WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Ursinus College wrestling team tuned up for next weekend's Centennial Conference championship by splitting a pair of duals at McDaniel, rallying past the host Green Terror (28-18) before falling to Washington and Lee (32-12) in the league finale.
Gary Nagle, Jason Carter, and Ben Maack each won both of their bouts for the Bears (8-3, 3-3), which finished with a .500 CC record in head coach Joe Jamison's first year in charge. Maack picked up a pin and a tech fall, while Nagle notched two major decisions.
The Bears fell behind 12-0 as McDaniel opened with back-to-back pins at 141 and 149. But Jacob Folk's 7-2 victory at 157 opened the door, and Ursinus managed to break it down before the end.
Jason Zollers (164) and Gary Nagle (174) followed with back-to-back major decisions to bring the margin down to one, Zollers using a takedown with four seconds left in the bout to secure bonus points. Nagle, for his part, racked up over five minutes of riding time.
McDaniel answered with a third pin at 184 before Jason Carter came up with the biggest victory of the season, dominating all the way to a 10-1 major decision over highly-touted Anthony Wuest at 197 for his 20th bout victory of the season, joining Nagle and Terry Adams at that milestone. Wuest came in ranked 3rd in Division III by Intermat.
Ben Maack then gave Ursinus the lead for good with a lightning-quick pin at heavyweight, dropping his Green Terror opponent in a mere 45 seconds to put the Bears on top, 21-18.
Adams strengthened the Bears' position with a 10-4 victory over Nick Malinowski at 125, and Ray Calderaio put the match away with a 9-1 triumph opposite Steven Pabon at 133.
Ursinus also slipped behind early against Washington and Lee, but this time was unable to mount a comeback. The Generals grabbed the first six bouts, including four with bonus points, to storm out to a 28-0 advantage.
The usual suspects came through again for the Bears in the latter weight classes as Nagle, Carter, and Maack each finished off 2-0 afternoons. Nagle dispatched Alec Horne, 11-2, at 174, while Carter was able to pull out a 5-4 thriller Brad Basham at 197.
Maack made it two convincing victories in as many bouts with a 16-0 technical fall over Clay Chadwick at heavyweight.
"We wrestled hard and picked up some big individual wins today," Jamison said. "The McDaniel win was hard-fought despite us not being at full strength, but Washington & Lee was just a bit too much for us today. The conference tournament is up next and we're hoping to be ready to go."
The Bears head to Muhlenberg for the conference championship next Saturday.
Ursinus 28, McDaniel 18
141: Ryker Eckenberger (M) pinned Kyle Seibert, 3:34 (6-0)
149: Raymond Kable (M) pinned Colin Monahan, 3:43 (12-0)
157: Jake Folk (U) dec. Alexander LaVeck, 7-2 (12-3)
165: Jason Zollers (U) maj. dec. Cole Nagle, 11-2 (12-7)
174: Gary Nagle (U) maj. dec. Michael Bromley, 13-3 (12-11)
184: Gabe Dennis (M) pinned Alex Koenig, 5:46 (18-11)
197: Jason Carter (U) maj. dec. Tony Wuest, 10-1 (18-15)
HWT: Ben Maack (U) pinned Christian Hauffman, 0:44 (18-21)
125: Terry Adams (U) dec. Nick Malinowski, 10-4 (18-24)
133: Ray Calderaio (U) maj. dec. Steven Pabon 9-1. (18-28)
Washington and Lee 34, Ursinus 12
125: Riley Parker (W) dec. Terry Adams 7-5; (3-0)
133: Charlie Cunningham (W) maj. dec. Ray Calderaio 13-2; (7-0)
141: Bryce Crew (W) pinned Kyle Seibert 0:24; (13-0)
149: Alex Winart (W) won by forfeit; (19-0)
157: Ryan Luth (W) dec. Alfred Corradetti 5-0; (22-0)
165: Shane Conners (W) pinned Alex Koenig 2:49; (28-0)
174: Gary Nagle (U) maj. dec. Alec Horne 11-2; (28-4)
184: Rexx Hallyburton (W) won by forfeit; (34-4)
197: Jason Carter (U) dec. Brad Basham 5-4; (34-7)
HWT: Ben Maack (U) tech. fell Clay Chadwick 16-0. (34-12)