshirt senior Caleb Wallace on Feb. 8.
“There’s always pressure… I just really wanted to clinch it,” Dempsey said. “A couple weeks ago it came down to me against Drexel, and I couldn’t come up with it, and I’m just really glad I got to turn it around today.”
The Eagles led 17-11 when Dempsey stepped on the mat, and he knew the potential for a team victory rested in his hands. The crowd in Bender Arena grew anxious as they waited for a wrestler to make the first move, but Dempsey elevated their concerns. He seized control of Wallace’s leg and brought him to his knees, earning two points for his takedown. Wallace managed an escape point before the end of the first period, but Dempsey’s responded with an escape of his own at the start of the second period. The wrestlers battled back and forth for the next five minutes, but Dempsey secured the win with a final takedown at the end of the third period to clinch the win for the Eagles.
“I just knew I could feel him getting tired, and I knew if I just kept the pressure on he would break,” Dempsey said.
His perseverance, patience, and positivity carried the Eagles, who earned six individual wins and a second conference victory with a score of 20-15.
“I’m extremely happy for Brett,” head coach Teauge Moore said. “There was a point in that match where it looked like ‘this is going to go to the next guy that gets the next attacking position,’ and Brett dug his heels in and found a way to get that winning takedown.”
AU took the lead early in the night with an 11-5 victory from No. 16 junior David Terao, and a 16-2 major decision from freshman Josh Terao in the 125 and 133-pound weight classes, respectively. Eagles also added four more points to their team total with a major decision win from Tom Page in the 149-pound match.
Page put two points on the board in his dual with a takedown at the end of the first period, and he picked up his pace as the match continued. He surged ahead 9-0 and racked up 2:45 of advantage time before Binghamton sophomore Nick Tighe managed an escape point to avoid a shutout.
Junior captain John Boyle kept the momentum rolling for the Eagles, as he took down freshman Vincent DePrez in the 157-pound weight division. Boyle remained calm and focused during the match-up, and Moore cheered on his athlete from the side of the mat, advising him to wrestle with “full commitment.”
The Bearcats tightened the score in the next two matches with wins in the 165 and 174-weight classes. AU freshman Jeric Kasunic stepped up for his match at 184 pounds with high pressure to maintain his team’s lead, but he followed through and pulled out a win.
Binghamton added three final points to its team total when senior heavyweight wrestler Tyler Deuel prevailed over AU freshman Chris McDermand with a score of 9-0, but his efforts could not close the Eagles’ team lead that Dempsey solidified with his victory in the 197-pound match.
AU travels to Missouri University on Feb. 16 for a NWCA National match, and the Eagles return home the following weekend for a double-header against George Mason University and Northwestern University.
“I feel like the biggest takeaway for the team is that we wrestled in all ten bouts,” Moore said. “After last night…we had to do a little bit of soul searching, but the message was ‘everyone has to show up today, and everyone has to battle for seven minutes,’ and we did. I thought our guys wrestled extremely hard and came away with the victory because of it.”
sscovel@theeagleonline.com
