The American University wrestling team (6-9) took on the Morgan State Bears (1-16) on Feb. 8 as the Eagles attempted to get back into the win column following back-to-back losses to Army and Navy. Last week,10 individual Eagles wrestlers competed in the Edinboro Open, with their 125-pound wrestler JJ Peace taking first place.
Before the match started, Morgan State forfeited two matches, a rare scenario at dual meets such as this. Morgan State entered the match down 12. Two of American’s best wrestlers were given an off-day.
In the first match, the Eagles’ sophomore JJ Peace took on the Bears’ junior Julian Dawson. Peace started the fight with good action before accidentally poking Dawson’s eye, causing a reset. Once play resumed, Peace lunged at Dawson and was almost caught in a near fall, but Peace recovered. Peace then took a smaller angle when lunging at Dawson’s hips. This adjustment paid off as Peace won a takedown to end the round.
At the start of the second round Peace fought for an escape point and then grabbed Dawson’s leg, the two struggled in position with Peace eventually taking down Dawson for a second time. After Dawson managed to escape, he stalled for the rest of the match as he had no offensive interest and could only attempt to counter Peace. Peace dragged Dawson to the edge of the mat and took him down once again to secure a dominant 10-1 win.
In the second match, Eagles’ senior Raymond Lopez faced off against the Bears’ junior Jimmie Jones. Lopez started the match quickly by forcing Jones off the mat, setting the tone for what was to come. Lopez got hold of Jones and took him down before Jones wiggled out of the ring. Lopez turned around Jones and took him down a second time before controlling Jones and wrapping his arm behind him. Jones’ head remained glued to the ground as he was unable to find movement with Lopez on top of him. Lopez continued to dominate in the second round as he grabbed hold of Jones’s left leg and dragged him down. Just 15 seconds later, Lopez turned Jones’ head and spun him into the mat, pinning him and ending the match.
The third match featured Eagles graduate student Jack Maida taking on the Bears’ junior Shawn Ryncarz. Maida started the bout by lowering his body to catch Ryncarz; however, Maida got turned over and was lifted onto Ryncarz’s shoulders. Ryncarz walked out of the ring for a reset. Both wrestlers were unable to get the best out of the other as the first round remained pointless.
In the second round, Maida escaped to give him the first point of the game. Maida dove and took control of Ryncarz’s legs, earning a takedown. Maida then put Ryncarz in a chokehold, which Ryncarz was unable to get out of, as he even tapped multiple times to attempt to end the match. In the third round, Maida took control of Ryncarz's arm and folded his body before earning another takedown to cruise for a 7-0 win.
The sixth match was between the Bears’ Joshua Greenwood and AU’s sophomore Austin Craft. Greenwood started the match by diving through Craft’s hips and taking him down However, Craft recovered well to avoid losing even more points and kept his score after one round at 3-1.
Craft started the second round by escaping from Greenwood to put the game within a point. Minutes later, Craft overcommitted a lunge at Greenwood, putting Craft in an awkward position. Craft remained composed as he avoided a takedown, putting the score after two rounds at 3-2 in favor of Greenwood. In the third round, Greenwood took control of Craft’s hips and earned another takedown. Craft escaped to cut the lead to 3 points, giving himself a minute to tie the match. Craft rolled himself around Greenwood’s body, yet was unable to bring Greenwood’s hips down, giving Greenwood a narrow 6-3 win.
The 184-pound matchup featured Morgan State sophomore Bryce Phillips taking on American redshirt junior Caleb Campos. Campos and Phillips’ matchup started close as both competitors used the initial minutes to measure each other out and attempt minor holds. Campos started the action by physically dragging down Phillips, who narrowly escaped a takedown. Phillips then responded by dragging Campos for 3 points. Both wrestlers were exhausted after a chaotic final minute of the round, but Campos took the advantage, shoving the gassed Phillips down and grabbing control of his leg. Campos pushed down Phillips’ arms to pin him, ending the match quickly.
The final bout was between Bears’ senior Eric Washington Jr. and Eagles freshman RJ Robinson. Robinson quickly dominated and bent over Washington’s hips before slamming down on Washington, nearly pinning him.Robinson was unable to adjust his hips, forcing Washington out of bounds. The reset in the match gave Washington an opportunity to change his form as he used his height to grab hold of Robinson, who this time found his way out. After a reset, Robinson beautifully grabbed the leg of Washington and took him down again. Robinson lunged at Washington’s legs and drove him down before holding Washington in a chokehold and pinning him, giving the Eagles a 38-10 victory with two forfeits.
After the event, Eagles head coach, Jason Borrelli, highlighted some pros and cons from the match. Borelli believed that he would have to “address issues at the stretch of 165 through 184.” Due to the disappointing performances of middle weight wrestlers, Borrelli believed there were "some other guys that we’re going to start giving some opportunities to see if it’ll spark something in the other guy.”
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Paige Caron and Nicole Kariuki.
