Ram Review: No. 16 Cornell (5-2 overall) turned in one of its most dominant performances in years with a 41-9 thumping of Augustana on Dec. 14 in Rock Island, Ill. The Rams won five of 10 matches by fall and another by technical fall. They had the first takedown in 9 of 10 bouts and held huge advantages in nearfall points (48-5) and total match points (95-34).
“Our guys got themselves ready to compete and we were very aggressive on our feet,” Cornell Coach Mike Duroe said. “Sometimes when you go on the road your focus is better. We didn’t have any distractions and I was pleased with our performance.”
The win snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Vikings. Winning by fall for the Rams were juniors Chris Heilman (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary’s) at 125 pounds and Pat McAuley (Austin, Texas/Lanier) at 157, sophomore David Boussios (Hillsboro, Ore./Century) at 141, and freshmen Nick Nothern (Salina, Kan./Salina South) at 133 and Jason Edlund (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) at 285. Sophomore Aron Kindelsperger (Port Byron, Ill./Riverdale) won by technical fall at 149.
“Our aggressiveness resulted in a lot of first takedowns, nearfall points and falls,” Duroe said.
The Rams bolted to an 11-3 lead after three bouts, but couldn’t keep the momentum going during a 25-14 loss to No. 9 North Central on Dec. 16 in Mount Vernon. Heilman opened the dual with a fall in 2-minutes, 13-seconds. Nothern trailed 4-2 after the first period before hustling back and nearly knocking off No. 2 Adam Johnson at 133. A riding time point gave Johnson a 6-5 victory. At 141, Boussios destroyed North Central’s Ed Domich with a 17-2 technical fall in 6:19. Boussios compiled 12 nearfall points.
North Central scored the next 22 points before Edlund stopped the skid with a 7-2 win at 285 pounds over the Cardinals’ Jim Looper.
“We let an opportunity to beat a top 10 team in front of our home crowd slip away, and that was disappointing,” Duroe said. “We’re still learning to step it up when things get tough in a match. We’re still improving our mental toughness.”
No. 9 North Central 25, No. 16 Cornell 14
Dec. 16, Small Multi-Sport Center, Mount Vernon
125 — Chris Heilman (Cor) pinned Joey Norton 2:13; 133 — Adam Johnson (NC) dec. Nick Nothern 6-5; 141 — David Boussios (Cor) tech. fall over Ed Domich 17-2, 6:19; 149 — Noah Fitzenreider (NC) tech. fall over Aron Kindelsperger 20-5, 7:00; 157 — Bobby Gingerich (NC) dec. Pat McAuley 8-6; 165 — Ben Youel (NC) maj. dec. Christian Coffey 8-0; 174 — Timmy Miller (NC) dec. Kyle Kehrli 11-6; 184 — Gabe Youel (NC) maj. dec. Andrew Smith 14-5; 197 — Vinny Sapienza (NC) dec. Josh Pastor 11-7; 285 — Jason Edlund (Cor) dec. Jim Looper 7-2.
Takedowns — North Central 22, Cornell 8; Reversals — North Central 3, Cornell 2; Escapes — North Central 7, Cornell 21; Nearfall points — North Central 17, Cornell 15; Penalty points — North Central 2, Cornell 6; Riding time points — North Central 6, Cornell 1; Total match points — North Central 82, Cornell 63.
Cornell 41, Augustana (Ill.) 9
Dec. 14, Rock Island, Ill.
157 — McAuley (Cor) pinned Jim Caputo 2:00; 165 — Mike Kerr (Aug) dec. Coffey 8-5; 174 — Reuben Zacharakis-Jutz (Cor) dec. Nick Iftner 14-8; 184 — Smith (Cor) dec. Brian Kerr (Aug) 12-9; 197 — John Parkhurst (Aug) pinned Pastor 6:37; 285 — Edlund (Cor) pinned Nathan Vulgamott 2:13; 125 — Heilman (Cor) pinned George Gogonas 3:33; 133 — Nothern (Cor) pinned Kyle Brodwater 3:57; 141 — Boussios (Cor) pinned Ron Moravec 4:27; 149 — Kindelsperger (Cor) tech. fall over Beau Bielecki 19-3, 6:19.
Takedowns — Cornell 16, Augustana 6; Reversals — Cornell 3, Augustana 3; Escapes — Cornell 8, Augustana 10; Nearfall points — Cornell 48, Augustana 5; Penalty points — Cornell 0, Augustana 1; Riding time points — Cornell 1, Augustana 0; Total match points — Cornell 95, Augustana 34.
