Columbia University
SACRED HEART
Wrestling Splits Triangular Meet
1/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The victory over Sacred Heart was Columbia's first of the season, following last month's loss to Hofstra. The Lions jumped out to a 12-0 lead on decisions by sophomore Brandon Kinney (Haslett, Mich.) at 125 pounds and junior Dean Kinports (La Mesa, Calif.) at 141, plus a forfeit win at 133.
Sacred Heart fought back to within 12-6 with two wins, only to see Columbia blow the match wide open when Dustin Tillman and Matt Palmer posted back-to-back pins to give their team a 24-6 lead.
Tillman (Fremont, Calif.), who had been out since the first weekend of the season, in November, due to injury, scored three first-period takedowns before pinning Vince Contino in 2:27. Palmer, the All-American from Germantown, Md., who had been injured at the Midlands Open in late December, wasted absolutely no time in taking Kyle Coffman down as the match began, and then putting him on his back in the ridiculously quick time of 25 seconds.
Columbia increased its lead to 34-6 as junior Justin Barent (Worland, Wyo.) had an impressive 14-4 major decision over Andrew Silber at 184 and first-year Orrin Kleinhenz (Columbus, Ind.) posted the Lions' third fall of the match, over Michael Ames in 3:58. Coach Brendan Buckley chose not to use anyone in the heavyweight bout, and Sacred Heart gained six points on the forfeit for the final 34-12 score. "I thought we looked pretty good against Sacred Heart," Buckley said. "We knew we would need those pins to win."
After American University won the second match of the triangular in University Gym, 31-20 over Sacred Heart, Columbia met American in a battle of two of the EIWA's top-rated teams.
Once again, the Lions jumped out to a lead, in this instance 9-3 on senior Jeff Sato's (Pismo Beach, Calif.) impressive and well-planned 4-3 victory over Matt Morkel at 125 pounds, and Dean Kinports' forfeit victory at 141. American's three points came on Jordan Lipp's 3-2 squeaker over Lion junior Matt DeLorenzo (Wantagh, N.Y.), just coming back from an injury.
American, however, scored the next 20 points to take the lead and put the match out of reach. The Eagles took advantage of the inexperience of two first-years, Derek Sickles (Rutherford, N.J.) at 149 and Tyler Thurgood (Blairstown, N.J.) to tally nine points, as Tom Kniezewski pinned Sickles in 6:59 at 149 pounds and Christopher Stout defeated Thurgood 9-7 at 157. Sickles was substituting for the injured Ricky Turk.
Stout's victory gave the Eagles the lead, 12-9. Rudy Rueda, who recently joined the American lineup, defeated the rusty Tillman 18-9, a major decision giving American four team points. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, sixth-ranked in the nation at 165, moved up to 174 to set up a classic battle with Palmer; the Columbia wrestler stayed out due to his previous injuries, however, and first-year Kenji Porter (Los Angeles, Calif.) lost to Abdurakhmanov, 21-7, another major decision.
At 184 pounds, Josh Glenn, one of the nation's top sophomores, had his hands full with the Lions' Justin Barent. Glenn won, but by only 6-0. Orrin Kleinhenz posted his second victory of the day at 197, adding a 7-4 win over Tyler Flatt to his pin against Sacred Heart. That made the score 23-12 in American's favor; it ended at 29-12 when Columbia did not enter anyone at heavyweight.
"American wrestled very well," Buckley said, "but I wish we had our whole team. Injuries kept a number of starters out of the lineup. Orrin Kleinhenz had a good day, and Jeff Sato looked good at 125. Justin Barent also wrestled well against a man like Glenn. DeLorenzo and Tillman have been out with injuries, so they haven't been able to do any running; you could see their lack of conditioning on the mat."
Columbia will travel to Hampton, Virginia, next weekend for the Virginia Duals Friday and Saturday. It will be Columbia's first appearance ever in the Duals, one of wrestling's most prestigious events.
Columbia 34, Sacred Heart 12
125 - Brandon Kinney, Columbia, dec. Mike Arone, 12-6
133 - Matt DeLorenzo, Columbia, won by forfeit
141 - Dean Kinports, Columbia, dec. Chris Davis, 8-5
149 - Sean Eagan, Sacred Heart, dec. Derek Sickles, 11-9
157 - Sherwood Fendryk, Sacred Heart, dec. Tyler Thurgood, 13-6
165 - Dustin Tillman, Columbia, pinned Vince Contino, 2:27
174 - Matt Palmer, Columbia, pinned Kyle Coffman, 0:25
184 - Justin Barent, Columbia, dec. Andrew Silber, 14-4
197 - Orrin Kleinhenz, Columbia, pinned Michael Ames, 3:58
Hwt - Payam Zarrinpour, Sacred Heart, won by forfeit
American 29, Columbia 12
125 - Jeff Sato, Columbia, dec. Matt Morkel, 4-3
133 - Jordan Lipp, American, dec. Matt DeLorenzo, 3-2
141 - Dean Kinports, Columbia, won by forfeit
149 - Ton Kniezewski, American, pinned Derek Sickles, 6:59
157 - Christopher Stout, American, dec. Tyler Thurgood, 9-7
165 - Rudy Rueda, American, dec. Dustin Tillman, 18-9
174 - Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, American, dec. Kenji Porter, 21-7
184 - Josh Glenn, American, dec. Justin Barent, 6-0
197 - Orrin Kleinhenz, Columbia, dec. Tyler Flatt, 7-4
Hwt - Adam LoPiccolo, American, won by forfeit
Players Mentioned
