COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After giving up unexpected bonus points at 133 and 141 pounds, the Cornell wrestling team needed a spark to remain unbeaten. Senior Chis Villalonga's overtime victory over the second-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds did the trick as the Big Red advanced to the finals of the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA Division I National Duals with a 23-20 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma on Monday afternoon. Cornell moved to 12-0 with the victory and will meet top-ranked Minnesota at 4 p.m. in the finals.
Villalonga and No. 2 Kendric Maple, last year's undefeated national champion at 141, each scored an escape during regulation and went scoreless in the first sudden death period, with both wrestlers accounting for a successful ride-out period. Villalonga was able to get the takedown in the second overtime to avenge his only mat loss of the year and pick up the biggest win of his career. The win proved to be the swing match of the dual.
Nahshon Garrett at 125 and
Gabe Dean at 184 each earned dominant falls for the Big Red in less than two minutes of action. Garrett pinned Sean Williams in just 65 seconds, while Dean squared off former Ithaca HS wrestler Alex Iacovelli in 1:58.
At the middle weights, freshmen
Brian Realbuto and
Dylan Palacio earned important bouns points with major decision wins. Realbuto topped Dryden Dennis 13-1 at 157 and Palacio blanked Clark Glass 10-0 at 165.
A pair of Big Red ranked wrestlers lost early, as
Mark Grey was bested by seventh-ranked Cody Brewer at 133 and
Mike Nevinger lost by first period fall to two-time NCAA qualifier Nick Lester. Oklahoma's top-ranked Andrew Howe won at 174 by major decision against
Jesse Shanaman and closed out the dual needing nine points to equal the Big Red's team score.
Jace Bennett and
Jacob Aiken-Phillips each lost competitive decisions at 197 and heavyweight, respectively, but avoided Sooner bonus points to allow Cornell to advance to the finals of the National Duals for the third time in program history.
#4 Cornell 23, #11 Oklahoma 20
Feb. 17, 2014 * Columbus, Ohio
125 – #1
Nahshon Garrett (Cor) won by fall over Sean Williams (Okla), 1:05
133 - #7 Cody Brewer (Okla) won by major decision over #15
Mark Grey (Cor), 11-2
141 – Nick Lester (Okla) won by fall over #7
Mike Nevinger (Cor), 2:16
149 - #6
Chris Villalonga (Cor) won by decision over #2 Kendric Maple (Okla), 3-1 (SV2)
157 - #10
Brian Realbuto (Cor) won by major decision over Dryden Dennis (Okla), 13-1
165 - #14
Dylan Palacio (Cor) won by major decision over Clark Glass (Okla), 10-0
174 – #1 Andrew Howe (Okla) won by major decision
Jesse Shanaman (Cor), 18-6
184 - #3
Gabe Dean (Cor) won by fall over Alex Iacovelli (Okla), 1:57
197 – #5 Travis Rutt (Okla) won by decision over
Jace Bennett (Cor), 5-2
285 – Zach Merrill (Okla) won by decision over
Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cor), 6-4