Lions Nearly Pull Upset At Stanford; Fall 21-19

Saturday, November 23

Palo Alto, Calif.

11:00 A.M. PST

Columbia

Stanford

11/23/2019 6:57:00 PM | Wrestling

Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Columbia Wrestling nearly came back at Stanford in the first dual meet of the 2019-20 season.

PALO ALTO, Calif. – In the first dual meet of 2019-20, Columbia Wrestling (0-1) came to fight and nearly pulled off a west coast upset, falling 21-19 to Stanford (3-1) in what was a true battle to the end by the "Nation's Oldest Program" on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Palo, Alto, California.

The match, which took place outside as a part of Stanford's Football Fan Fest surrounding their football game against California, was a showcase of how strong the Lion lineup could eventually be through the season, with the Lions collecting five wins during the match. The dual meet will be the last dual meet for the Lions until January 10, 2020, when the Lions head to Binghamton to open up Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association play.

FIVE LIONS TAKE DUBS: The match started at 157 pounds, where junior Riley Jacops took on Stanford's Tyler Eischens in a closely contested match that ended with Eischens taking a 6-1 decision to put Stanford up 3-0 in the match. First-year Kyle Mosher next fell by pin (3:57) to No. 8 Shane Griffith, giving Stanford an early 9-0 lead in the match.

But the Lions would answer, and first-year Lennox Wolak, taking on Foster Karmon at 174 pounds, outlasted the Cardinal 174-pounder with a flurry of points through the three periods to give the Lions the first win of the match, taking a 15-10 decision and putting the score at 9-3. The next two classes would go the way of the Cardinal, with sophomore Joe Franzese falling at 184 pounds (Dec., 9-2) and sophomore Sam Wustefeld dropping his match at 197 pounds (Dec., 13-9) to give Stanford a 15-3 lead in the match.

Columbia had an answer, as the match was far from over as sophomore Daniel Herman took to the mat at 285 pounds, facing Stanford's David Showunmi, Herman powered his way, thanks to a takedown late in the third period, to a 4-2 decision inching the Lions closer to Stanford in the overall score, 15-6. Next, sophomore Joe Manchio scored himself the biggest win of the day, taking down No. 14 Gabriel Townsell with a 6-3 decision at 125 pounds, where the Lion sophomore had to fight off Townsell's attacks throughout the third period in order to hold onto the victory, putting the score at 15-9 with Stanford still in the lead.

First-Year Trent Svingala, facing Stanford's Dalton Young at 133 pounds, fell by pin (1:04) to give Stanford a lead the Lions could not overcome, with the score now sitting at 21-9 with two matches remaining. But Columbia would not pack it in, as the next two matches would fall Columbia's way as the Lions nearly pulled off the comeback.

At 141 pounds, No. 19 sophomore Matt Kazimir recorded a win by fall (2:29) over Brandon Kier to pull the Lions closer with a big six team points. The final match, which was contested between first-year Andrew Garr and Tony Williams, was a battle, but the Lion first-year controlled the action winning with a major decision, 13-2, but the four-team points scored for the Lions were not enough as Columbia's comeback attempt fell just short in an exciting first dual meet of the season.

UP NEXT: Columbia stays on the west coast for the Roadrunner Open which will take place on Sunday, Nov. 24 at Bakersfield, California.

STANFORD 21, COLUMBIA 19
Palo Alto, Calif. (Outdoor Mats)

157 Pounds: Tyler Eischens (Stanford) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 6-1
165 Pounds: No. 8 Shane Griffith (Stanford) def. Kyle Mosher (Columbia), fall (3:57)
174 Pounds: Lennox Wolak (Columbia) def. Foster Karmon (Stanford), dec. 15-10
184 Pounds: Nick Addison (Stanford) def. Joe Franzese (Columbia), dec. 9-2
197 Pounds: No. 10 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) def. Sam Wustefeld (Columbia), dec. 13-9
285 Pounds: Daniel Herman (Columbia) def. David Showunmi (Stanford), dec. 4-2
125 Pounds: Joe Manchio (Columbia) def. No. 14 Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) dec. 6-3
133 Pounds Dalton Young (Stanford) def. Trent Svingala (Columbia), fall (1:04)
141 Pounds: No, 19 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) def. Brandon Kier (Stanford), fall (2:29)
149 Pounds: Andrew Garr (Columbia) def. Tony Williams (Stanford), maj. dec. 13-2

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