Contrary to popular belief, the Terrapin wrestling team’s upset of No. 4 Cornell was not the only wrestling the team did this weekend. One day after their upset in Cornell’s Friedman Wrestling Center, the Terps returned to the scene of the match as they competed in the Body Bar Invitational.
The tournament was interesting in the sense that each weight class was essentially its own tournament, much like an open tournament. But each wrestler was also scoring points for their team and schools were competing against one another as well.
Although they didn’t win this tournament, the Terps had a good showing, finishing tied for second with Cornell behind champion Kent State. Individually two wrestlers Josh Asper and Hudson Taylor, were champions. Mike Letts and Pat Gilmore both finished second at their weight classes.
Keep in mind the team outcome could have been significantly different if either Alex Krom or Steve Bell had competed. Both former All-Americans were invited to the NWCA All-Star Classic today on campus at Cal State Fullerton.
But while all that is well and good, the real story of the weekend remains Friday night’s hype-vindicating win over Cornell in front of a raucous crowd.
Keep in mind the Terps were losing 17-9 with just two weight classes left, but Hudson Taylor came out and pinned his opponent and in the best match of the night, heavyweight Pat Gilmore came from behind to give the Terps the victory…in overtime no less.
I caught up with Coach McCoy as broke down each match individually with him. I have transcribed these conversations and added analysis where needed. So read on to relive the win over the higest ranked opponent in school history.
Frank Perrelli (CU) dec. James Knox, 4-1.
The Terps looked liked they got a break when defending national champion Troy Nickerson didn’t wrestle for the Big Red. McCoy didn’t know for sure but he said talk around the tournament was Nickerson was overweight and not ready to try and make weight. However Perrelli did just fine in his stead.
“The crowd was loud and I think the refereeing was influenced by them,” McCoy said. “We [Knox] got called for stalling early and never really got back on track. There were a few opportunities to score some points and we just didn’t capitalize.”
No. 4 Steve Bell (UMD) dec. No. 7 Mike Grey, 4-3.
“This match was huge for us because we really couldn’t go down big early,” McCoy said. “Good match for him to prove himself because InterMat ranked Grey higher. He got a good start and scored a takedown in the first period and we were able to hold him off.”
This quote comes with a caveat because Bell was higher ranked by most wrestling publications and was probably a slight favorite to win. McCoy acknowledged this but of course InterMat is one of the most visible of these publications, so maybe it did make a difference. There is no doubt this was a huge victory, to go down by six points early would have been a pretty big hole on the road.
It became even more important when the next match was decided.
No. 25 Kyle Dake (CU) dec. No. 3 Alex Krom, 8-3.
This was one of the bigger upsets as McCoy pointed out. It is not often that a true freshman can come in and soundly defeat a fifth-year senior, especially one as talented and experienced as Krom. McCoy once again said the referees were at least a little influenced by the loud crowd. According to him Krom dominated the match for almost six minutes and then got called for stalling.
“That stalling call really affected him, he obviously didn’t want to get called for stalling again and lose another point so it affected him,” McCoy said. “The score was misleading because at the very end somehow we [Krom] ended up on his back and to give up five points like that late…he was upset.”
I wish I could have seen Krom’s reaction to this loss. The former All-American will readily admit he feeds on the crowd’s energy and often wears his emotions on his sleeve. At the same time he is an incredible competitor and doesn’t like to lose. It might not have been pretty, but I am sure his teammates took notice of his desire.
Corey Manson (CU) dec. Jon Kohler, 9-3.
Kohler continues to struggle to the new weight class and it showed in his match. Manson wrestled at 141 pounds as well last year and this was definitely a winnable match if Kohler could put it together. Unfortunately he got off to a rough start and wasn’t really able to climb back in.
“We were real close to scoring a number of different times but just failed to get it done and capitalize on the opportunities,” McCoy said. “He was aggressive but they [Manson] countered a lot and we just couldn’t catch up.”
McCoy highlighted the 149 pound class as a question mark for the team heading into the season, and early results makes it look like he was on the money. Unfortunately, the Terps do not have a lot of depth in that class.
Chris Stinnett and Dex Lederer both have experience, and there are some promising freshmen, but not other option outside of Kohler. That being said it is still very early in the season, and Kohler still have plenty of time to work hard and improve. It is definitely a position to keep an eye on.
Kyle John (UMD) dec. DJ Meagher, 4-1
McCoy continues to sing the praises of John, who has been impressive filling in for former ACC Champ Brian Letters. Letters’ status for the season is still up in the air and McCoy is still going forward with a “wait and see” approach. But for now he doesn’t need to worry because John has been fantastic.
