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Cornell University Athletics

Nahshon Garrett vs. Virginia Tech, 2014

Cornell Wrestling Shuts Out No. 16 Virginia Tech In National Duals Quarterfinals

2/16/2014 8:58:00 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cornell's depth was too much all evening and the Big Red wrestling team opened the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA Division I National Duals with a dominant 34-0 win over No. 16 Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals. The fourth-ranked Big Red improved to 11-0 on the season and will meet No. 11 Oklahoma in the semifinals tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Cornell won each of the first seven matches by decision to go up 21-0 with the Big Red winning a pair of matchups between ranked wrestlers. Included was a Chris Villalonga overtime victory over No. 18 Zach Neibert by a 2-1 decision. That was one of three consecutive one-point decisions in Cornell's favor, as Mike Nevinger topped Erik Spujt 1-0 at 141 and Brian Realbuto topped Sal Mastriani 6-5 at 157 thanks to a last-second escape after his Hokie opponent had reversed him to tie the score with six seconds left. On the restart, Realbuto was called for a caution and one second ticked off the clock. The officials put the second back on, and the rookie would need every bit of that last second to get the escape with a hip heist.

Nahshon Garrett at 125 and Gabe Dean at 184 each gave up early takedowns in the first period before dominating their opponents the rest of the way. Garrett topped No. 20 Joey Dance 7-2, while Dean posted a major decision over No. 17 Nick Vetterlein, 16-7.

In the middle weights, Dylan Palacio controlled his match against Chris Moon at 165, earning an 8-1 decision, while Jesse Shanaman topped John Dickson at 174, 8-4. In a match full of scrambles, Palacio came out on top of each one in a controlled victory. Shanaman continued to push the pace in the third even up 6-4 and secured a late takedown to keep the team's momentum.

Trailing in the third, junior Jace Bennett was able to earn a takedown and cradled No. 20 Chris Penny for the fall at 6:02 for the icing on the cake. He appeared to be in trouble during a scramble before he was able to lock in the cradle and turn Penny. Jacob Aiken-Phillips completed the team's second sweep of the season and Virginia Tech's first since 2007 when he topped Ty Walz at heavyweight by a 6-2 decision.
#4 Cornell 34, #16 Virginia Tech 0
Feb. 16, 2014 * Columbus, Ohio

125 – #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cor) won by decision over #20 Joey Dance (VT), 7-2
133 –#15 Mark Grey (Cor) won by decision over Dennis Gustafson (VT), 3-1
141 – #7 Mike Nevinger won by decision over Erik Spujt (VT), 1-0
149 – #6 Chris Villalonga (Cor) won by decision over #18 Zach Neibert (VT), 2-1 (OT)
157 – #10 Brian Realbuto (Cor) won by decision over Sal Mastriani (VT), 6-5
165 – #14 Dylan Palacio (Cor) won by decision over Chris Moon (VT), 8-1
174 – Jesse Shanaman (Cor) won by decision over John Dickson (VT), 8-4
184 - #3 Gabe Dean (Cor) won by major decision over #17 Nick Vetterlein (VT), 16-7
197 – Jace Bennett won by fall over #20 Chris Penny (VT) , 6:02
285 – Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cor) won by decision over Ty Walz (VT), 6-2






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