Wrestling Punches Ticket To Iowa, National Duals Finals With Win Over Drexel

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell won the final seven matches to run past Drexel 35-6 in the regional round of the 2015 NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals on Sunday afternoon at Newman Arena. With the win, the Big Red improved to 15-1 in duals and will advance to Iowa City for next weekend's eight-team finals.

Junior Nahshon Garrett (125) and sophomore Dylan Palacio (165) each won by fall and six of the eight wins came by way of bonus points. Drexel briefly tied the match at 6-6 after wins at 133 and 141, but the Big Red sailed the rest of the way.

Garrett set the tone early, going right at Zack Fuentes in the 125-pound match and building 12-1 first period lead before pinning him to give Cornell a 6-0 lead and the sophomore his 100th victory in a Cornell singlet. Garrett became the 22nd Cornellian to win 100 career matches. Despite close losses at the next two weights allowing the Dragons to momentarily tie the team score, Villalonga used a quick second period takedown and three nearfall points to turn a two-point nailbiter into an eventual major decision, falling just a point shy of a tech fall with his 14-0 win over Matthew Climato at 149.

Brian Realbuto also won a comfortable major decision victory with his 10-1 contest at 157 over Noel Blanco. At 165, Dylan Palacio toyed with Nick Elmer, taking him down five times in the first 90 seconds before tilting him to his back for the fall with 49 seconds left in the period. Though the win didn't technically clinch the dual, it all but put the result out of reach for Drexel.

Duke Pickett earned a decisive 5-1 win at 174 in typical Pickett style over Stephen Loiseau, followed by a dominant Gabe Dean performance in a 23-8 technical fall victory over Alex DeCiantis that featured nine takedowns for the top-ranked 184-pounder. His win assured the Big Red of a trip to next weekend's quarterfinals against an opponent to be announced.

Jace Bennett and Jacob Aiken-Phillips each gained points thanks to accumulated riding time, Bennett claiming the major with a 13-5 victory over Brandon Litten, and Aiken-Phillips taking the win over Joey Goodhart at heavweight thanks to his riding bonus.

#6 Cornell 35, Drexel 6
NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals * Feb. 15, 2015 * Newman Arena Ithaca, N.Y.)
125: #3 Nahshon Garrett (C) won by fall over Zack Fuentes (D), 2:54
133: Kevin Devoy Jr. (D) won by decision over #15 Mark Grey (C), 3-2
141: David Pearce (D) won by decision over Logan David (C), 3-0
149: #7 Chris Villalonga (C) won by major decision over Matthew Cimato (D), 14-0
157: #6 Brian Realbuto (C) won by major decision over Noel Blanco (D), 10-1
165: #11 Dylan Palacio (C) won by fall over Nick Elmer (D), 2:11
174: #19 Duke Pickett (C) won by decision over Stephen Loiseau (D), 5-1
184: #1 Gabe Dean (C) won by technical fall over Alex DeCiantis (D), 23-8
197: #10 Jace Bennett (C) won by major decision over Brandon Litten (D), 13-5
285: Jacob Aiken-Phillips (C) won by decision over Joey Goodhart (D), 7-6

#3 Nahshon Garrett vs. Zack Fuentes
First Period
0:05 - Garrett takedown, 2-0
0:38 - Garrett three-point nearfall, 5-0
0:49 - Fuentes escape, 5-1
1:00 - Garrett takedown, 7-1
1:30 - Garrett two-point nearfall, 9-1
2:45 - Garrett three-point nearfall, 12-1
2:54 - Garrett wins by fall

#15 Mark Grey vs. Kevin Devoy Jr.
First Period
No scoring

Second Period
Grey chooses bottom
No scoring

Third Period
Devoy chooses bottom
6:06 - Devoy escape, 0-1
6:24 - Grey takedown, 2-1
6:34 - Devoy reversal, 2-3
Devoy wins 3-2

Logan David vs. David Pearce
First Period
No scoring

Second Period
Pearce chooses bottom
4:16 - Pearce reversal, 0-2

Third Period
David chooses bottom
Pearce 1:28 riding time
Pearce wins 3-0

#7 Chris Villalonga vs. Matthew Cimato
First Period
2:51 - Villalonga takedown, 2-0

