The American University wrestling team (2-4) fought hard to earn a victory over George Mason University, ending in a 20-18 win on Nov. 20.
“I think we have a young team that’s very talented. We’re gonna surprise a lot of people as we get more and more seasoned throughout the year,” head coach Jason Borrelli said.
Last season, the Eagles beat the George Mason Patriots 19-17 and worked hard to stay connected and aware of the team, keeping track of their lineup and stats going into this match.
The Eagles started strong, taking the heavyweight win 4-1. Redshirt sophomore Emmanuel Ulrich stayed in control for most of the bout, remaining central and ultimately getting a takedown.
It then swiftly went downhill for the Eagles as the Patriots dominated the next two matches. Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Coen Bainey fought through a great struggle, pinning his opponent down twice, but both times the Patriot escaped the pin. His opponent ultimately pulled a reversal, locking down Bainey for a minute and 40 seconds, leading to a final score of 2-0.
Right after, freshman 133-pounder Colin Martin restlessly battled against George Mason freshman Anthony Lucchiani, using up the entire circle as they wrestled. In the first period, Lucchiani scored 6 points off one takedown during a 46-second pin. During the second period, following a reset, Martin started in the down position, but managed to get out of the pin and earn a point. George Mason quickly challenged the point. The officials agreed that the point stood, rapidly leading to Lucchiani gaining another 2 points from 2 strong takedowns. The match ended with a score of 13-2 for the Patriots, casting the team scores to 7-3 George Mason.
“[It] felt like some of the matches early on that we were favored at, they won, and those were big upsets for them, and then matches where they might have been favored, we figured out how to win or score big points,” Borrelli said.
American senior 133-pounder Raymond Lopez fought hard earning a final score of 8-1 against Patriot freshman 141-pounder Tate Hisey. Lopez was quick to get a takedown in the first few moments of the bout and held strong throughout the match, bringing the team score to 7-6 George Mason.
Despite that, Gage Owen, American redshirt sophomore weighing at 149 pounds, had a rough match. Owen’s opponent enacted a brutal takedown and earned 11 points. George Mason won the bout with a score of 13-1, sitting at a team score of 11-6.
Bouncing back, the Eagles had a strong win from redshirt sophomore Kaden Milheim, weighing 157 pounds. Milheim took control of the match and the crowd, engaging the whole audience. He was swift to get out of two takedowns and even faster to reverse his opponent, 157-pounder Thomas Stofka, into a takedown of his own. The crowd erupted while Milheim locked Stofka down and ultimately ended the match, winning 12-4, bringing the team score to 11-10.
“But I was proud of some of our guys who got slow starts this year that, you know, guys like at 157 Kaden Milheim and then 165 Austin Craft,” Borrelli said. “Those were big matches, given the circumstances, because we had lost a lot of matches before them. And so to go out there and kind of weather the storm and change the momentum where our direction is big.”
Continuing the momentum, sophomore 165-pounder Austin Craft had a powerful win versus George Mason freshman Jackson Albert. Craft stayed central and was completely dominating the match, having three separate dynamic technical pins, with the home clock ending at just under three minutes and a final score of 12-3. This pushed the Eagles ahead with a team score of 14-11.
George Mason battled to regain the win, with Patriot graduate student 174-pounder Logan Messer beating American sophomore Hunter Hohman 4-0, tying the team score.
Redshirt junior 184-pounder Caleb Campos became a fan-favorite of the night when he delivered a brutal technical fall to his opponent, boosting the team score to 20-14.
“Caleb Campos actually stayed really composed at 184, considering we needed bonus points to put ourselves ahead so that we had a chance going into 197 and to find a pin, but to be dominating when he found it. You got the first three takedowns, and also got thrown to his back, but Russell threw the position and pinned the kid,” Borrelli said. “So I was really pleased with how Caleb wrestled. I thought he wrestled really well, and he’s actually been wrestling really well the last few weeks.”
The closing match of the night was freshman Caleb Close, weighing in at 197 pounds. He had a long and painful bout against Patriot freshman Malachi Stratton. Their match ended with a final score of 11-2 for George Mason, leading to a final team score of 20-18, American University.
Looking towards the rest of the season, Borrelli was extremely excited for their recent match against the University of Maryland on December 5th, despite fan encouragement they did lose the match 9-27. Borrelli further urges the AU community to continue supporting the team.
“I encourage our campus community and all students to come take in a wrestling match and watch it on Dec. 5 if possible, right before finals, something fun on a Friday night, take a study break, come over and watch some wrestling, relax…and cheer us on against the Terps because there’s nothing more exciting. You feel the energy. You know, you feel the energy from your home fans yelling. Even if you don't want to watch wrestling, just come and scream for us,” he said.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Avery Grossman, Ryan Sieve and Ava Stuzin.
