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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. The No. 24 Virginia wrestling team dropped a hard-fought 19-15 decision to No. 14 Penn State Sunday at the Journeymen Sprawl and Brawl Duals in Binghamton, N.Y. The Cavaliers rebounded to wallop American International College, 52-0, in their final match of the day.
“The Penn State dual meet came down to the last bout, the heavyweight match, and we were right in it to the very end,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “Our kids wrestled very hard. The highlight of the day was freshman Jedd Moore beating the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the nation (Dan Vallimont). It was amazing for a freshman to beat a guy of that caliber so early in his career, and it is very exciting. I’ve been telling people all year how good Jedd is maybe now people will listen.”
The UVa-PSU match was tight throughout. Both teams won five bouts, but the Nittany Lions (1-2) benefited from bonus points at 133 pounds and 149 pounds to earn the win. UVa fell into a 9-0 hole after two weight classes before Nick Nelson (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored a big 4-2 win over All-American Jake Strayer at 141 pounds.
Jedd Moore (Fr., Mount Vernon, Ohio) notched a key win for Virginia (2-3), upsetting second-ranked Dan Vallimont at 157 pounds to pull UVa to within 13-6. The win marks the highest-ranked opponent at UVa wrestler has defeated in Garland’s tenure at Virginia.
After PSU’s Mark Friend earned a 4-0 decision over Virginia’s Mike Sewell (Sr., Bothell, Wash.), the Cavaliers ran off three straight wins to close the gap to one, 16-15. No. 14 Chris Henrich (So., Lansdale, Pa.), the reigning ACC Co-Wrestler of the Week, dispatched 16th-ranked Quentin Wright of Penn State, 8-4, at 174 and No. 8 Rocco Caponi (Sr., Uniontown, Ohio) followed with a strong 8-1 win at 184 over No. 13 Phil Bomberger.
Brent Jones (Jr., Burke, Va.), ranked as high as ninth nationally in the national publications, then posted a 10-6 win at 197 pounds, but Penn State’s Cameron Wade squeaked out a 2-0 decision over Virginia’s Jack Danilkowicz (Jr., Green Oaks, Ill.) at heavyweight to give the Nittany Lions the 19-15 match win.
Against AIC, six Cavaliers recorded falls, while Caponi posted a tech fall and Nelson and Moore each recorded major decisions. UVa’s 52 points marked the third most in school dual-meet history.
Virginia travels back to New York Saturday to compete in the Northeast Duals in Albany. UVa is slated to wrestle No. 7 Oklahoma State at 11 a.m., Bucknell at 1 p.m. and Harvard at 3 p.m.
No. 14 Penn State 19, No. 24 Virginia 15
125: Brad Pataky (PSU) dec. No. 17 Ross Gitomer (UVa), 4-2; UVa 0, PSU 3
133: Tim Haas (PSU) pinned Matt Bonson (UVa), 2:21; UVa 0, PSU 9
141: Nick Nelson (UVa) dec. Jake Strayer (PSU), 4-2; UVa 3, PSU 9
149: No. 2 Bubba Jenkins (PSU) major dec. Kellon Balum (UVa), 12-4; UVa 3, PSU 13
157: Jedd Moore (UVa) dec. No. 2 Dan Vallimont (PSU), 9-4; UVa 6, PSU 13
165: Mark Friend (PSU) dec. Mike Sewell (UVa), 4-0; UVa 6, PSU 16
174: No. 14 Chris Henrich (UVa) dec. No. 16 Quentin Wright (PSU), 8-4; UVa 9, PSU 16
184: No. 8 Rocco Caponi (UVa) dec. No. 13 Phil Bomberger (PSU), 8-1; UVa 12, PSU 16
197: Brent Jones (UVa) dec. Clay Steadman (PSU), 10-6; UVa 15, PSU 16
285: Cameron Wade (PSU) dec. Jack Danilkowicz (UVa), 2-0; UVa 15, PSU 16
No. 24 Virginia 52, AIC 0
125: No. 17 Ross Gitomer (UVa) dec. Carlos Lara (AIC), 10-4; UVa 3, AIC 0
133: Matt Bonson (UVa) pinned Jeff Haddad (AIC); UVa 9, AIC 0
141: Nick Nelson (UVa) major dec. Martin Mitchell (AIC), 15-4; UVa 13, AIC 0
149: Kellon Balum (UVa) pinned Sam Gauvine (AIC); UVa 19, AIC 0
157: Jedd Moore (UVa) major dec. Joshua Mayville (AIC); UVa 23, AIC 0
165: Beau Fisher (UVa) pinned Mylon Spolar (AIC); UVa 29, AIC 0
174: No. 14 Chris Henrich (UVa) pinned Davidson (AIC); UVa 35, AIC 0
184: No. 8 Rocco Caponi (UVa) tech fall Yaakov Bloch (AIC); UVa 40, AIC 0
197: Brent Jones (UVa) pinned Morgan Wanzer (AIC); UVa 46, AIC 0
285: Jack Danilkowicz (UVa) pinned Kevin Valencia (AIC); UVa 52, AIC 0
**rankings according to InterMat