Second Period
Villalonga chooses bottom
3:15 - Villalonga takedown, 4-0
3:28 - Villalonga three-point nearfall, 7-0

Third Period
Cimato chooses neutral
5:27 - Villalonga takedown, 9-0
5:54 - Villalonga three-point nearfall, 12-0
1:47 - Cimato stalling, 13-0
Villalonga 3:10 riding time, 14-0

#6 Brian Realbuto vs. Noel Blanco
First Period
2:06 - Realbuto takedown, 2-0

Second Period
Realbuto chooses bottom
3:07 - Realbuto escape, 3-0
4:25 - Blanco stalling, 4-0
4:33 - Realbuto takedown, 6-0

Third Period
Blanco chooses bottom
5:26 - Blanco escape, 6-1
5:37 - Realbuto takedown, 8-1
6:44 - Blanco stalling, 9-1
Realbuto 3:02 riding time
Realbuto wins 10-1

#11 Dylan Palacio vs. Nick Elmer
First Period
0:10 - Palacio takedown, 2-0
0:19 - Elmer escape, 2-1
0:30 - Palacio takedown 4-1
0:36 - Elmer escape, 4-2
0:44 - Palacio takedown, 6-2
0:48 - Elmer escape, 6-3
0:57 - Palacio takedown, 8-3
1:12 - Elmer escape, 8-4
1:31 - Palacio takedown 10-4
2:11 - Palacio wins by fall

#19 Duke Pickett vs. Stephen Loiseau
First Period
0:36 - Pickett takedown, 2-0

Second Period
Pickett chooses bottom
3:13 - Pickett reversal, 4-0
3:30 - Loiseau escape, 4-1

Third Period
Loiseau chooses bottom
No scoring
Pickett 4:20 riding time
Pickett wins, 5-1

#1 Gabe Dean vs. Alex DeCiantis
First Period
0:20 - Dean takedown, 2-0
0:24 - DeCiantis escape, 2-1
0:32 - Dean takedown, 4-1
0:59 - DeCiantis escape, 4-2
1:05 - Dean takedown, 6-2
2:00 - Dean three-point nearfall, 9-2

Second Period
Dean chooses bottom
3:03: Dean escape, 10-2
3:25 - Dean takedown, 12-2
3:38 - DeCiantis escape, 12-3
3:45 - Dean takedown, 14-3
3:58 - DeCiantis escape, 14-4
4:09 - Dean takedown, 16-4
4:24 - DeCiantis escape, 16-5

Third Period
DeCiantis chooses bottom
5:10 - DeCiantis escape, 16-6
5:32 - Dean takedown, 18-6
5:48 - DeCiantis escape, 18-7
5:57 - Dean takedown, 20-7
6:06 - DeCiantis escape, 20-8
6:21 - Dean takedown, 22-8
Dean 4:21 riding time
Dean wins 23-8

#10 Jace Bennett vs. Brandon Litten
First Period
0:17 - Bennett takedown, 2-0
1:10 - Litten reversal, 2-2
1:19 - Bennett escape. 3-2

Second Period
Litten chooses bottom
3:22 - Litten escape, 3-3
3:47 - Bennett takedown, 5-3

Third Period
Bennett chooses bottom
5:13 - Bennett escape, 6-3
5:31 - Bennett takedown, 8-3
5:53 - Litten escape, 8-4
6:14 - Bennett takedown, 10-4
6:20 - Litten escape, 10-5
6:24 - Bennett takedown, 12-5
Bennett 3:18 riding time
Bennett wins 13-5

Jacob Aiken-Phillips vs. Joey Goodhart
First Period
0:16 - Aiken-Phillps takedown, 2-0
0:32 - Goodhart escape, 2-1

Second Period
Goodhart chooses bottom
No scoring

Third Period
Aiken-Phillips chooses bottom
5:10 - Aiken-Phillips escape, 3-1
5:18 - Goodhart takedown, 3-3
5:23 - Aiken Phillips escape, 4-3
6:42 - Aiken-Phillips takedown, 6-3
6:47 - Goodhart escape, 6-4
7:00 - Goodhart takedown, 6-6
Aiken-Phillips - 1:47 riding time
Aiken-Phillips wins 7-6

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