Cornell's Kyle Dake Wins Southern Scuffle Title
Cornell's Kyle Dake Wins Southern Scuffle Title
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(January, 2, 2012)
Cornell's Kyle Dake Wins Southern Scuffle Title
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Junior Kyle Dake won his third-straight Southern Scuffle title on Monday night to help Cornell take fourth place in the team race. Dake shut out Penn State’s Dylan Alton, 3-0, in the finals to go 6-0 for the weekend. Cornell placed a total of nine wrestlers in the top eight of their respective weight classes. At 184 pounds, junior Steve Bosak took second after losing by decision to returning NCAA champion Quinton Wright of Penn State.
At 197 pounds, Cam Simaz placed second after a medical forfeit before the championship bout. Also placing for Cornell was Bricker Dixon (8th, 125), Frank Perrelli (3rd, 125), Mike Nevinger (7th, 141), Chris Villalonga (5th, 149), Craig Eifert (8th, 149) and Marshall Peppelman (7th, 165).
Cornell took fourth with 130 points. Penn State took first with 191.5 points and was followed by Minnesota (177.5 pts) and Missouri (136.0 pts).
Dake and No. 10 Alton were scoreless after the first period of the finals at 157 pounds. Alton went in for a single leg in the first looking to score, but Dake was able to fight back to his feet. Dake chose down to start the second period, and quickly escaped to take a 1-0 decision. Alton chose neutral to start the third period. Alton took a shot in on Dake with 45 seconds left in the bout, but Dake countered for a takedown and rode his opponent out for the remainder of the match to win a 3-0 decision. In the semifinals, Dake defeated Penn StateÂ’s James Volrath, 6-0.
In the finals at 184 pounds, Wright countered an attack by Bosak for a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Bosak quickly escaped to come within a point. Wright chose to start the second period down. Bosak worked to start tilting his opponent, but Wright caught him for a reversal and back points to take a 7-1 lead. Wright was looking for the fall, but Bosak fought hard to get back to the mat and scrambled his way loose. Bosak chose top to start the third looking to score. Wright reversed Bosak again, but the Big Red wrestler escaped again. With 1:02 in riding time, Wright won a 10-3 decision.
At 125 pounds, Perrelli opened the day facing No. 3 Alan Waters of Missouri in the semifinals. Perrelli was narrowly edged out, 3-2, to move to the consolation round. Perrelli bounced back to defeat HofstraÂ’s Steve Bonanno, 3-1, in the consolation semifinals. Perrelli placed third with a 6-4 decision over No. 13 Nico Megaludis of Penn State.
Also at 125 pounds, Dixon won by forfeit in his opening bout after his opponent failed to make weight. In his next match, he was edged out by No. 13 Megaludis by a 5-2 decision. Dixon took eighth after Brian Bokoski (North Carolina) won a 6-1 decision.
Nevinger picked up bonus points for Cornell to open his Monday morning action after winning by technical fall over Bryan Pearsall of Penn State, 18-0. Nevinger was ahead of his next opponent Mike Kessler (Appalachian State) and was in control. Kessler took advantage of NevingerÂ’s top position on a tilt and scored a defensive fall in 4:31. In the match for seventh place, Nevinger rallied back for the Big Red, pinning Seth Lange (Minnesota) in 3:26.
At 149 pounds, Chris Villalonga earned his third-straight major decision with a 9-1 win over Marcus Cain (Duke). Villalonga followed with an 8-3 decision over Augustus Sako of Virginia. In the consolation semifinals, the Big Red sophomore lost, 9-3, to No. 20 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State), who went on to take third place. Villalonga placed fifth with a 6-3 decision over Dean Pavlou (Chattanooga).
Also wrestling at 149 pounds, Craig Eifert pinned Justin Accordino (Hofstra) in 2:32 to move into the place rounds. He was edged out by Pavlou, 7-5, to move to the seventh place match. Eifert took eighth after dropping a 7-4 decision to Sako.
At 165 pounds, Peppelman opened the day by defeating Staudenmay, 9-3. He lost, 7-3, to No. 12 Zach Toal of Missouri. Peppelman took seventh with a 7-1 decision over Brandon Wright of Chattanooga.
Cornell will return to home action on Sunday, Jan. 8, when it will play host to EIWA rival No. 6 Lehigh at 1 p.m. in Newman Arena.