SOURCE: cornellbigred.com

December 01, 2019

Big Red Wrestling Defeated on the Road by #8 Ohio State #YellCornell https://t.co/Qu7btjYzBf

— Cornell Big Red (@CornellSports) December 1, 2019

COLUMBUS, OHIO - The No. 17-ranked Cornell wrestling team was defeated on Sunday, Dec. 1, dropping a road dual to #8 Ohio State by a final score of 23-9. Cornell earned three victories on Sunday, with #6 Chas Tucker (133), Colton Yapoujian (157) and #4 Ben Darmstadt (184) all winning bouts by decision.

A loss to the Buckeyes gives Cornell (0-2) its second loss of the season, as the Big Red now prepare for one of the toughest in-season tournaments around, the Cliff Keen Invitational, next weekend on Dec. 6-7.

Sunday's dual started at 141 pounds, where Noah Baughman was met with the tough task of facing No. 1-ranked Luke Pletcher. Baughman hung tough with the top ranked 141-pounder in the country, losing an 8-6 decision. Baughman's takedown of Pletcher in the second period was just the second takedown Pletcher has allowed through four duals.

Despite a loss at 149 pounds, Hunter Richard turned in a strong performance, using an eventful third period to make things close against #10 Sammy Sasso. Richard took Sasso down three times in the third, but was defeated by the redshirt freshman, 12-9.

Colton Yapoujian earned the first dual victory of his young career on Sunday, defeating Elijah Cleary, 3-1, in the 157 pound bout. Tied at 1-1 following the third period, things stayed tied through sudden victory as the match headed to ride outs. Yapoujian rode Cleary for the entire 30 seconds of the first ride out period, before Cleary was hit for stalling in the second. Yapoujian held a 2-1 lead following the stall call, forcing Cleary to give him an escape and the 3-1 advantage.

Milik Dawkins made his season dual debut for the Big Red at 165 pounds, losing to #14 Ethan Smith by major decision, 12-4. Dawkins had seen action in six previous duals for Cornell during his career and brought a 2-4 career dual record into his match against Smith. Smith was quick on offense, picking up four first period takedowns en route to the victory over Dawkins.

One of three ranked wrestlers for Cornell, #11 Brandon Womack lost his second close bout of the season, dropping a 6-5 decision to #13 Kaleb Romero at 174 pounds. It was the lone match of the day that featured a pair of ranked wrestlers. The Big Red senior defended a pair of double leg attempts by Romero in the match, but Romero converted on his third attempt at the shot mid-way through the third period and took a 4-3 lead. Womack overextended on a shot late in the match as he tried to take a lead, but Romero turned it into offense of his own and scored on a go-behind.

#4 Ben Darmstadt earned his first dual victory following his return from injury, besting Gavin Hoffman by a 5-0 score. Darmstadt was dominant in the top position throughout the entire match, amassing a wealth of riding time and picking up two near-fall points on a modified assassin attempt in the third period.

Jonathan Loew faced Ohio State's second top-ranked wrestler, Kollin Moore, in the 197 pound match. It was Loew who opened the scoring, taking down Moore in the first period. Moore was quick to respond however, earning the 18-6 major decision to defeat the freshman.

At 285, Brendan Furman was bested by Gary Traub, 4-3, following a takedown in the final seconds of the match. Furman scored the first takedown of the match early in the first period, but it was Traub that gained momentum as the bout drew on. Traub worked on his late takedown of Furman for an extended period of time to close the third, before finally securing points on the edge of the mat.

The dual jumped down to 125 pounds following the heavyweight bout, where Dom LaJoie was defeated by Malik Heinselman, 8-4. LaJoie trailed, 6-3, heading into the third, and with top position was looking to turn Heinselman for a victory. Unfortunately for LaJoie, Heinselman was able to score on a late reversal to increase his lead.

#6 Chas Tucker picked up his second dual victory of the season in the final match of the day, securing a 12-5 decision over Dylan Koontz at 133 pounds. Known for wrestling close matches, Tucker affirmed his ranking as one of the best in the country by taking Koontz down five times. Tucker took Koontz down three times in the first and once in each of the ensuing periods en route to the win.