DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- Cornell freshman Ben Darmstadt earned a technical fall win over the No. 2 wrestler at 197 pounds and the Big Red split a pair of Saturday afternoon dual meet matches at the South Beach Duals, topping Kent State 27-7 in the opener before falling to No. 4 Missouri, 27-11. Cornell went 2-2 in the inaugural event at Deerfield Beach Sports Complex.
Darmstadt used a 10-point third period to rally from a deficit to knock off Kent State's Kyle Conel 13-6 in his first match, then dominated from start to finish against Missouri's second-ranked Willie Miklus for a 9-0 bonus point win in the nightcap.Leading 4-0 entering the third on the strength of two takedowns, Darmstadt rode out Miklus in the third and earned four nearfall points and the riding point to serve notice to the rest of the country that he'll be an All-America contender.
Forfeits at at 125 opened both duals and put Cornell behind the eight ball early. It was able to recover against Kent State, but never got back to level against the fourth-ranked Tigers. The Big Red won eight straight matches after falling behind 9-0 and earned bonus points on a tech tall victory by Yianni Diakomihalis at 141 and a major decision by Kyle Simaz at 157 that put the team into the lead for good. Comeback wins by freshmen Max Dean and Darmstadt late sealed the win and improved the Big Red to 4-1 on the season.
Big Red freshman Yianni Diakomihalis suffered his first collegiate loss in a 9-6 decision against No. 5 Jaydin Eierman. A video review in the final minute of the match gave the Tiger wrestler a reversal to cut the Big Red lead to 6-3, but a six-point cradle by Eierman in the final seconds snuck him ahead to drop Diakomihalis to 19-1 on the season. He earlier in the day topped Chance Driscoll of Kent State with a 25-10 tech fall.
Cornell freshman Max Dean won both of his matches at 197 and heavyweight Jeramy Sweany was 2-0 at heavyweight.
The Big Red will be back in action against No. 6 Lehigh on Friday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Friedman Wrestling Center.
Cornell 27, Kent State 7
125: Will Bardezbain (Kent State) won by forfeit
133: Anthony Tutolo (Kent State) won by decision over Chaz Tucker (Cor), 6-2
141: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cor) won by technical fall over Chance Driscoll (Kent State), 25-10
149: Will Koll (Cor) won by decision over Will Monico (Kent State), 4-3
157: Kyle Simaz (Cor) won by major decision over Casey Sparkman (Kent State), 12-3
165: #16 Jon Jay Chavez (Cor) won by decision over Isaac Bast (Kent State), 10-3
174: #16 Brandon Womack (Cor) won by decision over Dylan Barreiro (Kent State), 3-2
184: #11 Max Dean (Cor) won by decision over Colin McCracken (Kent State), 8-5
197: Ben Darmstadt (Cor) won by decision over Kyle Conel (Kent State), 13-6
285: Jeramy Sweany (Cor) won by decision over Devin Nye (Kent State), 10-8
Kent State deducted two team points for unsportsmanlike conduct
#4 Missouri 27, #12 Cornell 11
125: Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) won by forfeit
133: #9 John Erneste (Mizzou) won by decision over Chaz Tucker (Cor), 6-2
141: #5 Jaydin Eierman (Mizzou) won by decision over #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cor), 9-6
149: #16 Grant Leeth (Mizzou) won by decision over Will Koll (Cor), 6-5
157: #4 Joey Lavallee (Mizzou) won by major decision over Adam Santoro (Cor), 16-5
165: Connor Flynn (Mizzou) won by decision over #16 Jon Jay Chavez (Cor), 5-3
174: #4 Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) won by fall over #16 Brandon Womack (Cor), 1:30
184: #11 Max Dean (Cor) won by decision over Canten Marriott (Mizzou), 4-3
197: Ben Darmstadt (Cor) won by major decision over #2 Willie Miklus (Mizzou), 9-0
285: Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) won by major decision over Dante Jiovenetta (Mizzou), 10-2