“Like I said before, he has a tremendous motor and is always working throughout,” McCoy said. “He just keeps battling all the time and rode the guy out for a lot of the match. He really dominated.”
After losing two straight matches to fall into a 9-3 hole, having John come back and score a three-point win for his team was enormous. Meagher made the NCAA tournament last year and was probably a slight favorite heading into this match. John is no slouch, but he could be on his way to establishing himself as an ACC championship contender.
Josh Asper (UMD) dec. John Basting, 8-6.
The other rising star for the Terps appears to be Asper. Just a redshirt freshman, Asper is built like a rock and has a workmanlike approach to his wrestling that bodes well for his future. McCoy pointed out how big this win was as well as the team was able to tie the match up after falling into a hole.
“He got a quick takedown and just kept pushing,” McCoy said. “The guy was really never even close to scoring at all, he just scored a few escapes and that was it.”
The story here is the early emergence of Asper. He was solid last season as a redshirt and McCoy was very confident in his ability from the start. But he looks like he could make some noise on the national scene either this season or next. Granted Basting might have been the weakest link in the Cornell armor, but still the way Asper handled him the way he should have makes his future look bright.
No. 2 Mack Lewnes (CU) technical fall over No. 5 Mike Letts, 18-3
McCoy, predictably, did not have a lot to say about this disaster. What was billed as a highly anticipated, highly competitive matchup quickly became a blow out when Lewnes quickly caught Letts on his back right out of the gate and scored five for his team.
“It snowballed from there” was how McCoy described the rest of the match. A Maryland native, Lewnes is one of the best wrestlers, pound-for-pound, in the country and might have some distance between him and some of the wrestlers right behind him. Letts and McCoy were likely not happy with the way the match went, especially right after the Terps had got back in it, but Letts will bounce back.
No. 22 Steve Bosak (CU) dec. Corey Peltier, 4-0
No offense to either of the wrestlers, but this was one of the most “ho-hum” matches of the night. It wasn’t that the wrestling wasn’t competitive, it was more that Bosak rode Peltier out for most of the match in a systematic victory.
“They had an early escape and a takedown and we didn’t really set up any scoring opportunities,” McCoy said. “He got ridden out for most of the match.”
The most important story in this match was really that it set-up what seemed like an insurmountable 17-9 deficit for the Terps. Peltier is another young wrestler who will avoid these matches as he gets more experience, but at this point Bosak is clearly the better wrestler.
No. 3 Hudson Taylor (UMD) fall over No. 4 Cam Simaz, 4:45.
“When it was over, what seemed like 10,000 people stood up and went nuts,” McCoy said. “Our fans really got loud in that place when Hudson pinned him.”
Taylor pinned Simaz in their only meeting late last season, it may seem like Taylor dominated this highly anticipated matchup, but McCoy said the match was very close up to that point. Taylor did record a near fall as he almost got Simaz pinned in the first period. Then he came back and finished the job in the second period.
A pin gives the team six points and instantly the Terps were back in the match down just 17-15. Taylor has openly stated his goal has been to pin every opponent this season, and he is now well over 60 pins in his Terp career. The Terps’ best wrestler looks like he is on a mission this season and not too much will stand in his way.
He didn’t get invited to the All-Star Classic Krom and Bell will be attending, but he didn’t care when I spoke to him last Thursday. He seemed to think it would be an advantage to not show potential future opponents his exact strategy…oh and at the Body Bar Invitational he would get more pins.
No. 23 Pat Gilmore (UMD) dec. No. 17 Josh Arnone, 6-4.
It is hard to tell which match was more important for the Terps, Gilmore’s overtime comeback or Taylor’s crucial pin. There is definitely an argument for both sides, I will give the edge to Gilmore though as he was not only the underdog, but also gave his team the overall win.
To hear McCoy tell it, it was a redemption win for Gilmore too who last faced Arnone in high school and lost. Entering the final period he was losing 4-1, but Gilmore showed a lot of moxie by battling back. He almost scored a takedown to tie it with 10 seconds left, but McCoy said the refs didn’t give them the call. No matter as with just three seconds left Gilmore got his takedown.
Then in OT the Terps’ under-the-radar star countered Arnone’s attack at his legs and was able to bask in his temporary hero status.
Mike Lemaire is the 2009-2010 Terrapin Wrestling beat writer. He can be reached at lemairedbk@gmail.com