WEST POINT, N.Y. - In front a raucous crowd at Christl Arena, Army won the final two matches of the day to overcome a late Navy lead and win the Star with a 19-14 victory on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Army is now only one Star victory behind Navy heading into the spring sports season. The Mids have a 9-8 lead after 17 sports have competed and there are six contests left to decide the winner.
Army defeated the Mids for only the seventh time in 61 meetings.This was the first time the Black Knights defeated Navy in two out of three years since taking three-straight victories from 1960-62.
The Black Knights improved to 7-5 on the season and 5-3 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA), while Navy falls to 8-3 and 1-2, respectively.
Army got out to a quick lead with Trey Chalifoux winning with a 14-8 decision, followed by Austin Harry's major decision to put the home team up 7-0. Navy answered with Jared Prince winning at 141 and Corey Wilding at 149 to knot the score at 7-7 through four matches.
The tide turned back in Army's favor with Russ Parsons earning a 9-2 decision at 157 and Andrew Mendel putting the Black Knights up 13-7 with a victory at 165.
Navy fired back in the next two matches with Jadaen Bernstein recording a 3-1 decision at 174 and then Michael Coleman taking home a major decision at 184 with a decisive 10-0 victory, giving the Mids their first lead of the day at 14-13.
It was a day of counter punches and luckily for Army they had the last two. Rocco Caywood put Army ahead 16-14 with a 7-4 decision at 197 to setup a huge final match at 285. So like all good rivalries, the decision came down to the final minutes. Army's Trevor Smith earned a reverse late in the third period of the final bout to take a 2-0 lead with 30 seconds left. He then turned his opponent to earn two near-fall points to secure the Star for Army.
HOW IT HAPPENED
125: Trey Chalifoux (Army) dec. over Brant Leadbeter (Navy), 14-8 (Army 3-0)
133: Austin Harry (Army) maj. dec. over Cody Lambert (Navy), 18-6 (Army 7-0)
141: #15 Jared Prince (Navy) dec. over #18 Logan Everett (Army), 7-5 (Army 7-3)
149: Corey Wilding (Navy) maj. dec. over Nick Noel (Army), 14-2 (Tied 7-7)
157: #16 Russ Parsons (Army) dec. over Zack Davis (Navy), 9-2 (Army 10-7)
165: Andrew Mendel (Army) dec. over Drew Daniels (Navy), 7-4 (Army 13-7)
174: #15 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) dec. over Ben Harvey (Army), 3-1 (Army 13-10)
184: Michael Coleman (Navy) maj. dec. over Samson Imonode (Army), 10-0 (Navy 14-13)
197: Rocco Caywood (Army) dec. Steban Cervantes (Navy), 7-4 (Army 16-14)
285: Trevor Smith (Army) dec. over Thomas Ott (Navy), 5-0 (Army wins 19-14)
