Four Cornell freshmen were victorious in their collegiate debuts as the Rams opened a new wrestling season with a resounding 30-9 victory over Simpson inside Cowles Fieldhouse Thursday night.
The Rams (1-0) claimed eight of the 10 contested matches en route to their 19th consecutive series win over the Storm (0-1).
Freshman 141-pounder Carter Fecht capped the impressive team effort with a 16-4 major decision to finish the dual. Fecht tallied five takedowns in his match alone, while the Storm managed only six the entire night.
First-year Jase Van Pelt scored a quality 2-1 win at 125 over Dylan McChesney, listed as a top contender in the d3wrestle.com rankings. Freshman Jackson Brinker needed only 1:29 to pin his opponent at 197. Gabriel Smith was a 7-4 victor over Riley Kovaleski in his Cornell debut at 157.
The meet started at 149, where Cornell sophomore Landon Card set the tone with a 7-2 decision over Zach Stewart. After Smith’s win, senior 165-pounder Cory Stewart earned an 8-0 major decision that put the Rams ahead 10-0.
At 184, Cornell sophomore Nick DeMunno rallied for a reversal and four-point near fall in the third period to defeat Caden Elliott, 10-6.
Senior Evan Husko handled Kanin Hable for a 10-1 major decision at 133.
Simpson received a fall from heavyweight Colton Kinnison (4:24 over Drake Fox) and a decision from 174-pounder Shyler Langley (10-3 over Dahson DeJong).