WEST POINT, N.Y. - Navy's Andrew Cerniglia came from behind to defeat Nathan Lukez by a 7-2 decision and clinch the Star Match for Navy over rival Army by a score of 18-13 Sunday afternoon.
Lukez held a 1-0 lead heading into the third period, but Cernigilia scored seven points in the third to win Navy's straight Star Match. The Mids improve to 52-10-5 all-time versus Army and 22-7-2 in West Point. Navy won six of the 10 matches with wins at 184, 197, 285, 133, 141 and 157 pounds.
The dual began with the 165-pound bout between Val Park and Dalton Harkins. Harkins gained a 3-0 cushion in the first period, but Park got on the board with an escape with 1:29 remaining in the second. Park looked to even the score with a takedown in the third, but Harkins kept Park off the board for the remainder of the match to win by a 3-1 decision and give Army a 3-0 lead.
Navy then fell behind 6-0 after 17th-ranked Benjamin Pasiuk bested Sammy Starr (174-pounds) by an 8-5 decision. Pasiuk grabbed a 4-1 lead in the first three minutes with a pair of takedowns, and scored an escape and takedown in the second period to go ahead 7-1. Although Starr was down on the scoreboard, he ended the match on a great note with a pair of takedowns to prevent Pasuik from scoring bonus points.
Navy's first win of the dual came in the 184-pound battle between 30th-ranked David Key and Sahm Abdulrazzaq. Key fell behind 1-0 after an escape by Abdulrazzaq four seconds into the second period but took a 2-1 lead with a takedown at the 1:08 mark.
Abdulrazzaq scored another escape moments later, sending the match into the third period tied 2-2. Key took the lead back with an escape five seconds into third and didn't allow any additional points to win by a 3-2 decision.
Veteran Jacob Koser (197-pounds) tied the dual at 6-6 with a shutout victory over Luke Swartz. He scored the matches' first points with a takedown with 45 seconds to go in the second period and scored an additional three points in the third with an escape and another takedown. The final score favored Koser for a 5-0 decision for his third career win in the Star Match.
Grady Griess (285-pounds) made it back-to-back shutout wins for Navy following a 4-0 decision victory over Austin Kohlhofer. Navy's heavyweight scored his first point six seconds into the second period on an escape and beat the buzzer with a takedown with only a few seconds remaining in period two.
Griess kept control over Kohlhofer in the final period by adding to his riding time to score his fourth point and give Navy a 9-6 advantage.
Army managed to take the lead right back after earning the only bonus point of the match in the 125-pound bout. Grant Treaster fell to 32nd-ranked Ethan Berginc by a 12-4 major decision after Berginc scored three takedowns in the final two minutes of the match.
A wire-to-wire match between 30th-ranked Brendan Ferretti (133-pounds) and Rich Treanor followed, and Ferretti won in dramatic fashion to regain the lead for the Mids. Treanor struck first with a takedown with 22 seconds left in the first period, but Ferretti answered with one of his own with only five seconds on the clock to even the match 2-2. Treanor scored an escape early in the second period, but Ferretti quickly tied the dual with an escape at the 1:44 mark in the third. The match looked to be heading into sudden victory with the score still tied with under 10 seconds to go, but Ferretti made a last-second move and scored four points on a takedown and a two-point near fall to win the match by a 7-3 decision.
Josh Koderhandt (141-pounds) used the momentum from Ferretti's big win to push Navy's lead to five. The sophomore fell behind 1-0 after Julian Sanchez earned an escape with 1:40 left in the second period, but he responded with 37 seconds remaining by scoring a takedown to take a 2-1 lead.
Koderhandt added another two points with an escape and a stalling penalty against Sanchez to win by a 4-1 decision, increasing Navy's lead to 15-10.
Navy looked to Kaemen Smith (149-pounds) to clinch the dual in the next match, but Trae McDaniel managed to keep the Black Knights' hopes alive with a 9-4 decision win over Smith, making the 157-pound battle between Cerniglia and Lukez the deciding factor.
After a scoreless first period, Lukez got on the board with an escape at the 1:25 mark of period two, but Cerniglia evened the match 1-1 with an escape early in the third. After his escape, Lukez came close to scoring a takedown, but Cernigilia managed to fight him off until a potentially dangerous move was called, resetting the two at a neutral position. Lukez got a hold of Cerniglia's leg, but he quickly turned Lukez around and scored four points on a takedown and a two-point near fall with 45 seconds to go. After a won challenge by Army awarded Lukez an escape to make the score 5-2, Cerniglia put the exclamation point on the match with another takedown with 15 seconds remaining, winning by a 7-2 decision to clinch the second Star Match of his career.
Cernilia improves to 3-0 all-time in the Star Match and won the 15th dual of his career. Key also remained perfect in the Star Match, winning the third of his career and reaching his 15th dual win. Koderhandt earned his fifth straight victory to end the season with a 7-4 dual record. Ferretti improves to 19-7 overall with his thrilling victory and ends his freshman campaign with a 7-3 dual record. Koser brought himself one step closer to his 80th career win by winning his 76th match all-time along with his 27th dual. Griess won his 27th match of the season and also his eighth dual, both of which lead the Mids this season.
Army-Navy Star Match Results
165 | Dalton Harkins dec Val Park (NAVY), 3-1 // Navy 0, Army 3
174 | #17 Benjamin Pasiuk dec Sammy Starr (NAVY), 8-5 // Navy 0, Army 6
184 | #30 David Key (NAVY) dec Sahm Abdulrazzaq, 3-2 // Navy 3, Army 6
197 | #27 Jacob Koser (NAVY) dec Kyle Swartz, 5-0 // Navy 6, Army 6
285 | #21 Grady Griess (NAVY) dec Austin Kohlhofer, 4-0 // Navy 9, Army 6
125 | #32 Ethan Berginc major Grant Treaster (NAVY), 12-4 // Navy 9, Army 10
133 | #30 Brendan Ferretti (NAVY) dec Rich Treanor, 7-3 // Navy 12, Army 10
141 | #24 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) dec Julian Sanchez, 4-1// Navy 15, Army 10
149 | Trae McDaniel dec Kaemen Smith (NAVY), 9-4 // Navy 15, Army 13
157 | Andrew Cerniglia (NAVY) dec Nathan Lukez, 7-2 // Navy 18, Army 13
