WEST POINT, N.Y. – The 24th-ranked Army West Point wrestling team put on a show against service-academy rival Navy in front of a packed Christl Arena crowd on senior day with a 22-10 victory in the Saturday afternoon Star Meet to give Army a 9-8 lead in the 2018-19 Star Series presented by USAA.
Prior to the match, Army recognized seniors Rocco Caywood, Austin Harry, Zach Maxwell, Patrick Mayolo, Graham Ratermann, Katie Silecchia, Peter Strassfield, Ethan Tursini, Conner Ziegler and Harrison Young as part of the senior day ceremony.
The Black Knights closed out the regular season with an overall record of 8-3, including a 7-1 mark against EIWA opponents. The Mids dropped to 6-4 on the year and 3-3 in conference duals.
Army jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after victories by 25th-ranked Trey Chalifoux at 125 pounds and an upset win by Lane Peters over 28th-ranked Casey Cobb at 133. Navy answered with a pair of wins, including a major decision at 149 pounds to take a one-point lead.
Similar to last year's dual at Alumni Hall, junior Lucas Weiland, the 27th-ranked wrestler in the nation at 157 pounds, sparked an Army rally with a dominant 6-0 decision over Quentin Hovis to retake the lead. After the Mids regained the advantage, 17th-ranked Ben Harvey topped No. 20 Spencer Carey, 7-3, to put the Black Knights back on top. Following a stellar 6-0 decision by No. 21 Noah Stewart, Caywood sealed the victory to a thunderous applause following his 8-1 victory. The senior's win pushed the Cadets to an 18-10 advantage with one match left.
Bobby Heald closed out the dual with another thrilling win over a Navy wrestler as the Bedford, N.H., native posted Army's only bonus point win of the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
125 lbs.: #25 Trey Chalifoux dec. over Jacob Allen, 12-6 (Army leads, 3-0)
133 lbs.: Lane Peters dec. over #28 Casey Cobb, 7-4 (Army leads, 6-0)
141 lbs.: #17 Nicholas Gil dec. over #27 Corey Shie, 10-5 (Army leads, 6-3)
149 lbs.: #22 Jared Prince maj. dec. over Noah Hanau, 10-2 (Navy leads, 7-6)
157 lbs.: #27 Lucas Weiland dec. over Quentin Hovis, 6-0 (Army leads, 9-7)
165 lbs.: #26 Tanner Skidgel dec. over #28 Cael McCormick, 4-0 (Navy leads, 10-9)
174 lbs.: #17 Ben Harvey dec. over #20 Spencer Carey, 7-3 (Army leads, 12-10)
184 lbs.: #21 Noah Stewart vs. Anthony Cable, 6-0 (Army leads, 15-10)
197 lbs.: #6 Rocco Caywood dec. over #30 Joshua Roetman, 8-1 (Army leads, 18-10)
285 lbs.: Bobby Heald maj. dec. over Thomas Ott, 18-6 (Army leads, 22-10)
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- The Black Knights have won three-straight Star Meets over Navy for just the second time in program history and first since 1960-62.
- Head Coach Kevin Ward improved to 4-1 all-time against Navy, matching Army Hall of Famer LeRoy Alitz's career win total.
- The Cadets scored their most points in a star meet in program history.
- They also tied the program record for largest margin of victory over Navy, previously held by the 1958 and 1962 squads who won by the score of 20-8.
- Army's eight dual wins and seven EIWA victories are the most since the 2013-14 season.
- It marked the most wins, both overall and in conference, under Ward.
- Chalifoux remained perfect at 4-0 against the Mids in his career, including a 3-0 mark in the Star Meet.
- The Nashvile, Tenn., native set a new personal best with his sixth dual win of the year.
- Peters notched his first-career win in a Star Match by upsetting 28th-ranked Casey Cobb.
- The Uhrichsville, Ohio, native posted his second win over a ranked opponent this season.
- It was his fifth dual win of the year.
- Weiland improved to 2-0 all-time in star matches.
- Harvey picked up his team-leading 24th victory of the season.
- The New Palestine, Ind., native documented his 20th-career dual victory.
- It was also Harvey's 10th-career win over a ranked opponent.
- Stewart posted his first-career star match win and evened his record against Navy at 2-2.
- Caywood capped his dual career with a 15-11 record after sealing the win for Army.
- The Toledo, Ohio, native notched his fifth win of the season over a ranked wrestler.
- He remained perfect with a 5-0 record against the Mids, including a 3-0 mark in star matches.
- Heald competed in his first dual of the season.
- The sophomore earned his eighth major decision of the year.
- He also remains perfect in star matches at 2-0.
UP NEXT
- The Black Knights begin their postseason at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, hosted by Binghamton, on March 8-9.